The Friday Flyby - November 2017

Dornier Do 31 VTOL
(Source)

So yes, it's been a while since I've done one of these. Used to do them every Friday, until the copyright Gestapo stopped by. Now I behave and try to only use pure, "free to use" photos for which I always will try to include a source. For the photos which dwell in the public domain it's not a strict legal necessity (though Advokaat can correct me if I'm wrong, hey, it happens) but I put a link to where I got the picture anyways. Usually. More often that not. I think you get my drift now and I can stop beating the deceased equine.

Whilst perusing the Web of World Wideness for something which to entertain you, gentle reader, I did a search on "odd aircraft." Wow, there are a lot of them, but the one above really caught my eye. It doesn't look like it should fly, but it does.

Yes, yes, I know the video is auf Deutsch, but you should be used to my wandering about linguistically by now. Pretty cool aircraft, neh? Cool and weird. I like that.

Now from my understanding this bird was designed for and intended to be used to support this -

EWR VJ 101 (Source)

Kinda looks like an F-104 with engines on the wing tips, not in the fuselage. Yes, those jet engines on the wing tips could be tilted to provide a VTOL experience. (Vertical Take Off and Landing if'n you were wondering.) And yes, there is a video...

Weird and kinda cool as well. But wait, there's more!

The Mixmaster

Rear view of the XB-42A in May 1947
(Source)

XB-42A with podded 19XB-2 jets
(Source)

Tail number 43-50225 (top picture) was destroyed in a crash at Bolling in D.C., the three crew members survived. Barely, from the sounds of it!

The record-breaking XB-42 prototype had been destroyed in a crash at Bolling Field. The second of two prototypes of the Douglas XB-42, 43-50225, on a routine flight out of Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., suffered in short order, a landing gear extension problem, failure of the port engine, and as coolant temperatures rose, failure of the starboard engine. Maj. Hayduck bailed out at 1,200 feet, Lt. Col. Haney at 800 feet, and pilot Lt. Col. (later Major General) Fred J. Ascani, after crawling aft to jettison the pusher propellers, at 400 feet – all three survived. The aircraft crashed at Oxen Hill, Maryland. Classified jettisonable propeller technology caused a problem for authorities in explaining what witnesses on the ground thought was the aircraft exploding. Possible fuel management problems were speculated, but this hypothesis was never proven by subsequent investigation. The remaining prototype was used in flight test programs, including fulfilling a December 1943 proposal by Douglas to fit uprated engines and underwing Westinghouse 19XB-2A axial-flow turbojets of 1,600 lbf thrust each, making it the XB-42A. (Source)

Tail number 43-50224 (bottom picture) is in storage at the Air Force Museum, awaiting restoration. I'll be wanting to see that one of these days!

Here's one named after the governor of California (yes, the current loon) -

McDonnell XP-67 "Bat" or "Moonbat"
(Source)

That one flew in 1944, very advanced but a lot of teething problems. The sole prototype was destroyed in a crash. The program cost was over four million bucks. Big money back then. Now? Well, that might buy you a toilet seat and a hammer.

Here was a bad idea looking for a sponsor -

The Goodyear AO-3 "Inflatoplane"
(Source)

Yes, an aircraft you inflate, then fly. Scares me to think about it.

The Goodyear Inflatoplane was an inflatable experimental aircraft made by the Goodyear Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, well known for the Goodyear blimp. Although it seemed an improbable project, the finished aircraft proved to be capable of meeting its design objectives, although its sponsor, the United States Army, ultimately cancelled the project when it could not find a "valid military use for an aircraft that could be brought down by a well-aimed bow and arrow". (Source)

Even the Army gets it right sometimes...

This one had to wait a few years, look familiar?

YB-35 Flying Wing showing its quartet of pusher contra-rotating propellers.
The option was later discarded due severe vibration in flight and later changed to traditional single rotating propeller.(Source)

This view might give you a clue as to this bird's design descendant, sort of.

(Source)

B-2 Bomber
(Source)

See the resemblance now?

Miles M.39B Libellula
(Source)

This odd duck rather looks like something I drew when I was in the 2nd grade (when I should have been paying attention to the teacher), though this one could actually fly. What were they thinking?

The M.39B Libellula (from Libellulidae, a taxonomic family of dragonflies) was a Second World War tandem wing experimental aircraft built by Miles Aircraft, designed to give the pilot the best view possible for landing on aircraft carriers. A scale version of the M.39 design was proposed by Miles to meet Air Ministry specification B.11/41 for a fast bomber. The M.39B was used by Miles to generate data from which the M.39 design was improved, but the M.39 project was cancelled and the M.39B broken up. (Source)

Wonder what Lex would have thought of that design?

Weird and wonderful aircraft, there are many more, but I need to save some of them for a future post. (Need to get started on that book dontcha know?)