The 5 Strangest Planes in Aviation History
As there is no limit to perfection, so the flight of inventive thought cannot be stopped, especially in the desire to conquer the sky. What people have flown on… Here are just five crazy ideas of aircraft designers, which, despite the absurdity, have found their real embodiment — from wingless to inflatable.
Long-range bombing aircraft were extremely important for the aviation of any country, and the Second World War proved this fact. In 1941, due to the failures in the Pacific War, the US Army needed to create an ultra-long-range bomber that could reach enemy territory, and after completing a combat mission, return back. However, this project was never implemented during the war years. The Convair B-36 six-engine bomber appeared already in 1946.
In parallel with the development of the bomber, a competition was also announced for the design of an escort fighter. Of all the options offered for consideration, the McDonell project seemed the most realistic. The company proposed a "parasitic type" fighter, which would be located inside the bomber all the time of the flight, and in case of a threat could be released outside through the bomb bay. After repelling the attack, the fighter was "caught" on a complex trapezoidal structure and dragged back into the giant bomber. Despite the seeming innovation, this idea cannot be called innovative — 20 years before the advent of the Convair B-36, a similar method had already been tested on airships.
In general, the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin project itself turned out to be quite successful. Since August 1948, the aircraft has gone through several test flights, during which it turned out that the main problem is not in the aircraft itself, but in the attachment points and the complexity of docking with the carrier aircraft.
For its shape, Goblin was also called a "flying egg", it still remains the smallest fighter in the history of aviation (length — 4.53 m).
Due to docking problems and poor performance, the U.S. Air Force eventually canceled the Goblin program. Later, they began to focus on long-range refueling of aircraft, a much more practical solution to the problem of escorting bombers.
In 1955, the American Army commissioned the Goodyear Aircraft Company to design an inflatable rescue aircraft. According to the military's plan, the plane was supposed to be dropped to the ground using a parachute in a rigid container with a volume of only 1.25 cubic meters, and inflated within a few minutes upon landing. Despite the apparent absurdity of the idea itself today, Goodyear successfully coped with the project in record time — in 12 weeks.
The Goodyear Inflatoplane inflatable aircraft was produced in two versions — a single GA-468 and a double GA-466. The two modifications differed in wingspan, length, engine power (40 hp and 60 hp), speed (116 km/h and 110 km/h) and flight range (630 km and 443 km). The practical flight ceiling for both modifications was 3000 m. The take—off run is about 80 meters.
The first flight took place on February 13, 1956. A total of 12 aircraft have been produced over the years of the project's existence. During one of the test flights, an accident occurred, as a result of which the pilot, Lieutenant Wallis, was killed. In general, the project turned out to be unprofitable, the safety of inflatable aircraft left much to be desired. The project was completely closed in 1973.
The development of wingless aircraft was associated with NASA's desire to create a controlled capsule for the return of astronauts to Earth.
Numerous tests and calculations suggested the optimal shape for such shuttles — an irregular cone. When the hull flows around at high speeds during descent from orbit, the pressure difference on the lower and upper parts of the apparatus creates a lifting force that positively affects the controllability of the aircraft.
In appearance, all five NASA projects were about the same. The nose of the aircraft had glazing in the lower part for a better view, in shape it was always a semi-cone with two vertical keels without external elevons, rudders were also used as brake flaps.
In just three years of testing, more than 400 lifts of vehicles from the ground and about 80 flights for aircraft were carried out. The projects turned out to be quite successful, but with the start of the Shuttle project, the need for these mini-shuttles disappeared.
As part of Operation Paperclip, many promising scientists were brought to the United States. Among them was the German aircraft designer Alexander Lippisch, the creator of the Messerschmitt Me 163 jet interceptor. Lippisch was distinguished by a truly unique view of the aircraft industry.
He worked for the USA, but in 1967 he managed to return to Germany. Dornier invited Lippisch to further develop his old project of a piston-powered unmanned Aerodyne aircraft. The designer conducted consultations for engineers designing the device, known as the Dornier E-1.
Work on the project was carried out from 1968 to 1971. In 1972, the Dornier E-1 successfully passed take-off tests, demonstrating a soft climb and minimal defects during landing.
Despite the success, the project was never put into series. The Bundeswehr lost interest in him after the decision to use manned aircraft for reconnaissance.
The US space program was also moving forward the aircraft industry. The rapid technological race required large volumes of transportation for the construction of the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome and the delivery of rocket parts to it. Conventional transport aircraft were poorly suited for these purposes — the cargo was heavy and non-standard in shape.
The project of a more spacious and load-lifting transporter was commissioned to develop Boeing, which presented the result a year later. The basis of the new model was the B-377 Stratocruiser modification of 1947. The fuselage of the aircraft was expanded by more than five meters, the cargo compartment was enlarged.
As a result, the aircraft acquired very unusual contours, received the name 377-PG. At the same time, the letters PG were translated as Pregnant Guppy ("pregnant guppy"). The carrying capacity of the new aircraft reached up to 26 tons. Later, the aircraft model was upgraded to Super Guppy, which could deliver cargo of a quarter of a hundred tons over a distance of up to a thousand kilometers at a speed of 430 km / h.
"Pregnant Guppies" flew until the 70s, when they were replaced by similar modifications of the Boeing 747 and Airbus A-300.