Craziest ideas in aviation?

Question

OK guys I was reading a book on ops in the Med in WW2 and I was amazed to read that the Bristol Beaufort had bomb bay doors held closed by bungee cords and when they released the bombs they literally fell onto the doors and the weight of the bombs pushed the doors open. This seemed crazy and got me thinking of other crazy aviation ideas. Considering the wealth of cryptic and obscure aviation knowledge out there it seems this would make a good YA discussion topic. Lets hear some crazy ideas in aviation. I'll start you off...wheel-less carrier aircraft. Those poor test pilots who all have spinal damage from being yanked onto a mat on a carrier deck instead of landing normally. crazy...anyway, lets hear 'em...

Answer 1

There have been plenty.  From the huge Gigant glider developed in WW2 by the Germans which took three planes and rocket assist to tow it into the air, to one of the strangest was the inflatable airplane developed by Goodyear.  It could be dropped to a stranded pilot in a crate, uncrated, assembled ,blown up, and then in theory the pilot would fly it to the safety.  The idea actually worked but the project was canceled.

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Answer 2

i can think of a few anyway, such as the fighter conveyance program where the B36 was modified to carry a small fighter aloft in the belly of the aircraft. the X85 goblin was a small fighter with very limited range. it was lowered via a trapeze system and was recovered by the same system. the air force also tried using the F84 in the program also.

there was also the sea dart. a modified F92 delta winged fighter that used a ski that allowed it to take off from a body of water.

then there were the lifting body designs from NASA. these were wingless aircraft that were the fore runners to the space shuttle program. these designs actually worked quite well.

there was also the Custer channel wing aircraft. these planes had a U shaped section in their wings where the engine nacelles sat. these aircraft were known to actually lift them selves off the ground in fairly light winds, as little as 5 knots, just sitting on the ground with the engines off.

the italians actually built a jet aircraft what used a piston engine to turn the turbine section. the piston engine was never shut off though. it never reached the performance envisioned of the aircraft.

Answer 3

Craziest financial idea in aviation? Concord.

Answer 4

The "Spruce Goose" was pretty crazy.  

Yeah, and Aircraft Carrier landings are pretty insane too

(The guy who thought of the "Cable System" had to be on some serious drugs!)

Answer 5

In the 50's the Airforce developed a experimental plane, that could re-connect itself to, I believe a B-52, but there was a giant hook and the pilot would be bouncing all over the place to try to "land" on the B-52. It didn't last long.

*Edit* The others are right the plane I am talking about was the B-36 and the X-85 Goblin.

Answer 6

How about aircraft carrier built of... ice?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Hab...

Or superfast fighter-bomber made out of... wood?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havillan...

Though this is NOT a discussion forum.

Answer 7

All those ideas before me were crazy. But we all know the craziest idea in aviation is the average plane, who would of thought we could get some huge and heavy machines into the air, and after planes the next crazy idea would be the Concorde.

Answer 8

human-bird wings?

Answer 9

i say a plane's ability to go supersonic. and for that plane to carry a nuclear bomb.

Answer 10

actually its not a crazy idea, you know until now they are relying on that concept that in case of hydraulic failure on the landing gear there is a free fall handle wherein you pull it which is actually unlocking the landing gear (fr. uplock hook) and due to its weight would push the doors and along comes the landing gears free falling and by design of the air pushing it will be lock on its down side to assure no collapse during touchdown..

Answer 11

The interesting thing about crazy ideas in aviation is that about 20-50 years later, they become reality.  Examples: Flying wing, invisible aircraft, pilotless aircraft, hypersonic flight, etc.

one of the ideas that didn't make it so far was a concept for a nuclear powered bomber.  The idea was to be able to stay airborne for weeks at a time.  

Another idea was a supersonic propeller.  Unfortunately, its acoustic signature was extremely annoying, and actually made most of the nearby observers physically ill.

Answer 12

the henkel VTOL.one of the oddest x-planes  of WWII  you will see it at this website http://www.motionmodels.com/ww2luft/hevt...

Answer 13

It was a B-36, not a B-52, and it turned out not to be a practical idea.

Please note that Yahoo!Answers is not really a discussion forum.  It is a place for people to ask specific questions to be answered specifically by people who know the answers.

There are numerous aviation blogs and discussion groups out there.

Answer 14

Bombs knock out the bay doors that are not open.  Having them open without damage is a good idea, not a crazy idea.