Links

WINGS AND DISCS


Custer Channelwing
The saga of the Custer Channelwing is probably the most interesting of all V/STOL aircraft. It is without doubt, the oldest ongoing saga in aviation. This is the story of a single minded man on a single minded mission to change the path of aviation.


Identified Flying Objects
Giesbert Nijhuis has (attached to his home page) this site which covers attempts to build flyable disc-form aircraft. It covers in great detail very many such aircraft, from the legendary German discs of WW2 to the more substantial UAVs of today, with a wealth of quality images. Giesbert adds material on the technical aspects of the type, and even proposes designs of his own.


Of Flying Wings and Hover Cars
A rather brief but informative text-based page providing basic information on a number of aircraft types - flying wings, discs etc. with some very useful links, leading, for example, to German disc pages.


Burnelli Aircraft History Site
A brief look at some of the Burnelli designs - dating from around WW2 for aircraft somewhere between conventional layouts and the flying wing. Burnelli developed the concept of designing the fuselage so that it would assist in lift, rather than just providing dead weight, from as early as the 1920s.


Glen Edwards and the Flying Wing
Don't imagine this is about the career of one person. This site gives some background information on the flying wing configuration, and in particular a good amount of material on the Horten flying wings developed in Germany before and during WW2, as well as providing a series of useful links.


Kalinin Giant K-7
The K-7 was a gigantic all-metal elliptical wing of extremely thick airfoil (span 53m, area 452m2) with two triangle section tailbooms. The wing had rooms for payload and passengers. The project was started in 1928, this amazing aircraft had 7 engines of 750 horsepower each. It was designed as a multipurpose civil and military aircraft, it could carry 128 passengers up to 5,000km. This was the first aircraft design allowing mechanics in-flight access to running engines.


GEOBAT
Invented by Jack M. Jones. Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft with eyewatering aerobatic performance. Excellent forward visibility combined with transparent floor panels creating a helicopter-like cockpit environment. Unique leading edge design feature, transparent leading edges about the forward and rear wings are illuminated with lights.


The Wing Is The Thing (TWITT)
Interesting site, includes information about Horten designs, blended wing body designs, designs based on Birds, member's projects area, Other flying wing/tailless designs and more. Well worth a visit.


Karl Dehn's "Ring Wing" (a sub-page of the TWITT site above, many thanks to Bruno De Michelis for the link)




HELICOPTERS/VTOL

All the World's Rotorcraft
Excellent Russian site with lots of info about helicopters (in English and Russian).


Thanks to Mark Perry for this link:
Canadair CL-84


Thanks to Neil Robson for these four links:
Monte-Copter 15 Triphibian
Fiat 7002
Cessna CH-1C Skyhook
Aerotecnica AC-14




'BLACK' AIRCRAFT

History of Mystery Aircraft
Lots of interesting background information here about the various 'black' aircraft of the CIA and USAF. Features the U2, CL-400 Suntan, SR-71/D-21, F-117A stealth fighter and the B-2 stealth bomber.


Mystery Aircraft Resource Guide
A sub-page of the site above, has much info and many links to sites about 'black' aircraft, Area 51, the Skunk Works and Aurora.


World of Stealth
Site devoted to stealth aircraft.


This is Rocket Science
Adrian Mann's site is a fascinating mix of art and aviation technology. Adrian is a very accomplished artist in several media, and the site displays a wide range of his works; but he has dedicated a large part of it to his own images of "black aircraft", accompanied by informative and interesting text, and reports from other sources.




FLYING BOATS

Spratt's "Controlwing" (thanks to Bruno De Michelis for the link)


Saunders Roe Flying Princess
Streaming video site by Malcolm Dent, well worth a look.


Amphibian Aircraft




ROADABLE AIRCRAFT

Flying Car - the Volante
As of August 2004, the Volante flying car had completed its first year of developmental flight testing. A product of Volante Aircraft in Santa Ana, California, this flying car design is a combination of a two-place, 150 m.p.h. aircraft and a useful, highway-speed car.


Roadable Times Internet Magazine
This has got to be the definitive website about roadable aircraft, an amazing list of flying cars.


Photographs from the Johan Visschedijk collection at 1000aircraftphotos.com website:
Convair Model 103 (also known as Spratt-Stout Model 8 Skycar)
Convair 118 ConvairCar


Haynes Skyblazer
Skyblazer automatically converts from car mode to airplane mode and back, combining the speed of a jet plane, with the door to door convenience of an automobile.


Moller Skycar
Moller International has developed a personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle. The M400 Skycar can cruise comfortably at 350+ MPH and achieve up to 28 miles per gallon, it has a range of 800 miles and can carry a payload of 800 pounds. Orders can be placed, be the first on your block to own one!


Speed & Comfort!
This is a light-hearted link. Not an aircraft, more like a rocket sled - a very comfortable one!


The Flying Omnibus
Another light-hearted link. Dick Smith is an Aussie legend, an adventurer with a sense of humor. He tends to do things 'differently' - here he's jumping a bus over motorcycles!




AIRSHIPS

Airship Manufacturer Database
A very useful tool for finding out about modern lighter-than-air aircraft. Roland Escher provides a list of links to various airship construction companies, either actively building or designing airships, or which have at some time in recent history been involved in either activity.




WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT

Hawker Hurricane - Defender Of The Empire
Colin James Pratt-Hooson's site is a source of information about the Hurricane which touches on most areas of interest to researchers, and, in the context of 'Unreal Aircraft', demonstrates the variations which may be applied to a well-known design.


The Fire Balloons
Amazing story about the Japanese experiments in bombing the USA by the use of long-range 'Fire Balloons'.




GUNSHIPS

AC-47 Photo Album
Some nice shots here of the 'Spooky' gunship, including interiors and a 'Spooky' business card!


USAF AC-119 Gunships
Good site for this lesser known gunship, with albums and anecdotes, and some substantial historical info. Includes a good amount on the AC-47 and AC-130 in addition to the AC-119.


The WW.II Fighter Gun Debate
Emmanuel Gustin's generally fascinating site, text with some interesting photos, a solid summary of airborne 'gunslingers'. A history of heavy calibre guns carried on aircraft from WW.1 onwards. Another page has some equally good material on upward-firing aircraft guns of generally lower calibres.




AIRCRAFT MODELS

ANIGRAND
A Hong Kong based manufacturer of quality model kits established in 2002. Specializing in unusual, experimental, conceptual aircraft and spacecraft.


Fiddlers Green
World's largest collection of paper models! Plans can be downloaded (for a fee) or purchased on a CD. Mainly features aircraft but also has buildings, trains, boats, cars and critters - even a plan of the Mars Rover (free).


Airline History - Paper Planes and White Elephants




MISC LINKS

Luft '46
"During WWII, German aircraft designers put forth many aircraft project ideas, which ranged from the practical to the bizarre. Some of these ideas were ahead of their time and reached a more advanced design stage, and even affect aircraft today. Within the pages of Luft '46 you will find descriptions of these aircraft projects, illustrated with three-view drawings, model photos and custom color artwork."


Paul's Ugly Aircraft Shrine
Paul Senior's website having a light-hearted look at aviation history from an aesthetic point of view. Lots of beaut 'uglies'!


Howard Hughes H-1 Racer Replica
Beautiful polished-aluminium racer replica by the Wright Machine Tool Company. Flown by Jim Wright in which he broke a World Speed Record on September 13, 2002. Crashed on August 4, 2003 in Yellowstone National Park, Jim died maneuvering the H-1 Racer away from people on the ground.


Experimental Flight Vehicles
A quick pictorial introduction to modern US X-planes, brief text descriptions and images, quite up to date.


Military Aircraft Database
If you can't get a lead on an aircraft, try this huge list of military machines and follow up on the information in the brief entries.


Avroland
Jason Eldridge's AvroLand is a site dedicated to the people and aircraft of AVRO Canada & Orenda Engines Limited. Avro Canada was, of course, responsible for aircraft from the Avro Arrow jet fighter and a number of orthodox and well known designs, to some a little less conventional.


1000 Aircraft Photos
Great site featuring various collections of aircraft photos.


X PRIZE Foundation
A $10 Million prize for the private space flight that SpaceShipOne and daVinci are racing for. Note that this site requires your browser to have the v.6 Flash plug-in installed in order to view it.




AIRCRAFT GRAVEYARDS

ww2aircraft.virtualave.net/photos.html

gtitec.com.my/af_museum/exhibits/grave/gyard.htm

Arizona Military Airplane Graveyards

Aircraft Still Shine in Arizona Desert