Oddball, Experimental, or One-off

[red750]

The Beechcraft XA-38 "Grizzly" was a World War II-era ground attack aircraft, developed by Beechcraft, but never put into production. The Grizzly was to have been fitted with a forward-firing 75 mm cannon to penetrate heavily armored targets.

 

While the first prototype flew on 7 May 1944, testing established that the type would not be ready for the projected invasion of Japan. It also featured the Wright R-3350 engines already in use with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress—which had priority. Consequently, the XA-38 was canceled after a second prototype had been completed.

 

The United States Army Air Forces awarded the Beech Aircraft Corporation a contract in December 1942 for two prototypes for their Model 28 "Destroyer". Initially the Model 28 had been a bomber-destroyer design but shifted[citation needed] to give a powerful ground attack aircraft to replace the Douglas A-20 Havoc, with the ability to hit "hardened" targets like tanks and bunkers and to attack coastal shipping. This capability was achieved through a 75 mm cannon with 20 rounds, mounted in a fixed position on the nose as well as two .50 cal (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns firing forward. Defensive armament consisted of remotely controlled ventral and dorsal turrets, each armed with twin .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns. There were to be two crew members, a pilot and an observer/gunner in the rear cabin, using periscope sights to aim the guns.

 

[red750]

This is an odd one. The photo was posted on Facebook. It is a Cessna Caravan with two engines and bears the title Twin Caravan on the fin. It differs from the SkyCourier in that it has rectangular windows and the horizontal stabiliser is below the fin rather than the top. The Caravan II is a low wing aircraft, and I cannot locate any details on the internet regarding a Twin Caravan. I imagine it is a private development. If you find any details, please DM me.

 

[red750]

The Piper PA-32-3M was experimental modification of a Cherokee Six, adding an engine to each wing, making it a trimotor. The only notes on it that I can find is this reference in the variants of the Cherokee Six.

PA-32-3M

"PA-32 prototype modified as a three-engined aircraft with two 115-hp Lycoming O-235 engines fitted to the wings, for development of the PA-34 Seneca"

 

[red750]

The Yakovlev Yak-200 was a prototype Soviet multi-engine trainer built during the 1950s. A modified version was built as the Yak-210 for navigator training, but only one example of each was built before the program was cancelled in 1956.

 

[red750]

The Northrop Grumman Firebird is an intelligence gathering aircraft designed by Northrop Grumman's subsidiary Scaled Composites which can be flown remotely or by a pilot. At Scaled, it is known as the Model 355. It was unveiled on May 9, 2011. It was first flown in February 2010 and is considered to be an optionally piloted vehicle (OPV).

 

In April 2022, Northrop Grumman announced it had suspended production of the Firebird, having failed to secure any export customers for the aircraft. However, company representatives left open the possibility of future production, stating that the aircraft would "remain available for interested customers." Only one had been built.

 

 

[red750]

The Boeing Skyfox is an American twin-engined jet trainer aircraft, a highly upgraded development of the Lockheed T-33. It was designed as a primary trainer to compete with and replace the Cessna T-37 Tweet. Besides its primary role as a trainer, the aircraft was envisioned to have other roles as well, including ground attack. The program was started by the Skyfox Corporation in 1983, and was acquired by Boeing in 1986.

 

The program included the replacement of the Allison J33-A-35 turbojet by two Garrett TFE731-3A turbofans. It also included an extensive redesign of the airframe. Only one prototype aircraft was built, and the program was later canceled due to lack of customers.

 

 

[Red]

On 29/04/2024 at 11:12 PM, red750 said:

This is an odd one. The photo was posted on Facebook. It is a Cessna Caravan with two engines and bears the title Twin Caravan on the fin. It differs from the SkyCourier in that it has rectangular windows and the horizontal stabiliser is below the fin rather than the top. The Caravan II is a low wing aircraft, and I cannot locate any details on the internet regarding a Twin Caravan. I imagine it is a private development. If you find any details, please DM me.

 

Thats a not very well done Photoshop

[red750]

The Lockheed CL-760 LARA, standing for Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft, was conceived in the 1960s, this aircraft was Lockheed’s answer to the U.S. Army’s need for a novel kind of light tactical aircraft.

 

It was envisioned to fulfill multiple roles such as reconnaissance, close air support, and interdiction missions. The CL-760 project serves as a testament to the advancement of military aviation technology and strategies during the Cold War period, as well as showcasing Lockheed’s capacity for innovative aircraft design.

 

The 1960s were a period of rapid advancement in military aviation technology, fueled by the tensions of the Cold War. The United States military, particularly the Army, sought to enhance its tactical capabilities with aircraft that could provide close support to ground troops, perform reconnaissance, and engage in light strike missions. This period saw the development of several aircraft designed to fulfill similar roles, such as the OV-10 Bronco and the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly.

 

The CL-760 lost out to the OV-10 Bronco.

 

[skippydiesel]

Probably a great deal larger than the RAA level aircraft it looks like.😈

[facthunter]

Hasn't got a lot of wing but most of it is blown  by the propwash. They haven't bothered to contra rotate the Props either.   Nev

[red750]

Illustration of capacity of CL-760.

 

[red750]

The Horten H.XIII was an experimental flying wing aircraft designed by the Horten brothers during World War II.

 

The H.XIIIa was an unpowered glider with wings swept backwards at 60°. It was a technology demonstrator to examine the low speed handling of highly swept wings, for the development of a jet fighter which was expected to exceed Mach 1, the H.XIIIb. The small bit in the centre of the trailing edge is the cockpit.

 

[red750]

The Convair YB-60 was a prototype heavy bomber built by Convair for the United States Air Force in the early 1950s. It was a purely jet-powered development of Convair's earlier mixed-power B-36 Peacemaker.

 

On 25 August 1950, Convair issued a formal proposal for a swept-winged version of the B-36 with all-jet propulsion. The Air Force was sufficiently interested that on 15 March 1951, it authorized Convair to convert two B-36Fs (49-2676 and 49-2684) as the B-36G. Since the aircraft was so radically different from the existing B-36, the designation was soon changed to YB-60.

 

The YB-60 had 72% parts commonality with its piston-engined predecessor. The fuselages of the two aircraft were largely identical although the radar and bombing systems were located in a removable nose section as a result of the poor reliability of the B-36 installation. For initial flight testing a more streamlined nose with an instrumented boom was fitted; a wedge-shaped insert was added just outboard of the main landing gear to increase wing sweep and the tail surfaces were swept to match. The swept wings also used many B-36 parts. A steerable tail wheel was added to prevent the aircraft tipping backwards. It was not necessarily extended when on the ground but depended on how the aircraft was loaded.

 

Convair YB-60 serial number 49-2676 made its maiden flight on 18 April 1952, piloted by Beryl Erickson. The Boeing YB-52 beat the Convair aircraft into the air by three days. The YB-60 was approximately 100 mph (160 km/h) slower than the YB-52 and also had significant handling problems, due to its controls having been designed for slower operating speeds. It did carry a heavier bomb load — 72,000 lb (33,000 kg) against 43,000 lb (20,000 kg) for the YB-52 — but the Air Force did not see the need for the extra capacity, given the YB-60's other drawbacks. Later, "big belly" modifications increased the B-52's bomb load to 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg). The flight test programs were canceled on 20 January 1953, with 66 flying hours accumulated. The second prototype was nearing completion but its engines had not been installed and other equipment installations had not been completed. Since Convair completed their prototype contract satisfactorily, both YB-60s were formally accepted by the Air Force in 1954. The operational aircraft never flew again, and both airframes were scrapped by July.

 

 

[red750]

The Fairchild Dornier 728/928 family was a series of jet-powered regional airliners that was being developed by German-American aviation conglomerate Fairchild Dornier.

 

It was a relatively ambitious bid to develop a group of aircraft that would have seated between 50 and 110 passengers, supplementing the existing 328JET series, a smaller regional jet. The 728/928 family is a monoplane design with fixed wings in low wing configuration and two engines mounted under the wings. It has a retractable undercarriage (or landing gear) in tricycle configuration. On 21 March 2002, the roll-out of the first 728 took place. The company planned its maiden flight to occur during the summer of 2002 and for deliveries to commence during mid-2003 to the launch customer Lufthansa Cityline.

 

During July 2003, D'Long International Strategic Investment Group of Xinjiang, China showed an interest in purchasing a stake the project. A new entity, Fairchild Dornier Aeroindustries, was formed with the aim of completing development of the aircraft, however, this company also filed for bankruptcy during 2004. During this brief revival, no additional aircraft were produced, although structural tests in Dresden were commenced during 2003.

Number built    3 prototypes built to various stages of completion

 

928
Planned to follow the 728 into service, the 928 had a stretched fuselage that would have enabled the aircraft to achieve a passenger capacity of 95 to 110 seats. The first flight was scheduled for late 2003 with entry into service in 2005. The 928 featured an increased wing span and more powerful GE CF-34-10 engines. A 928-100 version, as well as a 928-200 version that had an increased maximum takeoff weight (MTOW), was planned.

 

 

[red750]

The SIPA S.300 was a French turbojet-powered basic trainer, claimed to be the first of its kind anywhere. Only one was built, the prototype crashed after a year of development.

 

[red750]

The Heinkel He 118 was a prototype German monoplane dive bomber design that lost out to the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka in the 1930s, and was never ordered by the Luftwaffe.

 

 

 

 

 

[red750]

The Abrams P-1 Explorer was an American purpose-designed aerial photography and survey aircraft that first flew in November 1937.

 

The Explorer was designed by aerial survey pioneer Talbert Abrams, to meet his needs for a stable aircraft with excellent visibility for his work. Abrams was an early aerial photographer in World War I. He used a Curtiss Jenny post-war, forming ABC airlines. In 1923, Abrams founded Abrams Aerial Survey Company and in 1937, Abrams Aircraft Corporation to build the specialized P-1 aircraft. Only 1 built.

 

For more details, click here.

 

 

 

[red750]

The Hirsch or Hirsch-MAéRC H.100 is an experimental aircraft, built in France in the 1950s to test an aerodynamic gust suppression system. The system worked but was not further developed.

 

René Hirsch had been working on aerodynamic methods that would stabilize an aircraft meeting a gust since 1936 and had set up a company to this end, Moyens aérodynamiques de regulation et de contrôle (MAéRC) (English: Aerodynamic means of regulation and control). Making its first flight on 15 June 1954, the H.100 incorporated the results of his research[1] but was MAéRC's only aircraft.

 

Control systems apart, the H.100 was a fairly conventional twin engine, wooden aircraft, with a cantilever low wing of trapezoidal plan. The fuselage was strikingly clean aerodynamically, with only gradual changes of cross-section from nose to tail. Behind the pilot's transparency there were three starboard and two port side windows. The horizontal surfaces, mounted on top of the fuselage, had both a high aspect ratio and marked dihedral. Originally the vertical tail was rounded and quite small but during development a large, straight tapered ventral fin was added.

 

The H.100 had a tall, rearward retracting tricycle undercarriage. The main legs retracted into extensions of the engine fairings beyond the wing trailing edge.

 

[red750]

The Potez 75 was a low-cost, simple, ground-support, observation and launch aircraft for anti-tank missiles, designed and built in the early 1950s, for use in colonial conflicts. One hundred and fifteen were ordered in 1956, but cancelled in 1957. Only the prototype was built.

 

The Potez 75 was developed by the reformed Potez Company which had originally been founded by Henry Potez in 1919. The type was designed to meet the requirement for a launching platform for Nord SS.10 wire-guided anti-tank missiles. It was of all-metal construction, with a pusher engine. The twin fins and tailplane were carried on two booms extending from the lower rear fuselage and it was fitted with a fixed tricycle undercarriage. The missile operator sat in the nose, behind which was a small upper cabin accommodating the pilot Initially the operator's cabin had windows and the pilot's position was open, but later modifications enclosed the latter and provided the operator with better visibility by full glazing. Exhibited at the May 1957 Paris Air Show, the prototype was subsequently used as a liaison aircraft and scrapped after crash landing on 16 September 1958.

 

[red750]

The Caproni Campini N.1, also known as the C.C.2, is an experimental jet aircraft built in the 1930s by Italian aircraft manufacturer Caproni. The N.1 first flew in 1940 and was briefly regarded as the first successful jet-powered aircraft in history, before news emerged of the German Heinkel He 178's first flight a year earlier.

 

During 1931, Italian aeronautics engineer Secondo Campini submitted his studies on jet propulsion, including a proposal for a so-called thermo-jet to power an aircraft. Following a high-profile demonstration of a jet-powered boat in Venice, Campini was rewarded with an initial contract issued by the Italian government to develop and manufacture his proposed engine. During 1934, the Regia Aeronautica (the Italian Air Force) granted its approval to proceed with the production of a pair of jet-powered prototype aircraft. To produce this aircraft, which was officially designated as the N.1, Campini formed an arrangement with the larger Caproni aviation manufacturer.

 

The N.1 is powered by a motorjet, a type of jet engine in which the compressor is driven by a conventional reciprocating engine. On 27 August 1940, the first flight of the N.1 took place at the Caproni facility in Taliedo, outside of Milan, flown by Mario de Bernardi.

 

The N.1 achieved mixed results; while it was perceived and commended as a crucial milestone in aviation (until the revelation of the He 178's earlier flight), the performance of the aircraft was unimpressive. Specifically, it was slower than many existing conventional aircraft of the era, while the motorjet engine was incapable of producing sufficient thrust to deliver adequate performance for a fighter aircraft. As such, the N.1 programme never led to any operational combat aircraft, and the motorjet design was soon superseded by more powerful turbojets. Only one of the two examples of the N.1 to have been constructed has survived to the present day.

 

 

[red750]

The XCG-16 was a military transport/assault glider ordered by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), from General Airborne Transport Co., for competition against the Waco CG-13A at Wright Field. The XCG-16’s preferred tow aircraft was the Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar.

 

Design of the CG-16 evolved from the lifting fuselage theories of Vincent Burnelli laid out in U.S. Patent No. 1,758,498, issued on 13 May 1930, which advocated the use of "lifting fuselages" providing a high proportion of the total lift. To enter a competition at Wright Field for a new assault glider for the USAAF, Hawley Bowlus and Albert Criz designed a Burnelli style lifting fuselage assault glider as the Bowlus-Criz MC-1.

 

To prove the concept and aerodynamic qualities Bowlus designed a 1:2 scale prototype, which flew successfully. The flight tests of the 1:2 scale MC-1 maintained confidence in the full-sized glider.

 

A contract for three MC-1 gliders, two flyable and one for static testing, was given to the Airborne and General aircraft company, which had been formed by Bowlus and Criz. This company soon transformed into the General Airborne Transport company, which built the full sized MC-1 gliders with the military designation XCG-16.

 

 

[red750]

The Model 73 "Jet Mentor" was Beechcraft's design for the concept the U.S. Air Force and (to a lesser extent) U.S. Navy espoused in the mid-to-late 1950s: that pilot trainees could be given their entire training syllabus, from first flight to operational service, without ever setting foot in a propeller-driven aircraft. It was heavily based on the existing, piston-engined T-34 Mentor primary trainer, with a new forwards fuselage, canopy, and wing-root air intakes for the jet.

 

Both services evaluated the Model 73; the Air Force selected the Cessna T-37 for the requirement; the Navy chose instead the Temco TT-1 Pinto . The Navy quickly came to its senses, retired the TT-1s after a year due to their being underpowered dogs, and went back to a standard "start them in props, graduate to jets" course; the Air Force took longer but finally realised starting pilots in jets was a little bit of a bad idea and bought Cessna 172s.

 

[facthunter]

I recall trying to give a "Tiger Moth" conversion to a pilot who had never flown anything but  single engined Jets. Never finished it and gave up at 15 hours. Every now and again he'd just not use his feet at all and I'd have to put everything in the corner to save writing the Moth Off. on the go around. Nev

Edited June 22 by facthunter
more content.

[red750]

The KhAI-24 was designed by students of the Kharkiv Aviation Institute for an Estonian Ministry for the Energy Industry competition for a light autogyro for power cable inspection. The two-seat autogyro had an enclosed cabin and a tricycle landing gear, it was powered by a 115 hp (86 kW) Walter M332 aircraft engine driving a tractor configuration two-bladed propeller. A three-bladed rotor was fitted above the cabin. A full-scale model was displayed in 1966 in Moscow and the autogyro was tested in 1967 but nothing else is known.

 

[red750]

The Kayaba Heliplane Type-1  was a gyrodyne (compound autogyro) designed by Shiro Kayaba and prototyped by Kayaba Industry in Japan during the early 1950s.

 

In March 1952, Kayaba Industry began the development of the Heliplane, a Gyrodyne, which combines the advantages of autogyro and helicopter. Kayaba took advantage of experience producing the Ka-Go Ka-1 and Ka-2 autogyros, intended for reconnaissance, artillery-spotting and anti-submarine use, developed during World War II.

 

Kayaba received a subsidy of 2 million yen from the government of Japan for the development of the aircraft, as well as 1.2 million yen from Ishikawajima Heavy Industries (IHI) for development of the rotor-tip ramjets. The aircraft was modified from Cessna 170B. The wing was removed, and a three-blade main rotor with support structure was installed on the upper part of the fuselage. In addition, short-span fixed wings were fitted to either side of the lower fuselage. For initial testing the fixed pitch wooden propeller of the Cessna 170 was retained, but a 3-bladed variable-pitch propeller was to be fitted for flight testing. Ishikawajima had developed the Ne-0  ramjet during the war and tested it in flight beneath a Kawasaki Ki-48-II. A development of this ramjet was envisaged as the power source for the rotor drive. At takeoff, the rotor was to be started using the tip mounted ramjet engines, then transition to an autogyro powered by the propeller engine after the ramjets were stopped.

 

One prototype unit was produced and almost completed in March 1954 (Showa 29), but was damaged in July 1954 during tie-down testing. Further development was cancelled before the aircraft was flown.