The 12 best LEGO aircraft sets of all time (ranked)
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! You were right the second time! It’s a LEGO aircraft! And not just any run-of-the-mill LEGO plane, these twelve LEGO sets are the best LEGO planes of all time. If you show up to show up to your next real-life flight with one of these, I’m sure the pilot will let you fly the real-life plane. After all, you’ve built an aircraft before. As far as I’m concerned, that means you’re qualified.
12. LEGO Creator 3 in 1 Supersonic Jet Plane
The LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Supersonic Jet Plane may be guilty of false advertising when it comes to the “supersonic” part, but I can assure you, this 215-piece set is indeed 3-in-1. The plane that this set allows you to build won’t break the sound barrier, but it sure looks like it can! You can also build a helicopter and a speed boat. Despite it being a boat, it isn’t exactly buoyant. False advertising strikes again.
11. LEGO Creator 3in1 Futuristic Flyer
When it comes to 3-in-1 sets the LEGO Creator 3in1 Futuristic Flyer, is superior to its supersonic jet counterpart. Why? Because, unlike the supersonic jet, this set can turn into a SPACE ROBOT. You can jet around beneath the ionosphere in the futuristic plane, then blast out into orbit by turning this thing into a spaceship. Then you can fight off intergalactic alien menaces with a (mini) giant robot. All with just 157 pieces! A technological marvel!
10. LEGO Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Fighter Plane Chase
The LEGO Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Fighter Plane might not be able to turn into a giant robot the way its futuristic LEGO counterpart can, but it doesn’t need to. It’s already iconic. It’s a movie star. This fighter plane was strafing across the silver screen back in the 20th century, chasing Indiana Jones and his father across the rugged wild. This set also includes minifigures of Indy, his father, a little pilot guy, and a car to make a getaway to Berlin!
9. LEGO Technic Race Plane
The LEGO Technic Race Plane might only be 154 pieces, but this two-in-one set makes up for its lack of complexity with style. Unlike the relatively static planes before it, this bad boy has a boatload of moving parts. Opening engine covers. Movable landing gear. Spinning propellors. All of it combines together for a realistic race plane replica. And peep the color scheme! Blue and orange is an unbeatable combo.
8. LEGO City Coast Guard Sea Rescue Plane
The LEGO City Coast Guard Sea Rescue Plane can land on the sea, where there is no land whatsoever! What a paradox! This 141-piece set is certain to entertain with its spinning propellors, pontoons, and openable cockpit with minifigures inside! The plane also has a back ramp that lowers, allowing you to slide out the included rescue water scooter to pick up shipwrecked souls lost at sea. And it even comes with a pilot and sailor minifigure! And a rescue raft! It’s prepared for any nautical disaster situation!
7. LEGO Technic Firefighter Aircraft
Listen, gang. The climate is changing. Recycling and composting aren’t going to be enough anymore. If we’re going to fend off the heat death of the Earth, we have to be bold about it. The LEGO Technic Firefighter Aircraft is our answer. This 1134-piece LEGO set is a stunning replica of the real life planes that firefighters use to fight the ever more common forest fires incinerating the country. Complex as this set is, it can’t actually carry water. It CAN however carry blue water-shaped bricks inside of it to dump out while being hand piloted around the garage. It’s a symbolic gesture, I think.
6. LEGO City Air Race
The LEGO City Air Race earns big points for being the only LEGO set on this list that can actually fly. With ripcord technology, these two LEGO helicopters can soar through the skies! They may only be able to stay aloft for ten seconds, but that’s ten seconds longer than any other supposed “aircraft” on this list. Posers. This set also comes with an airplane that can’t fly. I mean, you could throw it out a window, but it would just be falling, without style.
5. The Avengers Quinjet
So the jury is out if The Avengers Quinjet can actually be considered an aircraft. Technically it’s a spaceship, and therefore of a different design than an aircraft meant to fly through actual air, as opposed to the vacuum of space. Then again, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this thing flying through actual air in the Avengers movies, so I’m going to go out on an aerospace engineering limb and say it counts as an aircraft too. Besides, once you get your hands on this beautiful 795-piece set, I’m pretty sure you won’t be sweating those details. With an opening cockpit, passenger area, rear section, a retractable undercarriage, and adjustable wings, the Quinjet is a complex build that allows for all manner of customization. And it comes with included Avengers minifigures, already assembled!
4. LEGO Friends Heartlake City Airplane
There’s something comforting about the LEGO Friends Heartlake City Airplane. Maybe it’s the quaint movable food trolley with airplane snacks. Maybe it’s the openable cabin with convenient luggage compartments. Maybe it’s the friendly check-in desk with no TSA in sight. Or maybe it’s the LEGO friends we made along the way? Whatever it is, I know for a fact that this 574-piece set was built with love. Book me a one-way ticket to Heartlake City. I ain’t coming back to the real world.
3. LEGO City Passenger Airplane
The 913-piece LEGO City Passenger Airplane is a challenging build, but certainly simpler than the kind of sets those Technic nerds mess around with on the daily. This passenger airplane is a model of a real-life commercial airliner. Despite being only 18 inches long, it somehow offers more legroom than Spirit Air. It’s also less likely to fall out of the sky. This set also comes with bonus vehicles to help load and unload the plane, along with minifigures to work out on the tarmac. Or in this case, the floor of your unfinished basement.
2. LEGO 3 in 1 Twin Rotor Helicopter
The 3-in-1 Twin Rotor Helicopter is just plain cool. Featuring a duel rotor design, this helicopter looks like a marvel of modern LEGO engineering. The 2-man cockpit, opening side and rear cargo bay doors, working winch, and transportable ROV included in this 569-piece set are just icing on the cake. Speaking of cake, this 3-in-1 allows you to bake two more! You can rebuild this set into a high-speed jet or a hovercraft! I keep forgetting that hovercrafts aren’t sci-fi inventions but an actual thing we as humans have! Thank you, LEGO, for reminding me! The world just became a little brighter today.
1. LEGO Icons: Concorde Aircraft
This is it, the big gun. Plane. Whatever. The LEGO Icons: Concorde Aircraft is hands down the coolest LEGO airplane on the market. Made in the style of the short-lived technological marvel that was the Concorde jet, this 2,083-piece set is certain to be nearly as impressive as its 1970s namesake. While it was in use, the Concorde was the fastest commercial aircraft on the market. It could fly at Mach 2.04, which is about 1,354 miles per hour. It could go from New York City to London in three and a half hours. Its LEGO counterpart? It can travel as fast as you can run with it around your backyard.
This set features all the real-life engineering details of the actual Concorde, including a tiltable droop nose, a retractable tail bumper wheel, delta wings with movable elevons, hinged upper and lower rudders, and functioning landing gear. Why did the Concorde fail? It was just too fancy. Adjusted for inflation, a ticket to ride this thing costs around $12,000 to $20,000 per passenger. Taking that into consideration, the $300 LEGO version is a steal.
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com