Bell
XP-77 Lightweight Fighter Prototype
During the Second World War, aircraft development went
into overdrive. Many, in fact most, of the new machines
were at the cutting edge of aviation technology for the
time. However some designs were born out of practicality
and necessity. The Bell XP-77 was one such design. The
brief for a simplified lightweight fighter aircraft, built
using "non-strategic" materials was initiated
by the USAAF in 1941. The idea was to create an interceptor
aircraft which was very much modeled on the fast and agile
air racers from the 1930s.
On May 16th 1942, the USAAF ordered 25 XP-77s for testing.
The aircraft was to be a single engine, low-wing monoplane
built primarily from wood. The neat bubble canopy provided
excellent vision in all directions - except for directly
forward, a fairly major error for a point-and-shoot fighter
aircraft!
Continue 
Saunders-Roe
SR.A/1 'Squirt'
The Saunders-Roe SR.A/1, nicknamed ‘Squirt’, was a prototype
flying boat fighter aircraft which was developed by the
British shortly after the Second World War. The Saunders-Roe
SR.A/1 was inspired by Japanese seaplane fighter aircraft
such as the Nakajima A6M2-N and the Kawanishi N1K. These
had proved to be effective and versatile during the intense
island-hopping war in the Pacific theatre.
The primary disadvantage of seaplane fighters was their
reduced maneuverability due to the flotation pontoons
hanging from the bottom of the fuselage and wings. Saunders-Roe
were largely able to overcome this by adapting the fuselage
itself to become the floatation element of the design.
In addition, by equipping the SR.A/1 with a jet engine
instead of a propeller, the aircraft could sit lower in
the water because it wasn’t necessary to create clearance
for the spinning blades. Continue
Ryan
X-13 Vertijet -
Strange Vehicles
The Ryan X-13 Vertijet was an experimental aircraft
designed to further explore the idea of VTOL (Vertical
Take-Off and Landing) flight. The Ryan X-13 Vertijet
was born out of a previous project conducted by
Ryan at the behest of the United States Navy. Just
after WWII the Navy had been studying the feasibility
of submarine-based aircraft, and from 1947 to 1951
Ryan conducted a series of tethered flight tests
with unmanned VTOL aircraft. Based on that project,
in 1953, the company was awarded a USAAF contract
to develop two prototypes of a full-size, manned
VTOL aircraft – these aircraft were designated the
X-13 Vertifan.
The chubby dimensions of the Ryan X-13 Vertijet
meant it wasn’t the most beautiful aircraft the
world had ever seen. It’s compact dimensions were
necessary to keep the weight to a minimum. There
was just enough room within the aircraft’s fuselage
for a single seat cockpit, and a 10,000 lbf (45kN)
Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine. The wings were
mounted at the very peak of the fuselage, and they
had a pronounced Delta-wing shape. The high position
of the wings was intended to improve stability in
horizontal flight. Continue
Australian-built
Hoverbike -
Strange Vehicles
The lure to join Darth Vader’s evil Imperial Empire
must have been strong for riders of the Imperial
Speeder Bike. Not only did these guys get the coolest
helmets, they also got the coolest mode of transport.
That’s almost enough to make you forget that your
boss was an evil megalomaniac with respiratory problems.
An Australian inventor called Chris Malloy has spent
the last two and a half years building his very
own Imperial Speeder bike-like hoverbike in his
garage at home. Oddly, the seed idea for his creation
came from his helicopter instructor, who had likened
the R22 helicopter to an airborne motorbike. Disagreeing
with his instructors analogy, Malloy set about creating
something that really was like an airborne motorcycle.
Continue
Douglas
X-3 Stiletto - Strange
Vehicles
The x-plane programs have yielded some fairly unusual
designs over the years, and the Douglas X-3 Stiletto
was no exception. The X-3 Stiletto was a prototype
aircraft designed to help designers and engineers
better understand what sort of features an aircraft
would need in order to fly at supersonic speeds,
while also being capable of taking off and land
under its own power.
The Douglas X-3 Stiletto’s design was revolutionary
for its day. The stubby wings and long tapering
fuselage weren’t pretty, and it looked nothing like
the beautifully proportioned fighter aircraft of
WWII. Instead, the odd shape of the X-3 Stiletto
was designed for one thing. Speed. Continue
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McDonnell
XF-85 Goblin - Strange Aircraft
The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin was a prototype parasitic-fighter
aircraft developed during the 1940s. The Goblin
was designed to fulfill a USAAF request for an
extremely compact single-seat fighter which could
be carried aboard the Convair B-36 long-range
bomber. Continue
AutoGyro
Cavalon - Strange Aircraft
The Cavalon is an all-new model from the German
aircraft manufacturer AutoGyro. It is also the
company's first aircraft to offer side-by-side
seating. Continue
Flynano
microlight - Strange aircraft
The Flynano is a single-seat microlight which
was designed and developed by Aki Suokas, an aviation
consultant, flight designer and pilot. The Flynano
has been in development for 10 years, and it recently
made its world debut at the Aero 2011 show in
Friedrichshafen, Germany. Continue
Sukhoi
T4 - Strange aircraft
The Sukhoi T4 was a prototype Soviet aircraft
which was designed to be a high-speed, high altitude
bomber. Unfortunately it's immense cost, and disappointing
performance meant that it never went into full
production. Continue
Ryan
XV-5 Vertifan - Strange Vehicles
The Ryan XV-5 Vertifan was a prototype aircraft
developed by the US Army as part of a project
designed to find a suitable battlefield surveilance
aircraft. The project was later handed over to
NASA where it helped further the development of
V/STOL aircraft. Continue
 NASA
RSRA
The RSRA (Rotor Systems Research Aircraft) was
produced by the Sikorsky Aircraft Company for
NASA. The RSRA was a research vehicle which helped
develop rotor-craft/fixed-wing hybrid aircraft.
Continue
 Sikorsky
X2 - The Worlds Fastest Helicopter
The radically designed Sikorsky X2 has just claimed
the unofficial title of the Worlds Fastest Helicopter
with a maximum speed of 258 mph. And it's set
to get better... Continue
 Scaled
Composites Proteus
The Proteus from specialist aircraft manufacturers
Scaled Composites is an oddly shaped aircraft
which was originally designed as a long-duration
high-altitude aircraft. Continue
 Swisscopter
Dragonfly
The Dragonfly DF1 from Arizona, USA, based company
Swisscopter is a one-man rocket powered helicopter.
The technology allows for an extremely light and
simple machine. Continue
 X-36
Prototype Aircraft
The X-36 was an advanced prototype aircraft developed
by NASA. The X-36 was designed to fly without
the traditional tail surfaces common on most aircraft.
Continue
 HiMAT
(Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology)
The HiMAT was a subscale research aircraft flown
by the NASA Dryden Research Center from 1979 to
1983.
Continue
 Hiller
X-18
The Hiller X-18 from 1959 was the first ever tilt-wing
aircraft to fly. Its design precedes all VTOL
(Vertical Take-Off and Landing) tilt-wing aircraft.
The X-18 first flew in 1959.
Continue
 ConvAirCar
The ConvAirCar was designed by the American Industrial
designer Henry Dreyfuss in 1947 for the aviation
company Consolidated-Vultee. As far as flying
cars go the ConvAirCar was....
Continue
 Mobula
Ekranoplan Concept
The Mobula is a futuristic design for an ekranoplan
capable of transporting up to 1000 passengers
in complete luxury across the worlds oceans.
Continue
 Terrafugia
Transition
The Terrafugia Transition is a genuine flying
car. The vehicle is a product of several MIT trained
aeronautical engineers who also happen to be private
pilots.
Continue
 Challis
Heliplane
The Challis Heliplane is a vehicle which uses
the best features of helicopters and airplanes
and wraps them up into one package. Currently
in the prototype phase...
Continue
ICON A5 Sport Aircraft
The ICON A5 is a lightweight aircraft designed
specifically for sport pilots. Continue
Airbus A350 BMW Designworks
interior
The
Airbus A350 airliner is scheduled to enter service
in 2010. At the 2006 Aircraft Interiors Expo in
April, Airbus is due to show an interior designed
by BMW. Continue
Space
Elevator
Currently
the only way to get anything into space is by
using a rocket. Rockets are incredibly expensive
and inherently dangerous. The concept of a space
elevator is nothing new, but emerging materials
and advancements in engineering mean the creation
of such a vehicle may be not so far away. Transforming
space in the same way the introduction of the
railroad transformed the West... read
more on the Space Elevator.
Image credit: Pat Rawling
More Airborne Vehicles
 The
Airbus A350 airliner gets an interior
makeover courtesy of BMW Designworks.
Continue
 From
the Wright Flyer to the Virgin Atlantic
Globalflyer, a timeline of events in aviation
and aerospace history. Continue
 The
man behind the Ansari X prize has created
a new 'technology accelerating' competition,
The
Rocket Racing League
 The
Airbus
Beluga super transport aircraft has
the largest cargo hold of any civilian
or military aircraft.
 Concept
aircraft. A selection of curious aircraft.
 Micro
Air Vehicles mimic seagulls wings...MORE
 Double
decker of the skies, Airbus A380...MORE
 Honda's
tentative steps skyward, the HondaJet...
MORE
 100
Million Dollar Space Ride... MORE
Aerospace Art Work
Spaceflight Encyclopedia
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Record
breaking vehicles are some of the most important vehicles
in the world. Information gathered from the advanced technology
needed to make these extreme machines filters down to
the common vehicles we see everyday:
Extreme Land Vehicles
