Bizarre Aircrafts (28 Pics)

The Caspian Sea Monster

The Caspian Sea Monster, also known as the "Kaspian Monster", was an experimental ekranoplan, developed at the design bureau of Rostislav Alexeyev in 1966.

Stipa-Caproni

Stipa-Caproni, an experimental Italian aircraft with a barrel-shaped fuselage (1932).

Blohm & Voss BV 141

Blohm & Voss BV 141, a World War II German tactical reconnaissance aircraft, notable for its uncommon structural asymmetry.

Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster

Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster, an experimental bomber aircraft, designed to have a very high top speed (1944).

Libellula

Libellula, a tandem-winged and twin-engined British experimental plane which gives the pilot an excellent view for landing on aircraft carriers (1945).

North American XF-82

North American XF-82. Stitch together two P-51 Mustangs, and you get this long-range escort fighter (1946). Photo: U.S. Air Force

Northrop XB-35

Northrop XB-35, an experimental flying wing heavy bomber developed for the United States Army Air Forces during and shortly after World War II. Photo: U.S. Air Force

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin, an American prototype jet fighter, intended to be deployed from the bomb bay of the Convair B-36 (1948). Photo: U.S. Air Force

Martin XB-51

Martin XB-51, an American "tri-jet" ground attack aircraft. Note the unorthodox design: one engine at the tail, and two underneath the forward fuselage in pods (1949).

Douglas X-3 Stiletto

Douglas X-3 Stiletto, built to investigate the design features necessary for an aircraft to sustain supersonic speeds (1953 - 1956).

Lockheed XFV

Lockheed XFV, "The Salmon," an experimental tailsitter prototype escort fighter aircraft (1953).

De Lackner HZ-1 Aerocycle flying platform

De Lackner HZ-1 Aerocycle flying platform, designed to carry one soldier to reconnaissance missions (1954).

Snecma Flying Coleoptere (C-450)

Snecma Flying Coleoptere (C-450), a French experimental, annular wing aeroplane, propulsed by a turbo-reactor, able to take off and land vertically (1958).

Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar

Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar, a VTOL disk-shaped aircraft developed as part of a secret U.S. military project (1959).

HL-10

HL-10, one of five aircraft built in the Lifting Body Research Program of NASA (1966 - 1970).

Dornier Do 31

Dornier Do 31, a West German experimental VTOL tactical support transport aircraft (1967).

Alexander Lippisch's Aerodyne

Alexander Lippisch's Aerodyne, a wingless experimental aircraft. The propulsion was generated by two co-axial shrouded propellers (1968).

Vought V-173

Vought V-173, the "Flying Pancake", an American experimental fighter aircraft for the United States Navy (1942).

Hyper III

Hyper III, a full scale lifting body remotely piloted vehicle, built at the NASA Flight Research Center in 1969.

Bartini Beriev VVA-14

Bartini Beriev VVA-14, a Soviet vertical take-off amphibious aircraft (1970s).

Ames-Dryden (AD)-1 Oblique Wing

Ames-Dryden (AD)-1 Oblique Wing, a research aircraft designed to investigate the concept of a pivoting wing (1979 - 1982).

B377PG

B377PG - NASA's Super Guppy Turbine cargo plane, first flew in its outsized form in 1980.

X-29

X-29 forward swept wing jet plane, flown by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, as a technology demonstrator (1984 - 1992).

X-36 Tailless Fighter

X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft, a subscale prototype jet built by McDonnell Douglas for NASA (1996 - 1997).

Beriev Be-200 Seaplane

Beriev Be-200 Seaplane, a Russian multipurpose amphibious aircraft (1998).

Proteus

Proteus, a tandem-wing, twin-engine research aircraft, built by Scaled Composites in 1998.

Caproni Ca.60 Noviplano

The Caproni Ca.60 Noviplano was a nine-wing flying boat intended to be a prototype for a 100-passenger trans-atlantic airliner. It featured eight engines and three sets of triple wings. Two pontoons, mounted on each side, were intended to give the aircraft stability. Only one example of this aircraft was built by Caproni. The prototype only made one short flight on 4 March 1921 over Lake Maggiore in Italy. The aircraft attained an altitude of only 18 m (60 ft), then dived and crashed, breaking up on impact. The pilot escaped unscathed. Caproni had the wrecked airplane towed to shore, and announced that he would rebuild it, but that night it burned to ashes.

The Airbus A300-600ST

The Airbus A300-600ST (Super Transporter) or Beluga, is a version of the standard A300-600 wide-body airliner modified to carry aircraft parts and oversized cargo. It was officially called the Super Transporter at first, but the name Beluga became popular and has now been officially adopted.