Odd Birds Post your favorite obscure plane

[Flying_Colander]

Before we overwhelm the generous Big Al's thread, we've moved our postings of ancient, antique and fossil dinosaur airplanes here:

 

 

[AndyJWest]

A small request: if you are going to post pictures of obscure aircraft, tell us what they are. I know Google image search is a thing, but it would save us a little time. (For those wondering, that's an Aero Ae-45. Very pretty).

 

As for my favourite 'obscure plane', I have several. Some which merit more attention...

 

(Burgess-Dunne tailless biplane seaplane, circa 1914.)

 

... and some which deserve all the obscurity they can get. I'll refrain from posting a photo of the Supermarine Nighthawk, as some people may be eating while reading the forum, and instead offer this monstrosity:

 

The strangely-named Beardmore Inflexible. A prototype bomber which unsurprisingly nobody considered worthy of putting into production, though it did find later use as a test-piece for investigation of corrosion. Basically, more useful on the ground than in the air. Quite an achievement.

[Legioneod]

So many to choose from but I'll give it a try. (my choices aren't really obscure or odd but I think they're interesting.)

 

My favorite aircraft are pre-war 1920-1930s this was a time where anything and everything was tried on aircraft and they came up with some interesting designs.

 

One of my favorite biplane fighters is the P-12

 

I live in a rural area so crop dusters are a big interest of mine, I would love to be an Ag-Pilot if I ever had the money for training and such.

 

Grumman Ag Cat

 

Probably the oddest looking aircraft I've seen but very interesting.

 

Super Guppy

[Flying_Colander]

Andy! I did forget to label my post. Thanks for catching it and adding to our cache of oddities. Both yours were new to me.

 

Legion, I love the P-12 too. I don't recognize the Ag but share your enthusiasm for hedging hopping in a biplane. And the Guppy is its shiny, tumorous self.

[MiloMorai]

 

The Polish PZL Belphegor agricultural aircraft, mid-1970s (the world’s only jet biplane, as far as I’m aware).

[busdriver]

Saw this today when I dropped in for a head call.

 

 

 

Morane-Saulnier 733 trainer. Data plate on the other side near the tailwheel shows it was built in 1956.

Edited April 19, 2019 by busdriver
aircraft info

[Motherbrain]

The A-8 Shrike. This is still one of my favorite airplanes. I'm still waiting for it to be properly depicted in any flight sim.

 

 

Another favorite of mine. The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy. I don't know why. I just think its a handsome looking tri-motor.

 

Edited April 19, 2019 by Motherbrain

[Flying_Colander]

Nice batch! That Morane-Saulnier 733 looks like a goblin shark.

 

Milo, great find on the jet powered bi-plane.

 

Mother Brain, the Shrike is lovely with its spats. The interwar planes were interesting. No longer motorized kites, not yet formalized aerodynamically.

 

 

[Dakpilot]

Nice thread! 

 

Am sure I will rustle up some when time permits

 

Cheers, Dakpilot 

[Feathered_IV]

Nice choice on the Argosy MB. 

 

I would kick things off with the Handley Page Heyford.  British interwar aircraft fascinate me.

 

[sallee]

Heyford and Hendon are favourites of mine. I have a Matchbox Heyford in the stash. When it comes to beautiful interwar British aircraft though...I give you the Blackburn Blackburn...so good they named it twice.

[Rjel]

 

 

I think this is one of the nicest looking Curtiss built airplanes of WWII, the AT-9 Jeep. It has a very sleek look to me.

 

[Feathered_IV]

Nice one Sallee!  I'd forgotten about that one. Cant imagine what it would be like to try and land one on a carrier. 

 

At the risk of getting a reputation as an HP fanboy (or rather, getting found out) I would also present the HP.47 

 

[Jaws2002]

I love the mosquito looking PZL-104 Wilga. 

 

Sadly,  EADS/Airbus, killed the production and potential market after it bought the company, despite the strong interest in the aircraft on the North American market.. 

 Such a cool little bird. 

 

[sallee]

That HP47 looks like a baby Hampden.

I just love the idea of a jet-powered biplane, Milo.?

[NETSCAPE]

[6FG_Big_Al]

This is the sweet little Amiot 370. I love the design. 

 

 

 

[Blooddawn1942]

DFW Floh

 

 

[Flying_Colander]

That Amiot precedes these Bugatti lines:

 

 

[Finkeren]

From WW1 it's probably the Austro-Hungarian Lloyd 40.05 recon/scout (yes, this is a fighter aircraft)

 

[Tyberan]

On 4/22/2019 at 12:54 AM, Jaws2002 said:

I love the mosquito looking PZL-104 Wilga. 

 

Sadly,  EADS/Airbus, killed the production and potential market after it bought the company, despite the strong interest in the aircraft on the North American market.. 

 Such a cool little bird. 

 

 

pfft 

 

turboprop wilga

 

 

The americans were just as good as the british with commitee designed planes interwars

 

behold the wittemann lewis NBL1 Barling Bomber. 

 

[AndyJWest]

4 hours ago, Finkeren said:

From WW1 it's probably the Austro-Hungarian Lloyd 40.05 recon/scout (yes, this is a fighter aircraft)

 

One thing not readily apparent from the photo you've posted is that this is a two seater. With the gunner sitting in front, in a turret over the top wing, and the pilot sitting lower down, behind him:

 

According to Wikipedia, the gunner has an 8mm MG, which makes sense. What makes less sense to me is that there were apparently also two further 8mm MGs fixed to the lower wing outside the propeller arc. Forward-firing weapons in an aircraft where the pilot has no forward view to aim them. How exactly was that supposed to work?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_40.05

 

The Austro-Hungarian Empire seems to have produced more than its fair share of weird flying contraptions. Though come to think of it, it was something of a weird contraption itself...

 

 

[Jaws2002]

On 4/26/2019 at 9:51 AM, Tyberan said:

pfft 

 

turboprop wilga

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh i know that one. I watched all the videos of it's upgrade from a cool little Wilga, to a fire breathing monster.