Samee Ulhaq
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1- North American XB-70 Valkyrie
This is hands down, one of my favorite aircraft ever, the Valkyrie was a massive, mach 3 strategic bomber. The XB-70 cruised at 1988mph, its top speed was 2056mph with a flight ceiling of 74,000 feet. The tips of the wing are variable geometry and can be tilted down to control compression lift for high speed stability. The Valkyrie first flew in 1964, and I think like the Blackbird, it still looks incredibly futuristic.
Only 2 were built, and one was lost in June 66 in a midair collision with an F104, sadly killing pilots Joe Walker & Carl Cross. The Valkyrie was later canceled due in Soviet surface-to-air missile advances, and advances in our own ballistic missile programs. The only remaining aircraft is still on display at Wright-Patterson AFB, it's an awesome sight.
2- Convair NB-36H
What if your aircraft's time between refuelings was measured in years instead of hours? Well, the was the idea behind the NB-36H, a heavily modified crusader bomber built to carry a nuclear reactor. It flew in a series of feasibility studies to see if you could carry a reactor and safely shield the crew from radiation. The reactor was never used to power the engines or other aircraft systems. The project was canceled in part because no suitable engine was ever developed that didn't spew radiation, and no one ever designed a crash or shoot-down safe reactor. While the NB-36H proved you could fly around with an active fission reactor, common sense says it's a terrible, but neat, idea.
3. Convair F2Y Sea Dart
The Sea Dart was, in truth, junk. However, it is the only recorded supersonic seaplane. Looking to answer the Navy's need for a supersonic fighter, engineers modified a F106 Delta Dart and fitted it with skis. The engines were under powered and the extra drag from the modifications to make it float, take off and land on water meant the Sea Dart only hit supersonic in a shallow dive.
4. Antonov An-225 Mriya
This beast was built to haul the Soviet Buran shuttle around. The 6 massive engines and wing design give it a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tons, compared to the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy at 420 tons, and the Boeing 747 at 485 tons. It holds most of the world records for payload weight, and its cargo bay is longer than the Wright brothers' first flight.
5. Sukhoi Su-47
Striking appearance, thrust vectoring, and amazing agility, I have to call this Flanker variant 'neat.' While only one was built, this is the plane I think of when I think of swept-forward wings, not the X-29 or Ju 287.
6. English Electric Lightning
Jeremy Clarkson famously put one of these in his garden, but the Lightning has many other claims to fame. It was flown by both The Tigers and The Firebirds RAF aerial display teams. The Lightning's combination speed and agility were arguably unmatched when it first flew. The stagger-stacked engine layout is unique to the Lightning, and provide the power to reach Mach 2, a climb rate of 20,000 feet per minute, and a zoom height of 70,000 feet. It was an interceptor to be feared by MiGs and Bears for more than 2 decades.
7. North American X-15
This missile-with-a-man holds the speed record for a manned, powered aircraft a 4,520 mph or Mach 6.72. Dropped from a B-52 mothership, the X-15 fired up a rocket producing 57,000 pounds of thrust blasted the aircraft up at 60,000 feet per minute to a dizzying 354,330 feet. Eight pilots earned their "astronaut status" by exceeding the US Air Force's 50 mile height as the limit of space on X-15 flights.
8. Lun Class ekranoplan
This could be disqualified as it is technically not an aircraft, but it flies and it's neat. The 8 massive engines allow this 418-ton behemoth to 'fly' on the ground effect principle, up to a height of about 5 meters, and reach a speed of 550 kph, or 340 mph. It was designed mostly for coastal defense, search & rescue, and anti-shipping. The Lun carried 6 missiles and had 2 twin 23mm cannon turrets. The Lun's NATO reporting name was Duck, and with only one built, it is the ugly duckling.
Thumbs up to all the other great aircraft & Comments!
This is hands down, one of my favorite aircraft ever, the Valkyrie was a massive, mach 3 strategic bomber. The XB-70 cruised at 1988mph, its top speed was 2056mph with a flight ceiling of 74,000 feet. The tips of the wing are variable geometry and can be tilted down to control compression lift for high speed stability. The Valkyrie first flew in 1964, and I think like the Blackbird, it still looks incredibly futuristic.
Only 2 were built, and one was lost in June 66 in a midair collision with an F104, sadly killing pilots Joe Walker & Carl Cross. The Valkyrie was later canceled due in Soviet surface-to-air missile advances, and advances in our own ballistic missile programs. The only remaining aircraft is still on display at Wright-Patterson AFB, it's an awesome sight.
2- Convair NB-36H
What if your aircraft's time between refuelings was measured in years instead of hours? Well, the was the idea behind the NB-36H, a heavily modified crusader bomber built to carry a nuclear reactor. It flew in a series of feasibility studies to see if you could carry a reactor and safely shield the crew from radiation. The reactor was never used to power the engines or other aircraft systems. The project was canceled in part because no suitable engine was ever developed that didn't spew radiation, and no one ever designed a crash or shoot-down safe reactor. While the NB-36H proved you could fly around with an active fission reactor, common sense says it's a terrible, but neat, idea.
3. Convair F2Y Sea Dart
The Sea Dart was, in truth, junk. However, it is the only recorded supersonic seaplane. Looking to answer the Navy's need for a supersonic fighter, engineers modified a F106 Delta Dart and fitted it with skis. The engines were under powered and the extra drag from the modifications to make it float, take off and land on water meant the Sea Dart only hit supersonic in a shallow dive.
4. Antonov An-225 Mriya
This beast was built to haul the Soviet Buran shuttle around. The 6 massive engines and wing design give it a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tons, compared to the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy at 420 tons, and the Boeing 747 at 485 tons. It holds most of the world records for payload weight, and its cargo bay is longer than the Wright brothers' first flight.
5. Sukhoi Su-47
Striking appearance, thrust vectoring, and amazing agility, I have to call this Flanker variant 'neat.' While only one was built, this is the plane I think of when I think of swept-forward wings, not the X-29 or Ju 287.
6. English Electric Lightning
Jeremy Clarkson famously put one of these in his garden, but the Lightning has many other claims to fame. It was flown by both The Tigers and The Firebirds RAF aerial display teams. The Lightning's combination speed and agility were arguably unmatched when it first flew. The stagger-stacked engine layout is unique to the Lightning, and provide the power to reach Mach 2, a climb rate of 20,000 feet per minute, and a zoom height of 70,000 feet. It was an interceptor to be feared by MiGs and Bears for more than 2 decades.
7. North American X-15
This missile-with-a-man holds the speed record for a manned, powered aircraft a 4,520 mph or Mach 6.72. Dropped from a B-52 mothership, the X-15 fired up a rocket producing 57,000 pounds of thrust blasted the aircraft up at 60,000 feet per minute to a dizzying 354,330 feet. Eight pilots earned their "astronaut status" by exceeding the US Air Force's 50 mile height as the limit of space on X-15 flights.
8. Lun Class ekranoplan
This could be disqualified as it is technically not an aircraft, but it flies and it's neat. The 8 massive engines allow this 418-ton behemoth to 'fly' on the ground effect principle, up to a height of about 5 meters, and reach a speed of 550 kph, or 340 mph. It was designed mostly for coastal defense, search & rescue, and anti-shipping. The Lun carried 6 missiles and had 2 twin 23mm cannon turrets. The Lun's NATO reporting name was Duck, and with only one built, it is the ugly duckling.
Thumbs up to all the other great aircraft & Comments!
