what is the worst looking plane of all time?
Discussion
Worst looking planes that were actually sold and produced.
Well I am thinking only military here and last 50 or so years, and even ugly ones have their charm!
I would think the Rockwell Buckeye is fairly hideous!! Some iterations of meteor and Canberra with huge radomes and weird cockpits looked very odd compared to original shape.
The Guppies I am exclusing because they were ugly for a reason
The Argosy because of the tit! And the Beverley I thought was odd for the gigantic wheel housings!!
Well I am thinking only military here and last 50 or so years, and even ugly ones have their charm!
I would think the Rockwell Buckeye is fairly hideous!! Some iterations of meteor and Canberra with huge radomes and weird cockpits looked very odd compared to original shape.
The Guppies I am exclusing because they were ugly for a reason
The Argosy because of the tit! And the Beverley I thought was odd for the gigantic wheel housings!!
LukeBrown66 said:
The Guppies I am exclusing because they were ugly for a reason
They are all ugly for a reason though ;–) No one looked at Canberra and thought "You look so pretty – I'm going f
k you up real bad." Engineers usually create beautiful things as a by-product of good engineering. But nevertheless art for its own sake does creep in, like Hawker's tail fins.Also, what is ugly changes over time. Le Corbusier wrote a book, called simply 'Aircraft', in which he waxes lyrical over the wonderful form of aeroplanes and how they herald the dawn of new age. The aircraft in the book are, with the notable and important exception of the (I think) DC2 on the nearly last page, universally ugly. The DC2 is important because it was the DC3 that really did have a major impact on 20th century design, and influenced a whole new aesthetic.
(I wrote my thesis about the impact of aviation on twentieth century design.)
Yertis said:
They are all ugly for a reason though ;–) No one looked at Canberra and thought "You look so pretty – I'm going fk you up real bad." Engineers usually create beautiful things as a by-product of good engineering. But nevertheless art for its own sake does creep in, like Hawker's tail fins.
Also, what is ugly changes over time. Le Corbusier wrote a book, called simply 'Aircraft', in which he waxes lyrical over the wonderful form of aeroplanes and how they herald the dawn of new age. The aircraft in the book are, with the notable and important exception of the (I think) DC2 on the nearly last page, universally ugly. The DC2 is important because it was the DC3 that really did have a major impact on 20th century design, and influenced a whole new aesthetic.
(I wrote my thesis about the impact of aviation on twentieth century design.)
That’s the sort of thing I find really interesting. k you up real bad." Engineers usually create beautiful things as a by-product of good engineering. But nevertheless art for its own sake does creep in, like Hawker's tail fins.Also, what is ugly changes over time. Le Corbusier wrote a book, called simply 'Aircraft', in which he waxes lyrical over the wonderful form of aeroplanes and how they herald the dawn of new age. The aircraft in the book are, with the notable and important exception of the (I think) DC2 on the nearly last page, universally ugly. The DC2 is important because it was the DC3 that really did have a major impact on 20th century design, and influenced a whole new aesthetic.
(I wrote my thesis about the impact of aviation on twentieth century design.)
I thought that this would fit in with the topic - 1959 vintage Kamov Ka-22. 4 built, crashed 2.
Gka22-3 by Andrew St Edmunds, on Flickr
Gka22-3 by Andrew St Edmunds, on FlickrThe Royal Naval Air Service's AD Scout of 1915...
Four built, disliked by pilots, written off as fragile, overweight, and slow, but accepted into service and then quietly disappeared within about a month. Designed to give the pilot better all round visibility for attacking Zeppelins.
Apparently intended to mount a recoilless 2pdr gun, but an "ordinary" Lewis gun was mounted instead. Pilot expected to load, aim, and fire the Lewis gun in addition to flying the aeroplane, which was a pig to handle, even on the ground.
Described somewhere I read as "like an upside-down biplane" compared to more conventional designs of the time.
Oh, and the Blackburn aircraft company were, unsurprisingly, involved in the project too...
Four built, disliked by pilots, written off as fragile, overweight, and slow, but accepted into service and then quietly disappeared within about a month. Designed to give the pilot better all round visibility for attacking Zeppelins.
Apparently intended to mount a recoilless 2pdr gun, but an "ordinary" Lewis gun was mounted instead. Pilot expected to load, aim, and fire the Lewis gun in addition to flying the aeroplane, which was a pig to handle, even on the ground.
Described somewhere I read as "like an upside-down biplane" compared to more conventional designs of the time.
Oh, and the Blackburn aircraft company were, unsurprisingly, involved in the project too...
yellowjack said:
Described somewhere I read as "like an upside-down biplane" compared to more conventional designs of the time.
Talking of which, have we seen this one?
Pitts S-2H Special Double Take N5348M Craig Hoskins by Bill Word, on FlickrGassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff