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25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

Posted January 22, 2013 11:37 AM

From Gizmodo:

Aerospace engineers have come up with some revolutionary forward-thinking amazing straight-up insane designs. Sometimes these dreams never make it off the drawing board, but sometimes-some wonderful times-they become real. And when these alien bodies lift off into the firmament, it's like watching a spaceship transporting the human race directly into the future. Check these amazing planes out.

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phoenix911
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#1

Re: 25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

01/22/2013 12:33 PM

What?,...... no 'Spruce Goose'........

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SolarEagle
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#2

Re: 25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

01/22/2013 12:41 PM

This looks like something Dr Suess might have designed...

Let me guess,, those crazy guys from Top Gear....

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phoenix911
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#3
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Re: 25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

01/22/2013 2:26 PM

The discovery channel had programs on the Dr. Suess plane, some of the others as well.

Very hard to get it hooked up on the underside of a larger airplane....... and by hard, I mean dangerous

And that bottom left picture you have, at a quick glance.......... it almost looks like its giving you "the finger", to me it does anyways.

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StandardsGuy
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#5
In reply to #3

Re: 25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

01/23/2013 12:19 AM

".. it almost looks like its giving you "the finger", to me it does anyways"

It is giving it to you, and only you.

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phoenix911
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Re: 25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

01/23/2013 11:03 AM

thats what I thought.......

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StandardsGuy
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#4
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Re: 25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

01/23/2013 12:14 AM

Those can't be it's own wheels, looks like a dolly, but then it must not have any wheels!

That thing on top - so it can camouflage in with the geese?

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The Mechanic
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#6

Re: 25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

01/23/2013 8:04 AM

What would OSHA say about the flying platform? Basically standing on top of a helicopter looks dangerously stupid to me. I'd feel safer using a 30 second jet pack. Crashing in either is bad but a dead fall to the ground sounds better than going through the blender on the way down.
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#7
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Re: 25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

01/23/2013 9:27 AM

Ya gotta take a chance once in a while...

Better image and credit

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The Mechanic
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#9
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Re: 25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

01/23/2013 11:53 AM

Yep
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#10

Re: 25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

01/23/2013 6:08 PM

This flew into my workshop a while back. I heard it before seeing it.

It was about the size of a kidney bean. It impressed me about as much as the human efforts do.

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#11

Re: 25 Bizarre Aircraft That Don't Look Like They Should Fly

01/24/2013 9:03 AM

<sniff> They left out my personal favorite, the RSRA S-72 hybrid plane/helicopter. RSRA = Rotor Systems Research Aircraft. Two turbo-shaft engines drove the rotor system. Two removable turbo-fans (and wings) to fly in conventional mode. When flying in helicopter mode the blades could be ejected and the aircraft flown on the turbo-fans. If the sh!t really hit the fan the pilots and flight engineer could eject after the blades were blown.

Good video here.

I was part of the NASA Langley acceptance team when they arrived in 1978. Fortunately, I left before the aircraft became active for missions. I didn't relish the thought of getting ejected from the flight engineers station!!

Hooker
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Doorman (1); Hooker (1); ky (1); phoenix911 (3); SolarEagle (1); StandardsGuy (2); The Mechanic (2)

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