Some look like spaceships, others leave you wondering how they even managed to get off the ground.

These are the strangest looking aircraft ever designed.

Aircraft technology has come a long way since the Wright brothers invented, built, and successfully flew the world's first plane over North Carolina in 1903.

But some designs went in decidedly odd directions, such as the paper-thin K-Max helicopter and the XF-85 Goblin, the smallest jet fighter ever produced so tiny it looks like a toy.

However, often the outlandish looks to these aeroplanes and helicopters served a purpose, from providing greater stability to enabling them to reach incredible heights.




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3714268/Wingless-jets-helicopters-3ft-wide-strangest-aircraft-revealed.html

http://realitypod.com/2011/04/19/top-10-weirdest-planes/

lalasticlala, Mynd44

This may be more personal helicopter than plane, but the de Lackner HZ-1 Aerocycle, which made its first flight in 1954, is worthy of toppingany list of strange-looking flying machines.

The Lockheed Martin LMH-1, filled mostly with helium, can carry 20 tons of cargo, but can be scaled to roughly the size of a football field with 500 tons of capacity.

It will launch in 2018.

Short life: The futuristic-looking Northrop XB-35 flying wing bomber flew for the first time in 1946 but was cancelled in 1949

The Optica was known as the flying bug due to its appearance, and was for a time used by the Hampshire Police, but a tragic accident brought its service to a close.

Its first flight was in 1979.

The K-Max is only 2.5ft wide at the base of its frame giving it the appearance of a regular helicopter after a diet.

But it's a clever machine, because its two rotors make it extremely stable even while carrying heavy loads and the pilot has superb visibility.

First flown in 1986, the Italian-made Piaggio P180 Avanti has an unusual design, with a small forward wing and a T-shaped tail plane.

It's claimed that it's quieter and more fuel efficient than other similarly sized private jets.

This picture shows the aircraft at Rennes Air Show in 2010.

The boss himself.

The high-speed Javelin, built by the now bankrupt Aviation Technology Group in 2005, looked like a fighter aircraft, but was in fact an executive jet.

This picture was taken at Reno Air Show in 2006.

This is the Bartini Beriev VVA-14, a bulky Soviet amphibious aircraft whose twin engines were mounted on the rear of the fuselage.

As it rumbled down the runway it always looked unlikely that it would ever be able to take to the air.

The last aircraft was retired in 1972 and is in a museum in Russia.

It was intended to be developed into a vertical take-off aircraft.

Size doesn't always matter, as the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation XF-85 Goblin showed.

It is the smallest jet-propelled fighter ever built, and was used as a 'parasite' designed to be carried by a B-36 bomber.

What the Proteus lacks in speed, it makes up for in its ability to fly at extreme altitudes.

Flat-out it can reach 300mph, but can soar to over 60,000 feet and maintain that lofty position for more than 18hrs.

The Boeing Dreamlifter, which made its first flight in 2006, is a modified 747-400 and is designed to transport huge plane sections in its expanded fuselage.

It is one of the biggest cargo planes in the world.

Explorers on the beat, if I have one I will be considered as an owner of a private plane

Explorers:
This is the Bartini Beriev VVA-14, a bulky Soviet amphibious aircraft whose twin engines were mounted on the rear of the fuselage.

As it rumbled down the runway it always looked unlikely that it would ever be able to take to the air.

The last aircraft was retired in 1972 and is in a museum in Russia.

It was intended to be developed into a vertical take-off aircraft.

It looks sad

This is German engineer Alexander Lippisch's Aerodyne, a wingless plane powered by two propellers built in 1972.

However, the concept never took off because of a lack of interest from the German Army.

The four-engined, dual-fuselage Virgin Galactic Scaled Composites White Knight Two can fly to a heady 50,000ft and is used to lift the company's SpaceShipTwo spacecraft to release altitude.

The X-15 is little more than a rocket with a cockpit just large enough for a pilot.

It was developed in the 1960s and broke all kinds of speed and altitude records.

It was even able to reach the edge of space, fly above radar, bringing back valuable research information for scientists at NASA.

It is also one of the few aircraft that was able to bring its pilots more than 50 miles high, earning them astronaut status.

Mil V-12.


Even though there were only two prototypes of this plane built in the late 1960s, it remains to this day as the largest helicopter evercreated.

The helicopter raised eyebrows among engineers when it was first unveiled, and it was issued a number of awards and is the holder of several world records.

By the time the helicopter was ready for production, more efficient alternatives had been developed, and the project was discontinued.

Clear road!!!! Ope o. Explorers don come again

na wa ooo.....make sense

This heavy transport flying boat is the largest flying boat ever built, and has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in history with span exceeding the length of a football field.

It is currently housed in Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, USA.

Super Guppy.



This alien-face plane is a large, wide-bodied cargo aircraft used for ferrying outsized cargo components. 5 of the type were built and are still in operation today.

Kalinin K-7.



Designed by Soviet Union during the 2nd World War, this monster aircraft, also known as the Russian flying fortress, was a heavy experimental aircraft tested in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s.

This flying fortress had a wingspan of 53 meters.

Wonders shall never end, Africa own witch craft is the best

Strange aircraft design indeed

glory land soon......

Explorer abeg, I will love to see the best ever created in Nigeria and Africa at large....


just can't wait for it

meanwhile lemme take my garri with this kulikuli while I siddon to enjoy another one(in dj khaled voice) from the staples of Explorer intl

My oga explorer.... If I no see beluga Airbus.... List no complete.... Though it's looking like super gupy....

Gbagbe Oshi!!!

Educating. As always.

"Aircraft" requires no "s" in plural form. It is still "aircraft" - - both in singular and plural forms.

Lalasticlala....
Front-page things
Projectshamba.com

more grease to your pen Mr Explorer. I always love your threads, very insightful, informative and educative.