VZ-9 Avrocar
The aerospace industry has improved tremendously over the last century, making air transportation reasonable for people across the globe. In 2016 alone, U.S. airlines accumulated $660 billion in revenue just on passenger miles! So you can only imagine what aerospace engineers have done over the years with that extra revenue.
Whether the motivation is for a functional purpose, economic factors, or simply for pure enjoyment, mankind has created a countless number of absurd aircraft! We’ve brought all of the most bizarre onto a list of the world’s strangest aircraft, some may leave you dumb-founded!
This UFO-like aircraft was a VTOL aircraft developed by Avro Canada as part of a secret U.S. military project during the early years of the Cold War. It has a, not too impressive top speed of 35 mph, a range of nearly 80 miles, weighs 3,000 lbs with a length of 18.04'.
Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit
It's engine is a Teledyne CAE J69 and its first flight took off on November 12th, 1959. This has got to be one of the weirdest aircraft known to mankind!
The American aircraft, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is a heavy penetration strategic bomber, decked out with stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses. This notorious aircraft can move both conventional and thermonuclear weapons, as we all know them as nuclear bombs. The B-2 created quite the controversy with US Congress because of it's capital and operating costs, however it is the only aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.
De Lackner HZ-1 Aerocycle
It has a top speed of 628 mph, a wingspan of 172' and cost $737,000,000 back in 1997 to build just one vessel! Currently, there are 21 B-2's built and the aircraft is still in service.
This one man "personal helicopter" was developed by de Lackner Helicopters in 1954 for the US Army. It can also be known by the name of YHO-2. It was designed by Lewis C.
Super Guppy-The Largest Aircraft In the World!
McCarty Jr and was intended to be operated by inexperienced pilots, however the aircraft actually was more difficult to operate than intended. There were only 12 of these YHO-2' ever built, with a max speed of 75 mph and a range of 15 miles.
Though it looks more like a massive whale than an aircraft, the Guppy is the most useful plane in NASA's fleet. It is used to haul extremely large cargo across the globe.
NASA-Hyper-III
It is 144' long with a wingspan of 156′ 0." With a massive weight of 101,500 lbs, the aircraft travels at impressive top speed of 288 mph with a turbo prop engine. It is still in use after 55 years because of it's size, allowing for cargo up 20 feet tall to be stored inside, with a max weight capacity of 52,000 pounds!
The NASA Hyper III was designed and built at the NASA Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. It has a top speed of 172 mph, a wingspan of 15'0" with a length of 32'.
Boeing X-32
It's first flight documented was December 12th, 1969. Dale Read of NASA was responsible for the design of the stick-like aircraft.
The Boeing-X32 was quite the ugly duckling, and ultimately fell short performance wise compared to the X-35. It was a concept demonstrator aircraft mainly used by DARPA in the Joint Strike Fighter contest back in 2000. It had a wingspan of 36 feet and top speed of 1,200 mph at altitude.
SR-91 Also Known As The 'Aurora'
The SR-91 was designed in 1980 and never approved by the US government, so what you are seeing is an "artists rendition"of the aircraft.
Lockhead Martin P-791
There have been many claims from the US to Britain, who have allegedly seen the aircraft take off- who knows if this really a myth?
Lockheed Martin's Hybrid Air Craft is crafted to transport troops and move extremely large equipment, such as tanks, helicopters and 200-300 freight containers at a time.
Jet-Powered Wing Suit
The airship can be used as an unmanned or manned, known for being an an eye in the sky as it is loaded with cameras, and the latest communication technology. The incredible airship can stay in the sky for up to three weeks at an altitude of 20,000 feet!
Talk about the future!
You may have seen this incredible new wing-suit created By Breitling Jets when it first came out in 2011, since then many versions have been created to immitate this one of a kind aircraft.