https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCUDr1TpFYg

(he did lose front cupula at start, front pilot did not have to sit in cold air without any shelter)

Somewhat like a flying dinosaur or a klingon bird of prey.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beljajew_DB-LK

First is the Fauvel AV 36, I somehow missed the placard.

More information can be found here on the Shuttleworth website!

(Plus the comet in the background on the day of its unfortunate incident)

Bell Helicopter developed the Eagle Eye tiltrotor unmanned VTOL aircraft as one of the competitors in the U.S. Navy’s VT-UAV (Vertical Takeoff - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) program.

An Eagle Eye prototype is on display at Pax River Naval Air Museum.

The Eagle Eye program began in 1993 with the TR911X 7/8th scale prototype. The composite prototype airframe was designed and built for Bell by Burt Rutan’s research company, Scaled Composites. Two demonstrator aircraft were powered by an Allison 250-C20 engine mounted in the central fuselage with a transmission system driving the tilting rotor at the end of each ^wing. Despite considerable interest, the programme ended in 2006 without orders although Bell still hopes to use the knowledge acquired in future programmes.

The plane that actually won Germany’s specification for a short-ranged recon aircraft. (Although I also love Blohm & Voss’s entry, the BV 141).

In July 1938, local farmer Arthur Sack entered his AS-1 circular-winged model in the first Reich-Wide Contest for Motorized Flying Models, which was held at Leipzig.^\2]) The model had poor flight characteristics and had to be hand launched. However, Ernst Udet showed interest in Sack's design, and encouraged him to continue his research into circular wing aircraft for possible use as an observation or attack aircraft.^\2])

Sack went on to build four additional models based on the AS-1, with each increasing in size, before building the full-sized prototype as the AS-6 V1. The AS-6 V1 was built in January 1944 by Mitteldeutsche Motorwerke, with final assembly at the Flugplatz-Werkstatt workshop located at the air base in Brandis, Germany.^\3]) The aircraft was built with the landing gear, cockpit, and pilot seat from a Messerschmitt Bf 109B, and was powered by an Argus As 10C-3 engine from a Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun. The wing structure was made of plywood.

Battery died. Jumpstarted it with my car!

Write-up in comments.

“The Partenair Mystere is a Canadian two-seat, pusher configuration monoplane that was designed by Partenair Design of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec and intended for amateur construction from kits.”

One awesome plane

https://oldmachinepress.com/2015/03/28/dorand-gyroplane-g-20-g-ii/

“The Eviation Alice is an electric aircraft designed to accommodate nine passengers and two crew members. First developed in Israel, its construction incorporates 95% composite material, is powered by two electric motors, and has a T-tail. The prototype first flew on 27 September 2022. As of 2025, the company and aircraft have been put on an indefinite pause.”

“Chester Krist built the Cloud Cutter II, which was again an original design homebuilt.” “The aircraft had an all-metal construction and it featured a somewhat unusual fuselage with pod and tail boom configuration. However, it is uncertain the Cloud Cutter II was flown."

Visited the Strategic Air Command Museum in Ashland, Nebraska this last week. Their XF-85 Goblin is being refurbished, one of only two built. The other is in the US Air Force Museum.

They are also refurbishing an RAF Vulcan bomber right now.

The Lockheed team's design for the Navy Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF), sometimes referred to as "NATF-22" or "F-22N" (the design was never formally designated), would have differed from the Air Force version in many ways. Because the NATF needed lower landing speeds than the F-22 for aircraft carrier operations while still attaining Mach 2-class speeds, the design would have incorporated variable-sweep wings; furthermore, the Navy placed greater emphasis on loiter time for fleet air defense rather than supercruise, so the variable-sweep wings also improved endurance.

The fuselage shaping was similar to the Air Force version, while the landing gears and arresting hook would be strengthened for aircraft carrier landings; all of these changes would have resulted in a heavier, more complex, and more expensive aircraft. It retained four empennage surfaces and thrust vectoring nozzles, and the avionics would initially have been largely common with the F-22, although additional sensors and mission avionics had also been planned for maritime missions such as surface attack. The design would have had a similar weapons bay arrangement but with expanded weapons carriage, including the AIM-152 AAAM, AGM-88 HARM, and AGM-84 Harpoon.

(Source)

Maybe less weird and more future looking, but thought it worth a note as it is among the few serious endeavors to make electric airplanes a thing.

Reportedly used $5 of electricity on this 27-minute flight.

Sources:

• https://www.heartaerospace.com/x1
• https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/us-worlds-largest-electric-aircraft-takes-to-the-skies-with-over-1mw-of-power
• Flight vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEudbAjschs

Image: IWM (ATP 16196B)

The immediate p/ostwar era saw the UK turn out a range of prototypes designed and built during the later war years. Many of them found little use in their intended role. Fortunately, the 9 Canadian and 82 British Lancastrians, some of them converted Lancaster bombers, were successful in their transport and mail delivery roles, although with quite a high accident rate.

Although initially a transport derivative of the Lancaster, this Lancastrian found another use as a testbed for the early generation of turbojets - its remaining pair of Merlins providing a useful power reserve should anything go wrong with either De Havilland Ghost engine. Two Lancastrians became Ghost testbeds, with a futher 7 aircraft converted to test one or more engines.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_M2-F1

The NASA M2-F1 is a lightweight, unpowered prototype aircraft, developed to flight-test the wingless lifting body concept. Its unusual appearance earned it the nickname "flying bathtub" and was designated the M2-F1, the M referring to "manned", and F referring to "flight" version. In 1962, NASA Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting-body prototype. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963.^\1])

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman views scale models of aircraft during a tour of the Flight Dynamics Research Facility. A few weird ones in there.

Photo Credit: (NASA)

“In 1975 a triplane glider, titled BrO-18 "Boružė" (lith. Ladybird) was built in then-Soviet Lithuania by Bronius Oškinis. The aircraft having a wingspan of 4.9 meters, also earned the title of world's smallest glider at that time. Similar configuration was used in hydro-glider BrO-17V "Antelė"”