Aircrafts. Rating of the most unusual aircraft Pancake-style aircraft

When they begin to classify objects or phenomena, they look for the basic, most general features, properties that serve as evidence of their relationship. Along with this, they also study such signs that would sharply distinguish them from each other.

If we, following this principle, begin to classify modern aircraft, then the first question will be: what signs or properties of aircraft are considered the most important?

Maybe you can classify them based on the materials from which the devices are made? Yes, it is possible, but it will be little obvious. Indeed, one can do the same thing from different materials. Aluminum, steel, wood, canvas, rubber, plastics are used to a greater or lesser extent in the manufacture of n airplanes, and helicopters, n airships, and balloons.

It may be the basis for the classification of aircraft to choose: when and by whom was the device made for the first time? It can be classified in historical terms - this is an important issue, but then under one heading devices that are proposed at the same time and in the same country that are different from each other in many ways will fall under one heading.

Obviously, not these signs for classification should be considered the most important.

Due to the fact that aircraft are designed to move in the air, they are usually divided into lighter than air and devices heavier than air. So, the basis for the classification of aircraft is their weight in relation to air.

We see that devices are lighter than air. airships, balloons and stratospheric balloons. They rise and stay in the air by filling them with light gases. Airplanes, gliders, rockets and rotorcraft belong to heavier than air devices.

Aircraft and glider are supported in the air by the lifting force created by the wings; the missiles are held in the air by the traction force developed by the rocket engine, and the rotorcraft by the rotor lifting force. There are (so far in projects) devices that occupy an intermediate position between airplanes and rotary-wing aircraft, airplanes and missiles. These are the so-called convertible airplanes, or envelope plans, which should combine the positive properties of both those and others and combine tremendous flight speeds with the ability to hang in the air, the ability to take off without a run and land without a run.

A helicopter, like a gyroplane, belongs to rotorcraft. Their difference is that the rotor of the gyroplane is not connected to the engine and can rotate freely.

The rotor of the helicopter (or several rotors), unlike the rotor of the gyroplane, is taken into rotation by the engine during take-off, flight and landing and serves both to create lifting force and traction. The aerodynamic force created by the rotor is used both to maintain the helicopter in the air and to move it forward. In addition, the rotor is also a control element of the helicopter.

If an airplane propeller thrust creates a propeller or a jet engine, lift force - wings, and the controls are rudders and ailerons, then in a helicopter all these functions are carried out by the rotor. From this it becomes clear how important the importance of the rotor in a helicopter is.

Helicopters differ from each other in the number of rotors, in their location, in the rotation drive method. In accordance with these signs, the helicopters depicted are divided.

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Rotary Rocket Roton ATV Turboprop

In exactly this exotic way, the Rotary Rocket company tried in the 90s of the last century to overcome the basic limitations by significantly increasing the efficiency of their movers. And then, frankly, some kind of trouble: single-stage missiles fueled by chemical fuel cannot reach ... There is a complete ruin. But, as it was said in one good film: “the one who bothers us will help us!”. And who's stopping us, except of course? Air!

They relied on the idea that turboprop engines have significantly greater efficiency than purely jet and turbojet engines. And since one of the most energy-consuming areas is precisely the piercing of dense layers, is it possible to cheat at this stage?

The essence of the trick was that on the top of the pyramidal apparatus there was a screw, such as a helicopter (on the prototype, namely from a helicopter, for simplicity), which was driven (took a deep breath) from a ring rotating system of 72 liquid (kerosene + oxygen) engines, located in the traditional place for missiles - from below.

I mean, a shaft passed through the entire apparatus from the propulsion system, rotating at 720 rpm (12 per second, for a minute) to the HB gearbox.

Well, apart from the HB drive - the designers thus decided to save a lot on the mass of turbochargers (the supply of fuel components is carried out due to centrifugal force) and the stabilization system - the engine ring itself operates with a gyroscope.

But that's not all - when landing instead of traditional thermal protection, it was supposed to use a tricky scheme with water supply (!) Under the bottom of the ship, in order to significantly reduce the temperature due to the steam cushion and save on thermal protection mass (to be honest, I'm not sure the fact that this is a workable idea - it is not obvious what will be easier: traditional thermal protection or this whole water supply system together with a supply of it).

They hoped that the 180-ton transport system would bring low payloads from 2700 to 3200 kg - and return safe and sound. Yes, yes, all this was planned reusable.

The main rotor worked, in addition to the role of a parachute, in the final flight phase also with a soft helicopter landing system, in this mode, of course, the main jet engines did not work anymore (fuel and oxidizer burned out during take-off), and the blades should be untwisted small hydrogen peroxide engines at the ends of the blades.

The competitive advantage planned by the designers over “reusable” reusable systems was that there were no special conditions, like shuttles, capable of landing at only three (if memory serves) airfields in the world — the system was not required — any level ground was suitable for landing the apparatus was placed.

By the way, for takeoff too - no special tricky designs were supposed, because no support systems are needed (the device is on its own supports) - you just need a pit for exhaust exhaust (relatively small at breakaway, the main thrust is created by the main rotor) - and that's it, actually.

Altogether, Rotary Rocket built several prototypes and one flying prototype, the Roton C-9. Moreover, the prototype was on a scale of 1: 1 - about 20 meters high and 6.6 meters in diameter at the base. The propeller, however, let us down - they took it from the broken S-58, but since the initial tests were planned in the “landing” mode, without refueling and without payload, the four-blade propeller with peroxide engines on the blades should have been enough for the flight. But - 20 times cheaper than the estimated cost of a special "space" rotor. And the helicopter rotor was enough, I must say.

In total, three flights of the pepelats were carried out, which showed that (a) it can fly, but (b) is bad. No review, so it’s simply unsafe to fly (pilots were guided by altitude only in height) and handling is lower than the baseboard.

And then the company went bankrupt .... Investors decided that there were no prospects, and $ 33 million was written off at a loss. The Rotary Rocket Roton C-9 is currently on display at the Aviation Museum, but without a helicopter rotor.

Fancy Aircraft

Man has long dreamed of learning to fly like a bird, and flying machines are exactly what this desire and the scientific and technical vector of the development of mankind led him to. Aircraft is a long branch of evolution and progress, starting with the first unsuccessful attempts to create a muscle car (like the one with which Icarus blundered) and ending with modern Boeings, fighters, bombers, spacecraft - everything that allows us to move around land and sea. Despite the seemingly unimaginably sophisticated technologies that underlie them, aircraft are for the most part considered a relatively safe and fast means of transportation. A special resonance is caused only by tragedies that take the lives of several hundred people at once. However, the desire of man is the law, and it can be said with certainty that he overfulfilled the plan to repeat the feat of the birds of this world.

Zeppelin, better known as an airship, is a controlled balloon driven by a propulsion system that operates on the basis of lightweight hydrogen or helium. The surge in the operation of this vehicle came at the beginning of the 20th century, when it was considered not only a means of transportation, but also a luxurious way to show your well-being to a wealthy layer of the population. Almost 80 years after the last, huge flying giants can return to heaven and become part of our daily lives. However, this time the airships will not be used to transport passengers, but as an environmentally friendly vehicle for the delivery of goods around the world.

The invention of aircraft, allowing people to travel in the atmosphere of the Earth, is on the list of mankind's greatest innovations. Aviation challenges the limits, and new ideas are constantly emerging in this area, but the planes listed below do not even remotely fit the concept of “norm”.

(Total 22 photos + 5 videos)

Convair V2 Sea Dart

1. In addition to standard airplanes, very interesting specimens of aircraft are sometimes available to pilots. The fighter, which will be discussed now, could land directly on the surface of the ocean. And he greatly expanded the duties of pilots, temporarily turning them from ordinary pilots into operators of a ski chassis.

2. Convair V2 Sea Dart was an experimental American fighter, it was built in 1951 as a prototype supersonic seaplane, equipped with a waterproof hull and a pair of hydrofoils.

3. It was decided to abandon the production of this fighter after a disaster that ended in the death of a pilot. Nevertheless, he became the first (and at the moment - the only) seaplane to overcome the sound barrier.

Goodyear inflatoplane

4. When a company producing car tires enters the aircraft market, very unusual results should be expected. In 1959, Goodyear Tire tried to satisfy the market's demands for a small, comfortable airplane, and its response to those queries was very bizarre. The Goodyear Inflatoplane open cab was made entirely of rubber.

5. In fact, everything was made of rubber, except for the engine and wires. The plane could be packed in a box 1 meter long, and it could be fully pumped up with a regular bicycle pump in just 15 minutes. From an aerodynamic point of view, the car was excellent, as it rose into the air with incredible ease. However, Goodyear Tire has run into serious problems. They could not convince the military to buy their brainchild after the military found out that the plane could be shot down with just one bullet or even a shot from a slingshot.

NASA A1 Pivot-Wing

6. NASA A1 Pivot-Wing was able to take the concept of “strange aircraft” to a whole new level. It was developed in the early 80s in order to test the concept of a rotary wing. The long thin wing of this jet aircraft could rotate at such an incredible angle that it turned out almost parallel to the cockpit. The idea of \u200b\u200bthis unorthodox and exceptional innovative approach was to compensate for the vortex disturbances of the air flow in this way.

7. The strange aircraft even made several flights, and it flew surprisingly well, but the results were still not recognized as convincing enough to justify the cost of its production. Nevertheless, modern drones, which are based on the design of this aircraft, are currently under development.

Vought v-173

8. Vought V-173 was developed in 1942 as a prototype aircraft with vertical take-off and landing, capable of intercepting enemy fighters, taking off from the deck of an aircraft carrier. For a strange design, test pilots called this aircraft a “flying pancake”.

9. Its fuselage had a rounded shape. A pair of engines propelled huge propellers that did not hit the ground during take-off due only to the extended landing gear. Low demand and one accident decided the fate of this project, but it began to develop in this direction, which in the end led to the appearance of the famous Harrier Jump Jet.

Bell p-39 aircobra

10. Nevertheless, sometimes it is better for experts to stick only to what they are really familiar with. During World War II, Bell Helicopters launched a powerful and incredibly maneuverable fighter with superior combat performance.

11. For most aircraft, the engines are located in front, but Bell, as a helicopter company, created a fighter with an engine, the center of which was behind the cockpit. A long shaft coming from this engine rotated the propeller in front, however, this design led to an unusual arrangement of the center of gravity of the machine. This "heavenly snake" during the war years shot down much more enemy aircraft than any other fighter of the US Air Force. However, some “cobras” did not die because they were shot down by the enemy, but because they fell themselves, easily breaking into a “tailspin” even due to the most insignificant mistakes of the pilots.

SR 71 Blackbird

12. SR 71 Blackbird was created before the era of universal satellite technology. It was the first of its kind reconnaissance aircraft, with unprecedented speed and range. He was able to climb to incredible heights, and he looked like a terrible, almost alien spaceship.

13. However, there were serious flaws in the design of the SR 71 Blackbird. As soon as the plane climbed to a height of 7 km and accelerated to a speed of 3300 km / h, its outer skin was heated to 400 degrees and began to glow red. This infernal picture outside the cockpit was not very pleasing to the pilots. And although the cockpit was insulated with asbestos, the pilots still had to sit in it for half an hour after landing, so as not to scorch their legs when exiting. Even the transparent lantern of the cabin heated up to 300 degrees.

Convair Pogo

14. The Grumman X23, aka Pogo, was a radical departure from all aircraft manufacturing standards. It was not even something eccentric, it was a full-blown absurdity. In appearance, Pogo slightly resembled an ordinary aircraft, if you do not pay attention to the jet engine mounted in the nose cone of the device. This engine allowed the Pogo to fly vertically. But unlike most aircraft with vertical take-off and landing, the Pogo nose lifted up at a right angle before take-off, so that the pilot in the cockpit almost lay like an astronaut in a rocket. Only after such preliminary preparation could Pogo take off.

15. Several successful test flights were completed, but, like many other airborne losers, this project was never able to fly far from the earth.

McDonnell Douglas X-15

16. The X-15 is a very old project, but it was such a significant and abnormal leap forward that it still remains unsurpassed in the history of aviation. First tested in 1959, the X-15 experimental rocket plane was 2 meters long, with two tiny meter-long bits of wings on each side.

17. A series of tests showed that the rocket plane is capable of reaching an altitude of 107 km, so that two completed missions were qualified as space flights. When this small plane passed through the dense layers of the atmosphere, its speed was six times the speed of sound. The X-15 casing was coated with a special nickel-based alloy, which was similar to that found in meteorites. This alloy did not allow the fastest aircraft on the planet to burn in the atmosphere.

Blohm und Voss BV 141

18. In the ordinary world, symmetry is a rule that can be traced in almost everything, from the eyes to the wings and fins. When creating their inventions, engineers are also inspired by this principle, this rule is also true for aircraft engines. However, during the Second World War, German engineers from Dornier noticeably deviated from this norm and created a reconnaissance aircraft, with the tail stabilizer located only on one side, and the cockpit located asymmetrically, on the opposite side.

19. At first glance, this design looks unbalanced. However, due to the fact that the cabin is located on the right side, and the supporting propeller is to the left, during the flight there is a moment of force that helps the plane fly smoothly. As a result, this bizarre device not only successfully took off from the ground, but also subsequently inspired many creators of modern sports aircraft to create devices with a similar design.

20. Consider a house on the water, crossed with an airplane. It was this idea that underpinned Caproni Ca.60 Noviplano. This machine has set the “strangeness bar” for airplanes so high that even Richtofen’s Red Fokker looks very pale compared to it. The length of this aircraft was 23 m. Weight - a whopping 26 tons. This floating and flying device was built to become the first transatlantic airliner in aviation history.

21. Based on the theory that with the help of a sufficient number of wings you can lift anything into the air, engineers created a stack of three wings in front and three in the middle. Instead of the tail, another, third set of wings was used. This monstrous machine, probably, can be classified as a triple triplane, and nothing like it was built either before or after it.

22. It was not a problem to get off the ground, but immediately after takeoff, at an altitude of 18 meters, the apparatus began to fall apart, and then fell into the water. Both pilots died. After that, the aircraft was repaired, but later it burned down. This happened at night, and the details of this incident are still not fully understood.


People have been obsessed with the idea of \u200b\u200btaking to the air for centuries. In the myths of almost all peoples there are legends about flying animals and people with wings. The earliest known aircraft were bird wings. With them, people jumped from towers or tried to soar, tearing themselves off a cliff. And although such attempts ended, as a rule, tragically, people came up with increasingly complex aircraft designs. Iconic aircraft will be discussed in our today's review.

1. Bamboo Helicopter


One of the oldest aircraft in the world, a bamboo helicopter (also known as a bamboo dragonfly or Chinese spinner) is a toy that takes off if you quickly unwind its main shaft. Invented in China around 400 BC, the bamboo helicopter consisted of feather-blades planted on the end of a bamboo stick.

2. Flying flashlight


A flying flashlight is a small balloon made of paper and a wooden frame with an opening at the bottom, under which a small fire is kindled. It is believed that the Chinese experimented with flying lanterns as early as the 3rd century BC, but traditionally, their invention is attributed to the sage and commander Zhuge Liang (181-234 CE).

3. Balloon


Balloon - the first successful technology of human flight on a supporting structure. The first manned flight was conducted by the Pilatre de Rosier and the Marquis d'Arland in Paris in 1783 in a balloon (on a leash) created by the Hot Air Balloons. Modern balloons can fly thousands of kilometers (the longest flight in a balloon is 7672 km from Japan to North Canada).

4. Solar balloon


Technically, this type of balloon flies by heating the air in it using solar radiation. As a rule, such balloons are made of black or dark material. Although they are mainly used in the toy market, some sun balls are large enough to lift a person into the air.

5. Ornithopter


The ornithopter, which was inspired by the flight of birds, bats and insects, is an airplane that flies with flapping wings. Most ornithopters are unmanned, but several manned ornithopters have also been built. One of the earliest concepts of such an aircraft was developed by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century. In 1894, Otto Lilienthal, a German aviation pioneer, made the first manned flight on an ornithopter for the first time in history.

6. Parachute


Made from lightweight and durable fabric (similar to nylon), a parachute is a device that is used to slow the movement of an object through the atmosphere. A description of the oldest parachute was found in an anonymous Italian manuscript dating from 1470. In modern days, parachutes are used to launch various cargoes, including people, food, equipment, space capsules and even bombs.

7. Kite flying


Originally built by stretching silk over a frame of split bamboo, kite was invented in China in the 5th century BC. For a long time, many other cultures adopted this device, and some of them even continued to further improve this simple flying machine. For example, kites capable of carrying humans are thought to have existed in ancient China and Japan.

8. The airship


The airship became the first aircraft capable of controlled takeoff and landing. At first hydrogen was used in the airships, but because of the great explosiveness of this gas, helium was used in most airships built after the 1960s. The airship can also be equipped with engines, and the crew and / or payload in it are located in one or more "gondolas" suspended under a gas cylinder.

9. Glider


Glider - an aircraft heavier than air, which is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of air to its bearing surfaces, i.e. It is independent of the engine. Thus, most gliders do not have an engine, although some paragliders can be equipped with them to extend flight if necessary.

10. Biplane


A biplane is an airplane with two fixed wings that are located one above the other. Biplanes have several advantages compared to conventional wing designs (monoplanes): they allow you to achieve a larger wing area and lift with a smaller wing span. The Wright brothers' biplane in 1903 was the first aircraft to successfully fly into the air.

11. Helicopter


A helicopter is a rotorcraft that can take off and land vertically, soar and fly in any direction. Over the past centuries, there have been many concepts similar to modern helicopters, but only in 1936 the first Fokke-Wulf Fw 61 working helicopter was built.

12. Aircraft


In the 1950s, Lackner Helicopters came up with an unusual aircraft. The HZ-1 Aerocycle was intended for use by inexperienced pilots as a standard reconnaissance vehicle in the US Army. Although early testing showed that the unit could provide sufficient mobility on the battlefield, more extensive estimates showed that it was too difficult to control for untrained infantrymen. As a result, after a couple of accidents, the project was frozen.

13. Kaitun


Kaitun is a hybrid of a kite and a balloon. Its main advantage is that the kaitun can remain in a fairly stable position above the point of attachment of the cable, regardless of wind strength, while ordinary balloons and kites are less stable.

14. Hang glider


A hang glider is a non-motorized aircraft heavier than air, in which there is no tail. Modern hang gliders are made of aluminum alloy or composite materials, and the wing is made of synthetic canvas. These devices have a high ratio of lifting force, which allows pilots to fly for several hours at an altitude of thousands of meters above sea level in ascending flows of warm air and perform aerobatics.

15. Hybrid airship


A hybrid airship is an aircraft that combines the characteristics of a lighter-than-air vehicle (i.e., airship technology) with aircraft technologies heavier than air (either a fixed wing or a rotor screw). Such designs were not put into mass production, but several manned and unmanned prototypes were born, including the Lockheed Martin P-791, an experimental hybrid airship developed by Lockheed Martin.

16. Airliner


Also known as a jet airliner, a passenger jet is a type of aircraft designed to carry passengers and goods by air, which travels thanks to jet engines. These engines allow the aircraft to reach high speeds and generate sufficient thrust to move a large mass aircraft. The A380 Airbus is currently the world's largest jet passenger airliner with a capacity of up to 853 people.

17. Rocket Launcher


A rocket aircraft is an aircraft that uses a rocket engine. Rocket missiles can reach much higher speeds than jet aircraft of similar sizes. As a rule, their engine runs for no more than a few minutes, after which the aircraft plans. The rocket plane is suitable for flights at very high altitudes, and it is also able to develop much greater acceleration and has a shorter take-off run.

18. Float seaplane


This is a type of fixed wing aircraft that can take off from water and land on it. Seaplane buoyancy is provided by pontoons or floats, which are installed instead of the chassis under the fuselage. Float seaplanes were widely used before the Second World War, but then they were replaced by helicopters and aircraft used from aircraft carriers.

19. Flying boat


Another type of seaplane - a flying boat - is an airplane with a fixed wing and a body in such a shape that allows it to land on the water. It differs from a float seaplane in that it uses a specially designed fuselage that can float. Flying boats were very common in the first half of the 20th century. Like float seaplanes, they subsequently ceased to be used after the Second World War.



Also known by other names (for example, cargo aircraft, cargo ships, transport aircraft or cargo aircraft), a cargo aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted to carry goods, not passengers. At the moment, the largest and most lifting in the world is the An-225 built in 1988.

21. Bomber


A bomber is a combat aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets by dropping bombs, launching torpedoes or launching air-to-ground cruise missiles. There are two types of bombers. Strategic bombers are primarily designed for long-range bombing missions - that is, to attack strategic targets such as supply bases, bridges, factories, shipyards, etc. Tactical bombers are aimed at counteracting the enemy’s military activities and supporting offensive operations.

22. Spaceplane


A spaceplane is an aerospace vehicle that is used in the Earth’s atmosphere. They can use both rockets and auxiliary conventional jet engines. Today, there are five such devices that have been successfully used: X-15, Space Shuttle, Buran, SpaceShipOne and Boeing X-37.

23. Spaceship


A spaceship is a vehicle designed to fly in outer space. Spacecraft are used for various purposes, including communications, for Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planet exploration, as well as the transport of people and goods.


The space capsule is a special type of spacecraft that has been used in most manned space programs. The manned space capsule should have everything necessary for everyday life, including air, water and food. The space capsule also protects the astronauts from the cold and cosmic radiation.

25. Drone

Officially known as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a drone is often used for missions that are too "dangerous" or simply impossible for humans. Initially, they were used mainly for military purposes, but today they can be found literally everywhere.

 

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