- [Glen] Aircraft have been around
since the Wright brothers first flew
at Kitty Hawk and people
have been designing new ones ever since.
Some flight low. Some fly high.
And some don't end up flying at all.
I'm Glen and today we're bringing you
10 unusual aircraft that either made it or didn't.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Number 10.
- [Glen] Initially conceived in 1982
by Charles Ligeti of Australia,
the joined wing all-composite
ducted fan Ligeti Stratos was the first
full-sized Stratus prototype built
between 1984 and 1985
when Charles Ligeti made his first
45-minute test flight in April.
The empty aircraft weighs 172 pounds
which is light enough to qualify as an ultralight
in the United States.
The company was said to produce 20 aircraft
in the spring of 1987,
but during a short test flight
of a highly-modified production version late in 1987
the airplane stalled during landing
and Charles Ligeti was killed,
causing the venture to end a few months later.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Number 9.
- [Glen] Rutan's best-selling design, the Long-EZ
is a stretched-out version of the VariEze.
The signature design element,
the forward Airfoil,
helps efficiency and improves stall characteristics.
Meant to be easy to build the Long-EZ
was almost completely customizable
and came with a Lycoming 135 horsepower engine.
Because of different customizations
these have some advantages
and have set records for distance and speed.
These have a wingspan of 26 feet,
an empty weight of 710 pounds,
a cruising speed of 144 miles per hour,
a top speed of 185 miles per hour
and a range of just over 2,000 miles.
Around 12,000 plans for the EZs sold
and due to customizations,
cost and performance vary.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Number eight.
- [Glen] The ill-fated Pond Racer Rutan model 158
built by scaled composites and funded by Bob Pond,
a wax magnate,
was just ahead of engine technology
and ran on a pair of 300ZX VG30 engines
that required preheating of coolants
and all the oils.
The approach speed at landing was the same
as an airliner at 140 knots
and it didn't have flaps to slow it,
making it extremely difficult to land.
Designed to be the cleanest prompt driven plane
in history the choice of engine
was the primary cause of its demise.
They never made more than 600 horsepower
and it had undetermined oiling problems due
to the constant RPM it was running.
In 1993 it caught fire and threw a rod,
landing away from the airport
and killing the pilot,
ending an excellent idea for an airplane
with lousy planning.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Number 7.
- [Glen] Aron Flying Ship Ltd. specializes
in manufacturing and developing WIG aircraft.
WIG craft fly utilizing the WIG effect
which is the aerodynamic change
that happens when an object flies just
above the surface of the water.
The M80 can carry a pilot,
copilot and a crew of six,
comes with a 750 horsepower turboprop engine,
has a cruising speed of about 100 miles per hour,
a top speed of 125 miles per hour
and a maximum weight of a little over 6,800 pounds.
Landing and taking off can be done
in up to six foot waves.
This has a top speed of 54 knots in ship mode
and this flies at an altitude of almost 500 feet.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Number 6.
- [Glen] A composite construction microlight,
The Snark is the creation of W. B. Barber.
Barber completed four different models
before coming up with the fifth model, the HA3B.
Constructed from Kevlar and carbon fiber
the propeller powered aircraft features
elevated tandem seating in front
of a shoulder-mounted wing.
The engine cruises at 128 miles per hour
with the three-blade sport prop propeller
and has a range of 650 miles,
a top speed of 140 miles per hour,
but it may go faster.
(upbeat music)
[Narrator] Number 5.
Designed by Northrop Grumman,
the Firebird, an intelligence-gathering aircraft
was one of the last aircraft designed
by Burt Rutan.
First flown in 2010,
the Firebird has autonomous
or optional piloted models.
Powered by a Lycoming TEO 540 flat six piston engine
this has a maximum takeoff weight of 5,000 pounds
and is designed to fly up to 40 hours
at a top speed of 230 miles per hour
at an altitude of 30,000 feet,
and has hardpoints to carry weapons.
Though currently it's unarmed.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Number 4.
- [Glen] Intended for instructional
and training flights the Elitar Sigma Aircraft
is designed to conform
with the United States FAA regulations
for light sport plane.
The airplane is a high-wing monoplane
with a front top-mounted power plant
and conventional tail design.
The Sigma comes with a Rotax 912 ULS engine
and has a wingspan of 32 feet,
a length of 20 feet and a maximum speed
of 130 knots,
with a range of 404 miles.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Number 3.
- [Glen] Trying to get into the
light airplane market in 1974
Burt Raynes produced the Rohr 2175.
Originally the 71 X,
a low wing Delta made of stressed skin,
fiber reinforced plastic construction
and propelled by a Lycoming 150 horsepower engine
that gave this a top speed of 175 miles per hour.
The landing gear is fixed and rigid.
The vertical tail is attached to the top
of the propeller shroud and it is difficult
to find a single predictable feature
in the aircraft.
Due to financial trouble with other projects
this project ended with only one prototype
having spent time in the air.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Number 2.
- [Glen] The Colomban Cri Cri prototype
was flown for the first time
by Robert Wasan in 1973.
Designed for experimental aircraft builders
this plane was built only according
to the plans distributed by its designer.
Made from aluminum sheet glued to Klegecell Foam
the aircraft is the smallest twin-engine plane
in the world,
has a 16 foot wingspan and weighs just 185 pounds.
Equipped initially with two turbo jet piston engines
of 15 horsepower each this cantilever low wing
featured fixed tricycle landing gear
and a single seat enclosed cockpit.
In 2010 the Green Cri Cri,
using two electric motors,
each producing 25 horsepower,
and only 75% of its power broke the speed record
for electric aircraft by traveling
at 162 miles per hour.
If it wasn't for the stress on the airframe,
according to the engineering firm,
it could have gone at speeds
of 220 miles per hour.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Number 1.
- [Glen] A collaboration between
aircraft manufacturer, Pipistrel,
the University of Ulm,
fuel-cell specialists Hydrogenics
and the German Aerospace Center
Institute of engineering and Thermodynamics,
the HY4 Aircraft took off
on its first initial flight
from Stuttgart Airport in Germany in 2016.
The aircraft powered by a hybrid fuel cell
and battery system is the world's first
four-seater passenger aircraft powered solely
by electric propulsion
and a hydrogen fuel cell system.
Flight with the HY4 is environmentally friendly,
silent, is safer and has a better range
than its predecessors.
With an estimated range of 1,500 kilometers
the plane runs on fuel cells
that makes a supply of hydrogen and oxygen
to trigger a controlled explosion,
generating an electrical current
to power the motor and drive the propeller.
- This episode of Minds Eye Design
is brought to you by the Autolover A8.
This windshield Heads Up Display sounds an alarm
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(glass smashing)
(upbeat music)
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(relaxing music)