Unusual Aircraft - The Antonov 12 was the military transport plane of the Soviets and carried the cargo and paratroopers of the Soviet Airforce. Whenever you have the liberty to fly to Bagram airport Afghanistan, try to visit and maybe take a picture or two with this graffiti-covered airplane sitting on tanks and feeling totally lonely.
They say two heads are better than one, so why not apply the theory to airplanes? The "double P-51" was designed as a long range escort fighter in WWII, but the war ended before it was operational.
Unusual Aircraft
The idea was this: the XF-85 would be carried in the belly of a Convair B-36 bomber, launch mid-flight to protect the bomber from enemies, then re-dock with the bomber using its retractable nose hook. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done, especially the re-dock procedure.
North American F- Twin Mustang
Is it an Osprey prototype? Actually, sort of. The X-18 was the first testbed for tiltwing and VSTOL technology. Unfortunately, the X-18 didn't handle wind gusts well, and the engines weren't cross-linked, meaning an engine failure would result in a crash.
Several dozen were built, but it would never enter full production and was abandoned in favor of the Focke-Wulf FW 189. Several wrecks were found by allied forces during the war, but none are known to have survived to the present day.
It has been mankind's desire from the beginning of existence to explore the skies, to know what the birds get to enjoy as they flit around, lazily teasing those of us bound to the earth. Enter the industrial age, enter the wright brothers and their aircraft.
What makes an airplane “cool?” Suffice it to say, we know it when we see it. It just kind of hits you. Almost all of the airplanes here do something really differently (whether subtle or in-your-face). Most of them are the longstanding objects of fascination by us pilots. Will you agree with them all? No way! But we know that you’ll think that most of them are as cool as we do. Enjoy checking out Flying Magazine’s “25 Coolest Aircraft.”
Mcdonnell Xf- Goblin
How many wings can we fit on this thing? The Ca.60 was a flying boat that served as a prototype for a 100-passenger trans-atlantic plane. It had 8 engines, 9 wings, and flew once, to an altitude of 60 feet. It promptly crashed into the water (fortunately, the pilot survived).
We’re still curious as to how a 737 could find itself between a wall and forest, let alone be abandoned there. It continues to be one of the weirdest side attraction for tourists in Bali. This plane happens to be in an abandoned quarry that also serves as a climbing destination for tourists.
It was designed towards the end of the Second World War by German engineers to improve jet-engined aircraft performance at speed. Like other oblique-winged aircraft concepts, the ME 1109's unusual wings were designed to help reduce aerodynamic drag at high speed.
The Do 335, nicknamed the Pfeil ("Arrow"), was a Nazi heavy fighter built by the Dornier company during the Second World War. By far, its most prominent feature is its use of front and rear propellers in a push-pull configuration. It also featured an innovative ejector seat.
Hiller X-
The photo of this wrecked plane was taken by a German Photographer, Dietmar Eckell and although the plane appears to be at peace with the mountains, we can’t begin to imagine if they were any survivors or how they must’ve felt as the plane came crashing down.
Despite its impressive and innovative design, the aircraft would ultimately prove to be a failure. Budget constraints and a push for turboprops and jet-engined aircraft put the future of piston-engined aircraft, like the XF5U in question. Only 2 were ever built, and the project was canceled in 1947.
The Douglas C-47 was a large military transport aircraft used to carry supplies and paratroopers during the war. We may never know why the Douglas pictured above was abandoned at the secret Zeljava Airforce base in Croatia. Douglas Aircraft company must be proud that their planes played an important role in the American war efforts.
Unusually for aircraft of this period, the SAAB 21 also came with an ejector seat, to spare the pilot from hitting the rear propeller should they need to bail out. Entering service at the end of the war, it would serve for around 10 years before being replaced with more modern and capable jet-engined aircraft like the British de Havilland Vampire and SAAB 29.
Caproni Ca
No one can build helicopters quite like the Russians, and their Mil V-12 takes the cake. The world's largest helicopter could carry up to 196 passengers, or 88,000 pounds of payload. However, its primary mission of deploying ballistic missiles became outdated as Russian missile technology moved forward in the 1970s.
Is it a fancy jet-ski? Nope, it's the world's only supersonic seaplane. In the late 1940s, supersonic jets had too long of a takeoff roll to be used on aircraft carriers, so the Navy did the next best thing: put skis on the jet. Underpowered engines and violent vibrations during takeoff grounded (or watered?) this plane for good.
This Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter on May 7th, 2004, headed for the Fairbanks Airport with Cargo from Ganes Creek Airport. One of its engines failed along the way resulting in an explosion and a crash. Luckily the two crew members on board survived. Form the image we can see the damaged left-wing and the rocky terrain the plane landed on.
Goodyear is great at making tires, but they may have taken this experimental project a bit too far. The all-fabric inflatable aircraft was designed as a rescue plane that could be dropped to downed pilots behind enemy lines. The project was cancelled by the army, because they couldn't find a "valid military use for an aircraft that could be brought down by a well-aimed bow and arrow."
Thousand V-
The Antonov holds the record for the aircraft with the longest production life of 45 years and, although it flew slowly, it was in high demand because it could handle extremely bad weather. But of all the Antonov AN-2 that were used in the late ’90s, only one remains operational today, wrecked Antonov’s lie in several abandoned airfields today.
Passengers were to be carried in two oversized pontoons, or pods, that could accommodate 6 passengers each, including toilets and baggage compartments. These passenger pods were connected to the wings and tailplane on the port and starboard sides of the aircraft.
First flown in the early-1940s, the SAAB 21 was developed in preparation for Sweden potentially being drawn into WW2. It was powered by a Daimler-Benz DB 605B engine, and its particular engine configuration provided the pilot with excellent frontal visibility.
The aircraft had a top speed of around 452 mph (727 km/h) and was planned to be armed with six .50 machine guns. It could also, in theory, carry 2 1000 pound bombs and have four of its machine guns replaced with 20mm cannons.
Convair Fy Sea Dart
Colin is a Boldmethod co-founder and lifelong pilot. He's been a flight instructor at the University of North Dakota, an airline pilot on the CRJ-200, and has directed the development of numerous commercial and military training systems. You can reach him at colin@boldmethod.com.
Sometimes referred to as "the wingless uncrewed plane", this aircraft was effectively a large jet engine enclosed in a metal cylinder with a tail. The design, by all accounts, could have allowed the craft to fly at supersonic speeds.
Aircraft design, like any kind of technology, can be something of a hit-and-miss affair at times. But, when aircraft designers get it right, their designs can become legendary — like the P51 Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire, or the F-15 Eagle, to name but a few.
An interesting example of a VTOL amphibious aircraft, the Bartini Beriev VVA-14 wouldn't look out of place on a sci-fi film set. Developed by the Soviet Union in the early-1970s, this craft took advantage of the wing-in-ground-effect to cruise over water.
Goodyear Inflatoplane
You can currently see this 1965 Aero Commander 1121 in the McVille Airport, Pennsylvania. The Aero Commander is a narrow-body aircraft that has seen several military and civilian uses. Nowadays these narrow-body planes are mostly used by managers of big companies. That being the case with Aero Commanders we wonder why this one was just left at the McVille.
Over the years airplanes have seen various modifications in their designs and purpose ranging from supersonic fighter jets that are difficult to track to the lazy cargo planes that can carry several tones of cargo in flight and although planes get to fly so high and enjoy the winds on their wings, it’s quite sad to see these proud machines sitting abandoned and isolated in some of the most unusual places.
The final of the "Pterodactyl" series of sesquiplane (a type of biplane where one wing is significantly smaller than the other) developed by Westland-Hill, this aircraft is one of the strangest aircraft designs of all time. First appearing in the early 1930s, this two-seater fighter was powered by an enormous 600 hp (447 kW) Rolls Royce Goshawk engine.
The Proteus first flew in July of 1998 and has since been used for various research projects and missions around the world for organizations like NASA. It has a top speed of MACH 0.55 and can carry around 12,500 pounds (5,670 kg) of payload on takeoff.
Colin Cutler
The aircraft's design is incredibly efficient, and it can "orbit" at an altitude of over 55,000 feet (16,700 km) for more than 18 hours time. Currently, under the ownership of Northrop Grumman, only a single example was ever built.
Taking advantage of something called the "Magnus Effect", the Plymouth A-A-2004 is very unconventional, to say the least. Based on similar planes called Flettner "Magnus Effect" planes, it used a series of spinning cylinders with circular endplates to generate lift using the principle of the "Magnus Effect", where asymmetrical spin generates additional lift.
This one man personal helicopter was designed as a reconnaissance aircraft for the Army. Unfortunately, it was hard to fly, and the thought of standing on top of an unguarded lawn mower blade wasn't very appealing to...anyone.
Lockheed's attempt at combining a helicopter and airplane yielded interesting results. The XFV did manage to transition from conventional to vertical flight, but its lack of speed and need for highly experienced pilots placed it on the chopping block.
Lackner Hz- Aerocycle
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