10 STRANGEST Airplanes to Ever Fly

From top secret drones and military aircraft, to the biggest airplane in the world, these are 10 of the STRANGEST Airplanes to Ever Fly !

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10. V-22 Osprey | Boeing / Bell

The V-22 Osprey is one of the cooler military aircraft that is still in use today. Built in the 1980s, the Osprey became the pinnacle of vertical takeoff and landing and short takeoff and landing technology.

The aircraft was commissioned by the United States Department of Defense in response to the failure of Operation Eagle Claw, during the Iran hostage crisis. By 1981, the Joint-service VTOL experimental aircraft program was in full swing, and an unlikely partnership between Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters was awarded with a development contract in 1983.

Believe it or not, the V-22 had a very long developmental period compared to other military aircraft of the time. The United States Marine Corps started crew training for the aircraft in 2000, and by 2007, the V-22 replaced the role of the Ch-46 Sea Knights.

9.A300-600ST | Airbus

8.XF-85 | McDonnell Aircraft

When an aircraft’s role designation is a “parasite fighter” you know things are about to get wild. Let's introduce you to the XF-85 Goblin, the prototype fighter aircraft that was supposed to protect bombers like the B-17, B-24 and the B-29.

How could such a tiny little fighter protect these big boys ? Well for one, it wouldn’t have to fly unless it had to. That's right, the XF-85 would be hanging from them, or it would be stowed away inside. Only to be used incase of an attack. The whole premise is a bit… out there, but the US Air Force didn’t have an answer for their problems at the time. As time went on and fighter jets capable of long flights became possible, the XF-85 was relegated to the history books.

7.Antonov An-225 Mriya

To be honest, there is nothing inherently strange about this aircraft except that it is 1 of 1, and it is still used today, even though it was built in the 1980s.

Oh yeah, it's also the biggest darn thing to ever fly ! It is the heaviest aircraft ever built, capable of a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tons, comparatively, a Boeing 747 has a max takeoff weight of 447 tons.

The Antonov An-225 was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in modern day Ukraine and it took its first flight in 1988. To this day, it has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. The actual largest wingspan belongs to another plane on this list, can you guess which one it is ? Let me know in the comments below !

You might be wondering why the Soviets needed this giant airplane, the answer is pretty simple. It was designed to transport Buran-class space shuttles for the Soviet space program.

6.HL 10 | NORTHROP

5.Ca.60 | Caproni

Often referred to as the Noviplano (nine-wing), the Caproni Ca.60 was the prototype of a large nine-wing flying boat intended to become a transatlantic airliner. It featured eight engines and three sets of triple wings. Would you EVER consider getting on a plane that looked like this? It seems like something a 9 year old dreamed up, doesn’t it ?

Unfortunately, this plane design wasn’t very successful, its brief maiden flight took place on February 12, Its second flight was only 2 months later, and shortly after takeoff, the aircraft crashed on the water surface and splintered into a million tiny ridiculous pieces.

4.White Knight 2 | SCALED COMPOSITES

3.VZ-9 Avrocar | Avro Aircraft

In the early years of the Cold War the U.S. Air Force and Army commissioned a top secret aircraft project, and they chose Canadian Based Avro Aircraft to design and build it.

The U.S. wanted a VTOL, vertical take-off and landing, aircraft, that was very fast, efficient, and deadly. Well, that was the original concept anyway, the project was scaled back immensely over the years due to design problems.

Design 1 had its issues, Design 2 tried to improve on them, but ultimately, the craft was unstable. It never got close to reaching the estimated maximum speed of 300mph, in reality, it could not pass 35mph due to serious instability.

Funding was cut abruptly, the project was seen as a “dead end” and we never got to fly high in saucer shaped aircraft, and because the U.S. commissioned and paid for the concept, the VZ-9 1,2 were transferred south of the border.

The first avrocar collected dust for over 40 years in the basement of the National Air and Space Museum, it was eventually restored and put on display, nowadays you can find it in the Presidential Aircraft Gallery. The second design is currently under restoration at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum in Virginia. If you want to learn more about this strange, strange, aircraft, make sure to check out this in depth video I made on it !

2.Lun-class ekranoplan | USSR

1.RQ3 DarkStar | Lockheed Martin

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