The invention of ingeniously constructed aircraft to travel through the Earth's atmosphere ranks among the greatest innovations of mankind. The field of aviation is defined by challenging limits and inventing bold new ideas, but these aircrafts they simply completely ignore the concept of normality.
10. Convair V2 Sea Dart
There are many interesting combination machines available for pilots in addition to standard aircraft. However, a fighter jet designed to land right in the ocean adds a whole new definition to the job by turning pilots into jet ski drivers. The Convair Sea Dart was an experimental American fighter aircraft built in 1951 as a prototype supersonic seaplane, with a watertight hull and two hydrofoils. The "Sea Dart" concept was abandoned after a fatal accident, but not before it became the first - and so far the only - seaplane to overcome sound barrier, with Ed Shannon at the helm.
9. Goodyear Inflatoplane
When a tire company tries to enter the aircraft market, you can expect strange results. In 1959, Goodyear Tire responded to the market demand for a comfortable aircraft in a stunning way. The open-cockpit "inflatoplane" was built entirely of rubber, with the exception of the engines and control cables. The aircraft could be assembled into a 1 meter long box and could be fully inflated with a bicycle pump in just 15 minutes. The car was an aerodynamic success as it took to the skies with ease. However, Goodyear ran into some trouble convincing the military to buy the plane when they pointed out that the plane could have been brought down with a single bullet, or even a well-aimed slingshot.
8. Ames AD-1 from NASA (NASA A1 Pivot-Wing)
Ames AD-1 from NASA brought the standard for strange aircraft to a whole new level. The long, thin wings of a jet aircraft designed in the early 1980s to test the pivot wing concept were angled to the point where the tip of the right wing could be in a position parallel to the cockpit. The idea behind this original and completely new design was to offset the effects of turbulence and increase streamlining. The strange plane has made a number of flights, and has shown surprisingly good results, but they were not convincing enough to justify mass production. However, modern drones are currently under development, which are modeled on this aircraft design.
7. Vought V-173 (Vought V-173)
The Vought V-173 was developed in 1942 as a prototype VTOL aircraft capable of intercepting enemy fighters from an aircraft carrier. The aircraft's strange design, nicknamed the "flying pancake" given to it by its test pilots, consisted of an almost perfectly round fuselage that also functioned as the aircraft's wings. Two engines supported huge propellers that could only stay off the ground with the help of exaggerated landing gear, while the power system was located at the ends of the wings, unlike any other aircraft ever made. Limited demand and an accident helped seal the project's fate, but it began a pedigree that would lead to the famous Harrier Jet.
6. Bell P-39 Aircobra (Bell P-39 Aircobra)
Sometimes it's better for experts to stick to what they're good at. During World War II, Bell Helicopters created a powerful, agile fighter aircraft with superior ground strike capability and skill. air combat. Most planes had their engines in the front, but Bell, being a helicopter company, designed the airframe with the engine behind the cockpit. A long shaft turned the propeller in front, but while the design offered amazing power, building the hull around the power source, like a helicopter, resulted in unusual center gravity. More enemy aircraft were shot down with this "sky cobra" than with any other American-design fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force, however, some Air Cobras crashed even without a single shot from the enemy.
5. "Blackbird" (SR 71 Blackbird)
Before the dawn of the universal satellite technology era, specifications design for a first-class reconnaissance aircraft with unparalleled speed, endurance and ability to reach the edge of space gave birth to the SR 71 Blackbird. A fearsome, almost alien craft, the SR 71 had devilish performance. However, in a strange irony, CP 71's special permeable tanks oozed explosive jet fuel until heat (482 degrees Celsius) caused by friction sealed them. When the plane took off to an altitude of more than 9.65 kilometers, its speed exceeded 3000 kilometers per hour, as a result of which the surface of the aircraft glowed bright red. The hellish sight outside the plane was no consolation for the pilot, who sat in the asbestos-insulated cockpit, who had to wait up to half an hour after landing to avoid melted legs on exit. Even the cockpit canopy reached temperatures of 300 degrees Celsius.
4. Convair Pogo
The Grumman X203, or Pogo, represents a radical departure from the norm of aircraft design, flying past eccentricity into full-blown absurdity. The body of the Pogo was shaped much like a conventional aircraft, with the exception of a rotor attached to a nose cone that lifted it vertically into the air. Unlike most VTOL aircraft, the Pogo took off nose-up like a rocket with wheels attached to its tail keel. The canopy was designed in a 90-degree outward position, requiring the pilot to lie perpendicular to the ground as the car took off. The Pogo2 was then to fly forward through the air once it stabilized. Several successful test flights were made, but, like many other air outcasts, the project never got off the ground.
3. McDonnell Douglas X-15 (McDonnell Douglas X-15)
The X-15 is an older design. Nevertheless, it was such a significant and unusual leap forward that it remains unsurpassed in the field of aircraft performance. The first tests of the X-15 rocket-aircraft, which was 15.5 meters long and equipped with two tiny 2.7-meter wings on each side, took place in 1959. A series of tests showed that the aircraft reached a height of 30,480 meters and two of its flights qualified as space flights. During the passage of the aircraft through the atmosphere, a small aircraft resembling a rocket reached a speed that exceeded the speed of sound six times. X-15 was coated with a special nickel alloy similar to that found in natural meteorites. The alloy protected the fastest car in the history of the planet Earth from combustion in the atmosphere. The X-15 has defined the extreme performance niche with its heavy weight, high power and low pressure.
2. "Blomm-und-Voss BV 141" (Blohm und Voss BV 141)
In the natural world, symmetry is the rule in everything from eyes to wings. In the principles of reverse engineering, which is inspired by nature, this rule applies equally to engines, fins and tails. However, during World War II, in a marked departure from the norm, the German aviation engineers at Dornier conceived the idea of a reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber with a single wing, a tail boom with an engine on one side, and right next to it, a pilot's cockpit. While this design may seem unbalanced, placing the cockpit on the right side of the propeller counteracts torque and helps the aircraft fly straight. Thus, this bizarre aircraft not only took off from the ground, but also became the inspiration for a modern sports aircraft with a similar design.
1. Caproni Ca.60 Noviplano
Imagine a houseboat combined with an airplane. This was the idea behind the Caproni Ca.60 Noviplano. This aircraft, created in 1920, set the standard for strange multi-wing aircraft, so high that even Richtofen's Red Fokker certainly looked run-of-the-mill by comparison. At 21 meters long and weighing a whopping 55 tons, Caproni's huge floating aircraft was built to be the first transatlantic liner in aviation history. Borrowing from theory the concept that enough wings would make anything fly, the ship-shaped hull carried a cluster of three wings in front, three in the middle, and instead of a tail, a third set of wings. The unearthly machine could only be described as a triple triplane and nothing else like it was built. Takeoff was not a problem, but the plane crash-landed on its first flight after it climbed to a height of 18 meters. Caproni announced that he would fix it, but the wreckage of the plane was later burned that night.
Even in ancient times, people dreamed of taking to the air and learning to fly like birds. History has brought us a lot of evidence of attempts various people make wings and fly. So, in 1020, the English monk Aylmer of Malmesbury, inspired by the Greek myth of Icarus, made artificial wings and jumped off the tower of the local abbey. Having flown a short distance, upon landing, the monk broke his legs and wanted to repeat the flight by improving the design and adding a tail, but the abbot forbade him to do so. Most of the "inventors" ended up much worse - they were crushed to death. And yet - what is the history of aircraft and when did the first successful devices appear that allowed people to take to the air?
The history of flights begins in ancient China. Even in the 3-4 centuries BC. e. The Chinese invented the kite. Initially, this device was used to entertain the people at all kinds of holidays.
chinese dragon kite
However, kites soon found other uses. For example, fishermen began to use kites to catch fish by tying bait to them, kites were used to exchange signals over long distances, they even delivered messages and scattered leaflets with their help. Of course, the Chinese also had the idea that a large kite could lift a person into the air. Flying a kite was quite risky, but history has preserved evidence of successful flights. The first written mention of such a flight that has come down to us dates back to 559. This year, the cruel Emperor Qi Wenxuandi ordered large kites to be flown by his political opponents, who were condemned to death. One of them managed to fly several kilometers and land safely outside the city.
It is amazing that thousands of years passed before hang gliding, i.e., in fact, the same simple unpowered aircraft as the Chinese kite, became popular and spread. One of the enthusiasts of such flights was Otto Lilienthal, who made at the end of the 19th century. more than 2000 successful flights on gliders of our own design. He used the same materials as the Chinese - wooden rods and silk.
photo - flights of Lilienthal
Unfortunately, one of the flights ended in an accident - a gust of wind overturned the glider and Lilienthal fell, breaking his spine. “Sacrifices are inevitable,” he said about this. And the modern history of hang gliding began only in the 70s of the 20th century. The date of birth of the modern hang glider is 1971.
Before the advent of airplanes and helicopters, in a simple way to fly was the use of aircraft lighter than air - balloons and airships. Interestingly, the story here again leads us to China. Probably as early as the 3rd c. BC e. Air lanterns were invented in China. This lantern is a simple rice paper construction with a small burner inside.
Chinese air lanterns
The Chinese used air lanterns in ceremonies and as a means of signaling. Thousands of years passed before balloons people began to fly.
The inventors of the hot air balloon are the Montgolfier brothers from France. The brothers were not entirely guided right ideas- they came up with the idea to make an analogue of the cloud and put it in a bag so that it could lift this bag into the air. To this end, they filled their bowls with smoke from burning a mixture of straw and wet wool. However, their approach led to success. First, the brothers experimented with small balloons at home, and then arranged a large demonstration of a balloon for the residents of their city of Annone. This happened on June 4, 1783. Soon they learned about the balloon in Paris, and in the autumn of the same year the Montgolfier brothers launched their balloons already in Versailles. For the first time in a balloon, they decided to launch passengers - they were a sheep, a duck and a rooster. Finally, making sure that a balloon flight would not harm a person, on October 19, 1783, the first balloon flight was made by people.
first balloon flight
Balloons had a significant drawback - their flight depended on the direction of the wind, therefore, during the 19th century. attempts to create a controlled aircraft with an engine did not stop. We tried both options with installing an engine on a balloon, and with installing an engine on a glider. But despite the fact that the idea of controlled flight was expressed shortly after the flight of the first balloon, it took more than a hundred years before controlled flight became a reality. It wasn't until 1884 that Frenchmen Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs were able to build an airship capable of moving freely in any direction. Their airship had an elongated shape and was equipped with an electric motor that ran on batteries.
airship Renard and Krebs
Attempts to put an engine on a glider and thus invent an airplane did not lead to much success for a long time. Among such attempts was, for example, Mozhaisky's plane. Mozhaisky, Rear Admiral Russian fleet, began to invent the plane back in the 50s of the 19th century. Starting with gliders that lifted harnessed horses into the air, Mozhaisky moved on to designing an aircraft with an engine. Unfortunately, the steam engines with which he tried to equip the plane were too heavy to keep it in the air, although there is evidence that Mozhaisky's plane was able to take off for a short time.
Mozhaisky plane (model)
Mozhaisky spent all his money on inventive activity, sold the estate and eventually died of an illness in poverty. The then Russian officials were not interested in the ideas of Mozhaisky and did not finance his work, as a result, the Americans, the Wright brothers, became the generally recognized inventors of the aircraft. They made their first confirmed flight in 1903, 13 years after Mozhaisky's death.
The first documented flight of an aircraft designed by the Wright brothers took place on December 17, 1903. At the same time, the aircraft was launched using a rail catapult, and the distance it flew was only 30 meters.
first flight of the Wright brothers
The Wright brothers invented not only the aircraft itself, but also a light gasoline engine for it, which became a real breakthrough in aircraft construction. Nevertheless, time has passed from the first flight to the active development of aviation. The following year, the Wright brothers, in the presence of journalists, could not repeat their success, the plane went to the hangar, and the inventors began to design a new, more advanced model. The US military was in no hurry to conclude a contract with the Wright brothers, doubting the ability of bicycle mechanics (this was the specialty of the inventors) to design something worthwhile. In Europe, reports about the flights of the Wright brothers were generally considered a lie. Only in 1908, after impressive demonstration flights by inventors both in the US and in Europe, opinion changed, and the Wright brothers became not only famous, but also rich.
In 1909 Russian government finally realized the importance of inventions in the field of aviation. It refused to buy the Wright brothers' aircraft and decided to build its own aircraft. The first Russian airplane was built and flown in 1910 by Professor Alexander Kudashev.
Most of these aircraft are experimental models that never took off from the ground. In today's selection you will find an overview of the most non-standard flying structures created at different times by aircraft developers from different countries.
The development of NASA "M2-F1" was nicknamed "Flying Bath". It was supposed to be used as a capsule for landing astronauts. The first test flight took place on August 16, 1963. And in 1966 - the last.
At the NASA air base from mid-1979 to January 1983, two aircraft were tested on remote control. Compared to conventional fighters, they were significantly smaller, more maneuverable, and could withstand greater G-forces.
The prototype aircraft McDonell Douglas X-36 aircraft designers came up with just to make sure the flying abilities of tailless aircraft. It was developed in 1977. Remote control.
Ames AD-1 (Ames AD-1) - the world's first oblique wing aircraft. Experimental model 1979. His tests were carried out for about three years. After that, the plane was placed in the museum of the city of San Carlos.
The wings of the Boeing Vertol VZ-2 rotate. A distinctive feature from other similar aircraft is its ability to take off vertically and hover in the air. Was developed in 1957. After a series of successful tests that lasted for three whole years, it was transferred to the NASA research center.
The heaviest and most lifting helicopter ever built in the world was developed by Soviet scientists - employees of the design bureau. M. L. Mil in 1969. It is capable of lifting a load weighing 40 tons to a height of 2250 meters. No one has yet managed to break this record.
Avrocar is an aircraft developed in 1952 in Canada. Scientists worked on its creation for seven years, but the project was a failure. The maximum height that the “plate” could climb did not exceed one and a half meters.
Northrop XP-79B had two jet engines and a very strange look. According to the idea of the American developers, the fighter was supposed to dive on enemy bombers and break them, chopping off the tail section. But the first flight in 1945 ended in disaster. It happened at the fifteenth minute of the flight.
In 2007, the Boeing X-48 (Boeing X-48) was recognized as the best invention according to a Times poll. This is the result of a joint collaboration American company Boeing and NASA agencies. The first flight took place in the summer of 2007. The unmanned vehicle climbed to a height of 2300 meters and landed safely after 31 minutes.
Another non-standard development of NASA is the NASA Hyper III aircraft.
The legendary Vought V-173 aircraft, created by American engineer Charles Zimmerman, was often called the "Flying Pancake" for its unusual appearance. But, despite this, he had excellent flight properties. It was the Vought V-173 that became one of the first vertical/short takeoff and landing vehicles.
The HL-10 was used to study and test the ability to safely maneuver and land on a low lift-to-drag craft after it returned from space. NASA development.
Su-47 "Berkut" is a carrier-based fighter designed in 1997 at the OKB im. Sukhoi (Russia). Composite materials were used to create it. A distinctive feature are the wings of the reverse sweep. On this moment refers to experimental models.
The Grumman X-29 is a major 1984 design by Grumman Aerospace Corporation. It can be safely called the prototype of the Russian Su-47 Berkut. In total, two such fighters were assembled (special order of the US Defense Advanced Research and Development Agency).
The LTV XC-142 is capable of vertical takeoff. He is the owner of swivel wings. Its first flight took place on September 29, 1964. In 1970, the project was frozen. Of the five aircraft built, only one has survived to this day. It became part of the display of the US Air Force Museum.
The experimental ekranoplan, developed in the design bureau of R. E. Alekseev, was officially called the “Ship-Layout” or abbreviated as “KM”, but it was often called simply the “Caspian Monster”. Its wing span was 37.6 m, length - 92 m, maximum take-off weight -544 tons. For 15 years, numerous experimental flights were carried out, but in 1980, due to pilot error, the giant crashed. Fortunately, there were no casualties. But there were no attempts to restore the KM.
The Super Guppy is nicknamed the "Air Whale" and is used by NASA to deliver large items to the ISS. The development belongs to Aero Spacelines.
Monoplane firm "Douglas" with a sharp nose - an experimental model. The first test flight took place in 1952.
This module, created in 1963, was part of the grandiose Apollo project. It was planned to be used for landing on the moon. Had only one jet engine.
The Sikorsky S-72 first took to the skies on October 12, 1976. In 1987, the already modernized S-72 saw the light. But soon the project was closed due to insufficient funding.
Ryan X-13A-RY Vertijet was designed in 1950 in America. It's a jet plane vertical takeoff and landing, commissioned by the US Air Force.
Another module for landing on the moon. It was also part of the Apollo project. Designed in 1964. Capable of vertical landing and takeoff.
Convair Pogo
The Grumman X23 or "Pogo" represents a radical departure from the norms of aircraft engineering, from simple eccentricity to complete absurdity. The hull was built much like a normal aircraft, with the exception of the rotor attached to the nose cone, which lifted the aircraft vertically into the air. Unlike most VTOL aircraft, the Pogo took off nose up like a rocket with wheels attached to its tail keel. The cockpit canopy was designed in a 90-degree outward position, which required the pilot to lie perpendicular to the ground as the car took off. Then, after leveling off the flight path, the Pogo continued to fly like normal aircraft. This ship went through a series of successful tests, but like all "strange" projects, it did not receive further development.
Convair V2 Sea Dart
The job of a pilot is not always limited to simple aircraft. And the control of a fighter jet that can land on water right in the middle of the ocean turns the pilot into the driver of a giant jet ski. The Convair Sea Dart is an experimental American fighter aircraft designed in 1951 as a prototype for a supersonic seaplane. It was equipped with a waterproof hull and two hydrofoils. The Convair Sea Dart was discontinued after a fatal accident. However, before that, under the control of Sam Shannon, this aircraft became the first (and to this day the only) hydroplane that broke the sound barrier.
McDonnell Douglas X-15
The X-15 is an even older design, but it was such a significant and unusual breakthrough in aircraft construction that it remains unsurpassed to this day. The first tests took place in 1959. The X-15 rocket plane was 15.5 meters long, with tiny three-meter wings on either side. During a series of tests, the aircraft was lifted to a height of 30.5 kilometers, and two of them were counted as space flights. During its passage through the atmosphere, its speed was six times the speed of sound. The body of the aircraft was coated with a nickel alloy similar in composition to that found in meteorites. This allowed the aircraft not to burn up when entering the Earth's atmosphere. The enormous weight and high power of the X-15 created the basis for describing the characteristics of extreme aircraft.
Blohm und Voss BV 141
In nature, symmetry is important in everything - from the eyes to the wings. In the principles of reverse engineering, inspired by the rules of nature, this axiom is equally true for engines, keels and tails of aircraft. But during World War II, the German aircraft builders Dornier created a reconnaissance aircraft and a light bomber with a single wing, an engined tail boom on one side, and a cockpit just behind them. Such a design, which has significant deviations from the accepted norm, may not seem reliable, but, nevertheless, the location of the cockpit on the right side of the propeller counteracts the torque and helps the aircraft fly straight. This strange aircraft not only took off from the ground, but also served as inspiration for the creation of a project for a modern sports aircraft with a similar design.
Imagine a houseboat combined with an airplane. It was this idea that underlay the Caproni Ca.60 Noviplano project. Machina, created in 1920, changed all existing standards for evaluating aircraft with multiple wings. And so much so that the Red Fokker Richtofen (Richtofen's Red Fokker) would look just ordinary. This huge floating aircraft (21.5 meters long and 55 tons in weight) was to be the first transatlantic aircraft in the history of aviation. Borrowing from theory the concept that enough wings can make anything fly, the ship-shaped hull was attached with three wings in the front, three in the middle, and a third set of wings in the back instead of a tail. This strange unearthly apparatus can be described as a triple triplane. Nothing like it has ever been built. Takeoff was not a problem for this aircraft, but the very first flight ended in disaster when the plane gained a height of 18 meters. Caprioni said that he would fix it, but the wreckage of the plane was burned that night.
It's amazing what kind of aircraft can be assembled with a lot of effort, creativity and a lot of money. I bring to your attention a selection of unusual and sometimes rather strange aircraft.
NASA's M2-F1 project was nicknamed the "flying bath". The developers saw its main purpose in use as a capsule for landing astronauts. The first flight of this wingless aircraft took place on August 16, 1963, and exactly three years later on the same day, the last one took place:
Remote controlled. From mid-1979 to January 1983, two remotely piloted HiMAT vehicles were tested at NASA Air Force Base. Each aircraft was about half the size of the F-16, but had almost twice the maneuverability. At a transonic speed of sound at an altitude of 7500 m, the device could make a turn with an overload of 8 g, for comparison, the F-16 fighter at the same heights can withstand an overload of only 4.5 g. At the end of the research, both devices were saved:
Tailless. The McDonell Douglas X-36 prototype aircraft, built for one purpose: to test the flying abilities of tailless aircraft. It was built in 1997 and, as conceived by the developers, could be controlled remotely from the ground:
Crooked. Ames AD-1 (Ames AD-1) - experimental and the world's first oblique wing aircraft Ames Research Center and Burt Rutan. It was built in 1979 and made its first flight on December 29 of the same year. Tests were carried out until the beginning of 1982. During this time, AD-1 mastered 17 pilots. After the closure of the program, the aircraft was placed in the Museum of the city of San Carlos, where it is still located:
With rotating wings. The Boeing Vertol VZ-2 is the world's first aircraft using the concept of a rotary wing, vertical/short takeoff and landing. The first vertical takeoff/hover flight was made by the VZ-2 in the summer of 1957. After a series of successful tests, the VZ-2 was transferred to the NASA research center in the early 60s:
Most big helicopter. In connection with the needs of the Soviet national economy and the armed forces in the design bureau. M. L. Mil in 1959 began research on a super-heavy helicopter. On August 6, 1969, an absolute world record for lifting cargo was set on the MI V-12 helicopter - 40 tons to a height of 2,250 meters, which has not been surpassed to date; in total, 8 world records were set on the B-12 helicopter. In 1971, the B-12 helicopter was successfully demonstrated at the 29th International Air Show in Paris, where it was recognized as the "star" of the salon, and then in Copenhagen and Berlin. B-12 is the heaviest and most lifting helicopter ever built in the world:
Flying saucer. The VZ-9-AV Avrocar is a VTOL aircraft developed by the Canadian company Avro Aircraft Ltd. The development of the aircraft began in 1952 in Canada. November 12, 1959 made the first flight. In 1961, the project was closed, as officially stated due to the inability of the "plate" to get off the ground above 1.5 meters. In total, two Avrocar devices were built:
Fighter in the form of a flying wing Northrop XP-79B, equipped with two jet engines, was built in 1945 by the American company Northrop. It was assumed that he would dive on enemy bombers and break them, chopping off the tail section. On September 12, 1945, the aircraft made its only flight, which ended in disaster after 15 minutes of flight:
Airplane- spaceship. The Boeing X-48 (Boeing X-48) is an American experimental unmanned aerial vehicle, created jointly by Boeing and NASA. The device uses one of the varieties of the flying wing. July 20, 2007 he first rose to a height of 2300 meters and landed after 31 minutes of flight. The X-48B was the best invention of 2007 according to the Times.
Futuristic. Another NASA project - NASA Hyper III - an aircraft created in 1969:
Experimental aircraft Vought V-173. In the 1940s, American engineer Charles Zimmerman created an aircraft with a unique aerodynamic design, which still continues to amaze not only with its unusual appearance, but also with its flight characteristics. For his unique appearance, he was awarded many nicknames, among which was "Flying Pancake". It became one of the first vertical/short takeoff and landing vehicles:
Descended from heaven. The HL-10 is one of five NASA Flight Research Center aircraft used to study and test the ability to safely maneuver and land on a low lift-to-drag craft after it returned from space:
Reverse sweep. Su-47 "Berkut" - a project of the Russian carrier-based fighter, developed in the OKB. Sukhoi. The fighter has a reverse swept wing; composite materials are widely used in the airframe design. In 1997, the first flying copy of the Su-47 was built, now it is experimental:
Striped. The Grumman X-29 is a forward-swept prototype aircraft developed in 1984 by Grumman Aerospace Corporation (now Northrop Grumman). In total, two copies were built by order of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency:
Take off vertically. The LTV XC-142 is an American experimental tilt-wing VTOL transport aircraft. He made his first flight on September 29, 1964. Five aircraft built. The program was discontinued in 1970. The only surviving copy of the aircraft is on display at the US Air Force Museum:
Caspian Monster. "KM" (Layout Ship), also known abroad as the "Caspian Monster" - an experimental ekranoplan developed in the design bureau of R. E. Alekseev. The ekranoplan had a wingspan of 37.6 m, a length of 92 m, and a maximum takeoff weight of 544 tons. Before the appearance of the An-225 Mriya aircraft, it was the heaviest aircraft in the world. Tests of the "Caspian Monster" took place in the Caspian for 15 years until 1980. In 1980, due to a pilot error, the KM crashed, there were no casualties. After that, operations to restore or build a new copy of the CM were not carried out:
Air whale. Super Guppy is a transport aircraft for transporting oversized cargo. Developer - Aero Spacelines. Issued in the amount of five copies in two modifications. First flight - August 1965. The only flying "air whale" belongs to NASA and is operated to deliver large-sized products for the ISS:
Pointy-nosed. The Douglas X-3 Stiletto is an American experimental monoplane aircraft manufactured by Douglas. In October 1952, the first flight of the Douglas X-3 aircraft took place:
For flights to the moon. This descent module, built in 1963, was part of the Apollo project, the goal of which was the first manned landing on the moon. The module was equipped with one jet engine:
Rotorcraft. Sikorsky S-72 - experimental helicopter. The first flight of the S-72 was made on October 12, 1976. The flight of the upgraded S-72 took place on December 2, 1987, but after the following three flights, funding was discontinued:
Airplane-rocket. The Ryan X-13A-RY Vertijet is an experimental VTOL jet aircraft developed in the United States in the 1950s. The developer is Ryan. The customer is the US Air Force. In total, two such aircraft were built:
Lunar module. Another VTOL descent module, built in 1964, was part of the Apollo project, the goal of which was the first manned landing on the moon.
The invention of aircraft that allows people to travel in the Earth's atmosphere is one of the greatest innovations of mankind. Aviation is pushing the limits and there are new ideas coming up all the time, but the aircraft listed below are not even remotely the norm.
(Total 22 photos + 5 videos)
Convair V2 Sea Dart
1. In addition to the standard aircraft, very interesting specimens of aircraft are sometimes available to pilots. The fighter, which will be discussed now, could land directly on the surface of the ocean. And he greatly expanded official duties pilots, temporarily turning them from ordinary pilots into ski gear operators.
2. The Convair V2 Sea Dart was an experimental American fighter aircraft built in 1951 as a prototype supersonic seaplane complete with a watertight hull and a pair of hydrofoils.
3. It was decided to abandon the production of this fighter after a disaster that ended in the death of the pilot. But nevertheless, he became the first (and at the moment - the only) seaplane to break the sound barrier.
Goodyear Inflatoplane
4. When a tire company enters the aircraft market, very unusual results are to be expected. In 1959, Goodyear Tire tried to satisfy the market demand for a small, comfortable aircraft, and its response to these requests was very bizarre. The open cockpit of the Goodyear Inflatoplane was made entirely of rubber.
5. In fact, everything was made of rubber, except for the engine and wires. The aircraft could be stowed in a 1 meter long box and could be fully inflated with a conventional bicycle pump in just 15 minutes. From an aerodynamic point of view, the car was excellent, as it rose into the air with incredible ease. However, Goodyear Tire ran into serious problems. They could not convince the military to buy their brainchild after the military learned that the plane could be shot down with just one bullet or even a shot from a slingshot.
NASA A1 Pivot-Wing
6. NASA A1 Pivot-Wing was able to take the concept of "weird aircraft" to a whole new level. It was developed in the early 80s in order to test the concept of a rotary wing. The long thin wing of this jet aircraft could turn at such an incredible angle that it turned out to be almost parallel to the cockpit. The idea behind this unorthodox and exceptionally innovative approach was to compensate for eddy disturbances in this way. air flow.
7. The strange plane even made several flights, and it flew surprisingly well, but the results were still not considered convincing enough to justify the cost of its production. However, modern drones based on the design of this aircraft are currently under development.
Vought V-173
8. The Vought V-173 was developed in 1942 as a prototype VTOL aircraft capable of intercepting enemy fighters from the deck of an aircraft carrier. For a strange design, test pilots nicknamed this aircraft "flying pancake."
9. Its fuselage had a rounded shape. A pair of engines drove huge propellers, which did not touch the ground during takeoff only thanks to the extended landing gear. Low demand and one accident decided the fate of this project, but it began the development in this direction, which in the end led to the appearance of the famous Harrier Jump Jet.
Bell P-39 Aircobra
10. Still, sometimes it's best for experts to stick with what they know really well. During World War II, Bell Helicopters produced a powerful and incredibly maneuverable fighter aircraft with excellent combat characteristics.
11. Most planes have engines in the front, but Bell, being a helicopter company, built a fighter jet with an engine that was centered behind the cockpit. The long shaft coming from this engine turned the propeller in front, but this design led to an unusual location of the center of gravity of the machine. This "sky serpent" during the war years shot down more enemy aircraft than any other US Air Force fighter. However, some "cobras" died not because they were shot down by the enemy, but because they fell themselves, easily falling into a "tailspin" even due to the smallest mistakes of the pilots.
SR71 Blackbird
12. SR 71 Blackbird was created before the era of universal satellite technology. It was the first reconnaissance aircraft of its kind, with unprecedented speed and range. He was able to climb to incredible heights, and he looked like a scary, almost alien spaceship.
13. However, there were serious flaws in the design of the SR 71 Blackbird. As soon as the plane climbed to a height of 7 km and accelerated to a speed of 3300 km / h, its outer skin heated up to 400 degrees and began to glow red. This hellish picture outside the cockpit did not please the pilots too much. And although the cockpit was insulated with asbestos, the pilots still had to sit in it for half an hour after landing in order not to burn their legs on exit. Even the transparent canopy of the cockpit was heated up to 300 degrees.
Convair Pogo
14. The Grumman X23, aka the Pogo, was a radical departure from all aircraft building norms. It wasn't even eccentric, it was full blown absurdity. By appearance Pogo slightly resembled an ordinary aircraft, if you do not pay attention to the jet engine mounted in the nose cone of the device. This engine allowed the Pogo to take off vertically. But unlike most vertical take-off and landing aircraft, Pogo's nose was pulled up at a right angle before takeoff, so that the pilot in the cockpit almost lay like an astronaut in a rocket. Only after such preliminary preparation could Pogo take off.
15. Several successful test flights were made, but like many other aerial failures, this project was never able to fly far from the ground.
McDonnell Douglas X-15
16. The X-15 is a very old project, but it was such a significant and anomalous leap forward that it remains unsurpassed in aviation history to this day. First tested in 1959, the Kh-15 experimental rocket plane was 2m long, with two tiny meter-long wing stubs on each side.
17. A series of tests showed that the rocket plane was capable of reaching an altitude of 107 km, so that the two missions completed were qualified as space flights. When this small plane passed through the dense layers of the atmosphere, its speed was six times the speed of sound. The skin of the X-15 was coated with a special nickel-based alloy that was similar to that found in meteorites. This alloy prevented the fastest aircraft on the planet from burning up in the atmosphere.
Blohm und Voss BV 141
18. In the ordinary world, symmetry is a rule that can be traced in almost everything, from the eyes to the wings and fins. Engineers, when creating their inventions, are also inspired by this principle, this rule is also true for aircraft engines. However, during the Second World War, German engineers from Dornier deviated noticeably from this norm and created a reconnaissance aircraft, in which the tail stabilizer was located only on one side, and the cockpit was located asymmetrically, on the opposite side.
19. At first glance, this design looks unbalanced. However, due to the fact that the cockpit is located on the right side, and the main propeller is on the left side, during the flight there is a moment of force, which helps the aircraft to fly smoothly. As a result, this bizarre device not only successfully lifted off the ground, but also subsequently inspired many creators of modern sports aircraft to create devices with a similar design.
20. Consider a house on the water crossed with an airplane. It was this idea that underlay the Caproni Ca.60 Noviplano. This machine has set the bar of strangeness for aircraft so high that even Richthofen's Red Fokker looks pale in comparison. The length of this aircraft was 23 m. Weight - a whopping 26 tons. This floating and flying machine was built to be the first transatlantic liner in the history of aviation.
21. Based on the theory that with enough wings you can get anything in the air, the engineers created a stack of three wings in the front and three in the middle. Instead of a tail, another, third set of wings was used. This monstrous machine could probably be classified as a triple triplane, and nothing like it was built either before or after it.
22. Getting off the ground was not a problem, but immediately after takeoff, at a height of 18 meters, the device began to fall apart, and then fell into the water. Both pilots were killed. After that, the aircraft was repaired, but later it burned down. This happened at night, and the details of this incident have not yet been fully clarified.
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