Airplanes have always fascinated everyone due to their sheer ability to make man feel like a bird and soar through the skies. While the field of aviation has undergone tremendous changes due to large scale research, the way our airplanes used to look has also changed over the period into something completely different!
There were some planes that were outright bizarre but were in fact built to prove a point in the aviation industry and help it grow even further. From inflatable planes to ones that look pregnant, these beasts don’t resemble the jets we are used to today even a bit. Here’s a look at some of the most outrageous and bizarre looking planes which never fail to amuse us, because of their sheer quirkiness.
1. The Ride of Your Dreams: De Lackener HZ-1 Aerocycle
For the Bond Villain in you
Made with the dual hope of single men resonance missions and making the coolest escape mechanism for every villain in town, this beauty crashed a few times, but the dream lives on.
2. Goodyear Inflatoplane: In Air, With Air
The Bouncy castle of planes
In 1950, tire and blimp maker Goodyear created a inflatable flyable plane as a prototype for the US. The project was sadly scrapped off, once the army realised that there won’t be much use for a plane that can simply be popped like a balloon with the help of a well aimed bow and arrow.
3. When The Stork Visits: The Pregnant Guppy
The mother of all bizarre planes
Sometimes you have to move awkwardly shaped cargo across the country and this is exactly what you’ll be able to fit it in. It was designed by the NASA to move components of the Apollo mission which led to the modification of a Boeing 377 and resulted in this weird looking flying machine.
4. Throw And Wait: Rutun Model 202 Boomerang
The twins of the family
This model was built for the sole purpose of support and power. Built in 1996, it ensured that the plane was still controllable even if one engine failed…but then why didn’t they just put two engines rather than two planes together..? We guess that’s a mystery better left unsolved.
5. Beware Spiderman: McDonnell XF-85 Goblin
The baby of the family
What now looks startling like a character in the movie ‘Planes’ was actually built after WWII as a so called “parasite fighter” meaning that it was built to be deployed in the bomb bay of a bigger aircraft but it was discontinued in the 1949 in favour of a different developing method. Regardless, this junior flying machine looks like it could conquer a few skies alone.
6. We (Air)ship it: Lockheed Martin P-791
Is that a UFO!
Built to combine the power of an aircraft and the bouyncy of a airship, this “plane” went on to prove that sometimes, the weirdest ideas can come true, and you can indeed have the best of both worlds (except that the outcome may just look like an alien object)!
This is also one of the very few planes in this list that are still being manufactured.
7. A Little To The Side: Blohm and Voss BV 141
This is a bold reminder to everyone out there that symmetry is not always necessary in the field of aviation. The WWII era plane had a few dozen models built and flown but we cannot really figure out the reason and thoughts behind such an interesting design.
8. Throw Some Shade: Nemuth Parasole
It comes with its own umbrella
In 1934, this was designed to demonstrate how circular wings help these machines fly too, though now, over time this design is used for spaceships. Its USP? Oh, it comes fitted with a device to ensure you get only minimally wet in the monsoons!
9. A Proper Propeller: The Aerodyne
What do you mean this thing flies?
What now resembles the modern day engine of a jet was actually designed as a standalone plane. It is beyond our comprehension how the engineers of this crazy plane even managed to get it off the ground, but Alexander Lippisch’s Aerodyne did indeed fly!
Did this blast from the past pique your curiosity? We know it did ours. Excuse us while we spend time googling images of vintage aircrafts!
