Sunday Things - experimental aeronautical edition
posted in Links by Cargo Cult on Sunday December 16 2012
A Sunday Things with a cohesive theme! That's not space! But lots of weird-looking planes instead, courtesy of Wikipedia's list of experimental aircraft. Here are a few picks:
Fairey Delta 2 - the first aircraft to exceed a thousand miles per hour, this graceful beast certainly looks the part.
Bartini Beriev VVA-14 - of course we need a version of an ekranoplan here. Take its wings off, leave it to decay, then sprinkle it with snow? Perfect. Note to self: the Russian Central Air Force Museum looks well worth a visit. See also: the Lun-class ekranoplan mouldering somewhere else in the former USSR.
Bell X-22 - the timeline of experimental aeronautics is littered with attempts at vertical take-off. The tiltrotor is one route which has never quite taken off (ahem) - although the V-22 Osprey seems to have finally escaped its long and troubled development...
Douglas X-3 Stiletto - like some incredible star-fighter piloted by a testosterone-oozing science-fiction hero, this fearsome beast proved disappointingly underpowered. But, it provided design experience for the actual Starfighter...
Grumman X-29 - even the 1980s weren't immune to assumption-busting redesigns. Swept wings, you say? Let's see how they work the other way round! Of course, the Russians eventually built one too...
Leduc 0.21 - a gloriously French series of experimental ramjet-powered fighters, unfortunately incapable of supersonic flight despite their gorgeous looks. More imagery here.
Bonus Yet More Funny Planes corner:
- SNECMA Coléoptère - tail-sitting, dangerously French wonder. Even more dangerous - the prototype for this prototype.
- Antonov A-40 - a Soviet attempt at strapping wings on to a tank. No, really. Trust the Ukrainians to lift giant heavy objects into the air...
- Vought V-173 - a flying disc! The annoyingly-low-resolution underside view looks like an incredible alternate future...
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1. Hey
Posted by victor at 6:36PM, Monday December 17 2012
Hey ! that blog of yours rocks ! Thanks.