In a UA-cam aviation enthusiast video ecosystem filled with robo-voiced, AI generated slop, it's so refreshing to see entertaining and informative content voiced by a real human and inflected with equal parts humor and real aviation knowledge. Thank you!
The "humor" part is questionable (especially to my teen daughters, lol) but I really appreciate the kind feedback, thank you! I haven't had the time to explore it yet but I'll be doing live videos soon, stay tuned! Let's geek out on aviation oddities in real time! 👍
@@aircraftadventures-vids - I absolutely agree with @marchills4131. I was impressed that the thumbnail was in fact, a real aircraft with a rather unfortunate name. You have a new subscriber. Looking forward to more videos.
My wife and I just bought a new dishwasher from a German salesman. I wondered why he always put a lot of emphasis when he told us it has a "THIRD RACK!".
This is the first time a video promises me 10 unknown/oddball planes and actually delivers on that promise. You have earned my respect and subscription, thank you!
Appreciate the kind words! I recently got stuck on curating new content then it dawned upon my I literally got a huge arsenal saved from my extensive collection of posts on Instagram over the years, and this is the result. So hang tight there will be plenty more coming down the pipeline!
The Eagle X was a quickie. It was built to familiarise the producers with composite processes, not as a prototype of the eagle. I was operating my 172 at The Oaks private airstrip and the producers set up there for a while. Just as a casual observer it seemed that there were more salesmen than engineers.
Is that The Oaks near Camden? 😀 If so, when I was a kid I used to love visiting with my Father to see his old mate who lived on a neighbouring property in the hopes of seeing flying activity at The Oaks. The land was on higher ground to the airstrip so it was easy to find a good vantage point 😊 Once the bloke who owned it held some sort of fly-in. I was watching in amazement at one of those fly-in of a near miss. Two aircraft were both on final, one was high and clearly didn't see the character below him. At the last minute he was obviously waved off and got the message and did a go-around 😜 There used to be an old DC-3, minus it's engines, on the front of property at the time 🙂
Airplanes suffer from a need for form to follow function, I’m one of those who believes if somethings function is perfectly suited to the situation then I think it’s beautiful.
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i love to see unique looking planes that ESPECIALLY use propellers… and guess what! this video caught my eye INSTANTLY. thank you for covering this topic for my weird obsession
@@AlanpittsS2b Yes! I LOVE the Verner engines and how they fit like a glove on so many nice homebuilts (kitfox, replicas, etc) Plus they somehow sound 10x more powerful than they are. Good on you, post some videos of your progress!
@ yep the verner is neat. My dad has used one for a long time and I very much prefer them over rotec. I’ve seen and heard many horror stories of rotec engine failures in flight and some even causing crashes. Then their customer service is said to be awful. Some people are happy with them but there are many who are not
Yeah I've been asked a couple of times about that, maybe I should. It's an area I don't have too much knowledge on, but maybe could do a collection of rare/long-gone models of gyros.
Thanks Brad! Yeah I'm slowly going through my extensive collection of IG posts over the years and "youtubizing" them. Figure a lot of folks would like to see them.
This was a nice clip to watch for the end of the day setting into the weekend. Just liek the earlier one you've published, really encountered a few real oddballs there 😄 Oh, as as suggesion, "Tiira 1" , PIK-18 Sytky and PIK-26 Mini-Sytky, or Atol 450 and FlyNano Nano. There's a few oddities for you 😉
Thanks for watching! You know, most airports are populated with Cessnas trainers, Pipers, Cirrus and a few Caravans. At least that's MY experience where I live. So it's refreshing to know there's a whole world of other aircraft out there, and some even flying till this day. As to the license....go for it!!! It was one of the best experiences in my life.
I have a little experience flying a taildragger, and none with a Meta Sokal, but I imagine that the short distance between the main gears and the aft wheel would make it very sensitive to rudder inputs while landing. I imagine it would be a handful on rollout.
Not sure, but isn't it the other way around though? Longer moment = more propensity to ground loop? Just mentioning it as it made the long Helio Courier a handful to taxi.
The Meta-Sokol has a good reputation among those who are lucky enough to have flown them. I think the Nomad is good looking in a strange way. It was originally designed for the Royal Flying Doctor Service as a flying ambulance to replace the de Havilland DHA3 Drover.
The MS isn't bad looking, and I really like inline engines (in fact one of my favorite twins is the Aero 145). Also correct on the Nomad, it was built for domestic use but if I recall, they did try to market it abroad. But the poor choice of Allison turbines didn't help its image.
Thanks for the video.....good fun :) Evident a ton of work went into it. My fav discontinued "oddball plane"? - Beechcraft Starship. Never flown one, but fortunate have gotten a peek inside a few times.
Yeah the Starship is insanely cool, and even more insane is that someone is still keeping one flying! (based in AZ I think?). Glad you enjoyed the video, thanks!
I remember flying with my father in a Meta Sokol in the 70's in the UK. It was a fine aircraft and definitely something of an oddity even then, but nothing special springs to mind except the upright stance as we mostly flew tail-draggers. My dad's favourite aircraft was his Fournier RF4, but unfortunately as a single seater I never got to ride in that. Still, we had a lot of fun in our Super Cub 😄
The Eagle 150 was not good as a trainer because its safety characteristics would give the trainees habits that would not transfer to safely flying more conventional designs.
Thank you random recommended for a good quality video. Though you got to be careful if you say "flown in only Australia" and show footage of several New Zealand operators. My countrymen won't be as forgiving being left off the map again haha
Good work... Now please regale us with a listing of planes for a category called 'So Ugly They're Beautiful'. Planes that actually entered production. Some of the nominees could include the Fairey Gannett, the Mcdonnell Demon, the Vought 'Gutless' Cutlass, and the pudgy Brewster Buffalo...It's all an opinion of course...😃
All cool planes but I usually focus more on civilian planes, given that there's tons of UA-cam channels that focus on military products and cover all of these. But tx for the reco's.
Can you make a video on the Nemuth Parasol Disc Wing Airplane? It is quite strange. I would love to see more information about it. I want to build an RC version.
I inspected a Meta-Sokol in Australia, in 1978. It used tail feathers (and part of the rear fuselage) from an L-13 Blanik glider, which probably accounted for the "reverse tricycle " arrangement, because the Blanik rear fuselage was too lightly built to take the loads from a conventional tailwheel. It was powered by a Walther M332 engine, with a variable-pitch propeller. The M332 had a supercharger that shared its gearing with the electric starter, so it developed 140 hp (at sea level) for takeoff, and 115 HP with the supercharged stopped. It cruised at 115 knots, so it is one of the very few aircraft that could carry 4 adults on 1 horsepower per knot. Unfortunately, it had rather small fuel capacity, which limited its utility in Australia.
It’s strange to see the IA-50 Guarani II as an oddball… I actually made an downloadable add-on of this Argentine plane to fly accurately. The reason of that was all that, thanks to you!
I don't know, I guess it's very subjective. Nose shape is weird, coupled with long skinny wings and massively swept tail. Surely, not as odd as the Aitruk, but still.
Have seen the Prospector in the flesh, so to speak, and spoken with the owner, nice chap. It was at the 'Tail Draggers' day which is held regularly at the Hastings aerodrome in New Zealand. The pod part of the aircraft is very roomy.
The Rockwell Space shuttle did not use lifting body design. It avoided it. The CBY-3 was not a very-low aspect-ratio plane. It had normal wings and a lifting fuselage body. Aspect ratio is span squared, divided by area. At under 3, they get stall-proof handling and super-STOL ability while not being as draggy as normal planes nor compared to STOL wings. See the '30s: the Arup planes from Indiana. The Nemeth "parachute plane". Wartime, the Vought V-173, the Sack AS-6. The Eshelman commonly known as the"flying flounder". The plans for the Boeing model 390 & 391 "flapjack" fighter. The '80s Hatfield "Little Bird ", the '90s Wainfan "Facetmobile". The 2010s Australian Rowe "UFO". All of which deserved a mention. While covering the Burnelli CBY-3, think about the '70s Boeing model 754 of a similar sort. By Boeing ads to carriers like Emirates, Husky, and Cargolux: with same engines and fuel load as a "normal" plane, x1.5 the range and payload onto shooter runways. (Similar claims for the recent Lock-Mart Hybrid wing-body logistics plane.) When the Burnelli estate said they'd be happy to have it be license built Boeing hastily dropped it.
Ah yes the Facetmobile, I'm quite fascinated by that one, and recall reading about it when it graced the cover of Kitplanes in the 90s. I've held back on doing a video on it as there's scant good media to work from, available images are quite poor. Maybe ol Barnaby can help with that? Hmm...gonna find his email..
really cool, never had knowledge of most of these. I saw the Nomad in north Australia with government markings, a nose radome and presumed it was used for coastal maritime patrol.
Someone probably already mentioned it but the Sprat 107 flying boat in the video had a VW engine shown. That was the most interesting to me. So cool Thanks, DS
I for one am glad that the Eagle 150 was not successful with flight schools. Primary trainers need to be able to stall and spin so that pilots learn how to recover from stalls and spins. The Eagle 150, like the Ercoupe, would be great plane for licensed pilots to fly around in, but it has no business being a primary trainer.
I fly a Pitts and a yak55m. It is amazing how after the fundamental of flight was figured out the size and shape of air frames changed so quickly and evolved.
@ they are both great in their own ways. The Pitts is more of a challenge landing and with visuals in approach. The yak overall is a bit more capable in aerobatics but the operating cost of the engine is more. I really wanted an extra or edge but I do not have 300k to invest in one and for a yak being under 100k they are amazing and capable for the money.
Not quite my 1900-1950 area. An your right, I hadn't heard of a couple, 4 or 5 of them. Been toying with idea like the Sprat, an Amphib but, on a pension, now. Thanks m8!
Yup, that would probably yield enough material to warrant a video on its own. I have a personal connection to the Shorts planes...my dad was sales director for Shorts Brothers in the mid 80s. In fact he brought me along with him for a sales demo tour, flying on a S360 from Washington DC to Naples, FL and making a couple of stops along the way. I sat in the copilot seat on some of the flights but at only 8 years old I couldn't see for a lick in front of me without a bunch of cushions, lol. Good times though. It was really a weird plane. And probably the tallest cabin ever built for a turboprop!
@@aircraftadventures-vids Oh wow! That's great. Definitely put that story in the video: nothing like a personal touch, and that's not in ANY reference book. I'm a what-if model maker: I've done a model of a Skyvan on skis serving with the British Antarctic Survey instead of their Twin Otters, and years ago I started, but didn't finish, a Skyvan-based helicopter model with a Kaman-style intermeshing dual rotor ("The Five-Tom Bumble Bee..."). Both built from Airfix 1/72nd Skyvan models. I keep lobbying Airfix to bring it back in their Vintage Classics range, but no luck so far.
@@MrHws5mp That's really cool! I love "what-if's", do you have a social media account where I can see your work? I used to follow a FB page run by a friend from France that specialized in photoshop "frankenplanes", one of my favorite creations was a Shorts 360 amphibian. I even dabbled myself and created some silly planes, like a trigear DC-3 and retractible-gear Stearman.
I had a Konieg engine in an ultralight, it blew up, luckily I had altitude an was on floats above lots of lakes. Ultimately I dead sticked in front of my summer home, Rotax was the fix
@@aircraftadventures-vids You know the US used a special near silent spy plane like this in Vietnam with a realy weird drive system. Again a modified glider it was a lockheed Curtis's Wright project..built for the CIA 🤫 called the Q star's When you see one you will be impressed 😁😉🧙🏼♂️ Theres the Beriev Be3 wet wing Amphibious Aircraft .. there are some really cool Russian light sporting Amphibians with unsual empinage and engine configurations that are also suprisingly attractive. There was also the NZ Sherewater .. another atractive pusher powered Amphibian with a V tail.
This is the first time I've seen your videos and I also enjoy unusual aircraft designs. I subscribed and will now start watching what else you have featured. One plane I like is the Shorts 330(?) boxy cargo plane. We have a few of them here in Alaska. I will see if you have put out something on it already.
I have not, but Shorts aircraft have been highly recommended. They're definitely a crowd pleaser. I got quite a bit of time as a passenger in the S360 as my dad was sales director for Short Brothers in the 80s and took me along for a demo flight along the east coast. That plane was a mammoth, compared to other commuters from the time.
@@aircraftadventures-vids That's really neat and quite a coincidence that your father worked for Shorts and you got to fly in a 360. I just did a search and I realize I didn't mean the 330, it was the original Skyvan (SC.7) that I've seen here. The longer 330 was a cleaner and larger plane that I also like but I really like the stubby bush plane look of the Skyvan.
@@JagLite Ah yes the Skyvan. I live near KFLL and up till about 15 years ago we had this local Skyvan operating daily to the Bahamas. Very loud with its 3-blade prop, hard to miss. Was also very raggedy looking. Then I think it was decommissioned, but I think the airframe is still laying around somewhere at FLL. Well, recently I found out that this SAME Skyvan was used to toss political enemies to their death in Argentina, back in the 70s. Someone who researched the incident traced to airframe back to the same one at FLL.
I remember the last plane from the 1970's (Sawyer Sky Jacker). Sawyer tried to interest the Canadian military in having many and many of these built cheaply and using them as ground attack against Soviet armor .... they did not accept his proposal.
Whoever thought you can herd sheep from a plane neglected to speak to sheep farmers: Sheep don't look up. You can't even drive sheep from horseback because they don't look that high! Instead, people use dogs to move them.
Glad I watched this, led me to discovering Ralph Sawyer. I'll enjoy reading up on his exploits. These kinds of lone aviation inventor stories are like pancakes and butter to me.
I remember the last plane (Sawyer Sky Jacker). Sawyer tried to interest the Canadian military in having many and many of these (Thousands I think) built cheaply and using them as ground attack against Soviet armor in case of a war.... they did not accept his proposal. I think I saw this on a Canadian TV program called W5 in the mid to late 1970's.
The metasokol, how about the Champion "Sky Trac"..... had the tail wheel at the mid point of the fuselage....which one was built first??? Neat video and some interesting " Critters "! Thanks!🤗
Minor correction, it's BEEcraft (but I'm sure most people say "beechcraft" when they see the V-tail, lol.) Interesting designs, but there's scant information or photos on them. I think I might have posted about them on my IG years ago.
It might sound counterintuitive, but till this day, "conventional gear" STILL refers to taildraggers! I agree that at this point it would change, but that's still the way it is.
do you know if any more work has been done re the "control-wing" design that was shown in that flying boat? would such a design be less prone to stalling compared to a regular fixed wing that has ailerons?
Experimental ultralight junkie from the 80s. If it flies. And I have clean shorts after the landing I'm cool with it. If I get to fly 1/10 the planes and hours that Kermit has flown. Would be amazing.
In a UA-cam aviation enthusiast video ecosystem filled with robo-voiced, AI generated slop, it's so refreshing to see entertaining and informative content voiced by a real human and inflected with equal parts humor and real aviation knowledge. Thank you!
The "humor" part is questionable (especially to my teen daughters, lol) but I really appreciate the kind feedback, thank you! I haven't had the time to explore it yet but I'll be doing live videos soon, stay tuned! Let's geek out on aviation oddities in real time! 👍
@@aircraftadventures-vids - I absolutely agree with @marchills4131. I was impressed that the thumbnail was in fact, a real aircraft with a rather unfortunate name. You have a new subscriber. Looking forward to more videos.
3:57 Three things to never ask:
1. a man's income
2. a woman's age
3. a German why grandpa lives in Argentina...😂
Lol!
Good one... Wish I'd thought of it.
My wife and I just bought a new dishwasher from a German salesman. I wondered why he always put a lot of emphasis when he told us it has a "THIRD RACK!".
@@derekheuring2984 Get the warranty. My father fought that rack for a winter and spring and they just fall apart.
@Cuccos19 - My first thought when I heard that. When was he living in Germany?
This is the first time a video promises me 10 unknown/oddball planes and actually delivers on that promise.
You have earned my respect and subscription, thank you!
Appreciate the kind words! I recently got stuck on curating new content then it dawned upon my I literally got a huge arsenal saved from my extensive collection of posts on Instagram over the years, and this is the result. So hang tight there will be plenty more coming down the pipeline!
@@aircraftadventures-vids Keep 'em coming!
Great video, loved the 1960's I phone comment.
Glad the cheesy joke didn't get an eye rolls!
...NOTHING TO SEE HERE BUT AWSOMENESS...👍
Thanks!
The Eagle X was a quickie. It was built to familiarise the producers with composite processes, not as a prototype of the eagle. I was operating my 172 at The Oaks private airstrip and the producers set up there for a while. Just as a casual observer it seemed that there were more salesmen than engineers.
Thanks for helping clear that up! Makes 100% sense.
Is that The Oaks near Camden? 😀 If so, when I was a kid I used to love visiting with my Father to see his old mate who lived on a neighbouring property in the hopes of seeing flying activity at The Oaks.
The land was on higher ground to the airstrip so it was easy to find a good vantage point 😊
Once the bloke who owned it held some sort of fly-in. I was watching in amazement at one of those fly-in of a near miss. Two aircraft were both on final, one was high and clearly didn't see the character below him.
At the last minute he was obviously waved off and got the message and did a go-around 😜
There used to be an old DC-3, minus it's engines, on the front of property at the time 🙂
Outstanding Video Presentation. Fascinating subjects. Well Done Sir.
Thanks, and glad you enjoyed it
WOW!!!!! IMHO: A LOT OF THESE DESIGNS WOULD BE AWESOME AS R/C MODELS!!!!!!!
Literally anything can become a flying RC model. I've seen a flying RC lawnmower.
I was like, "Why would anyone design a plane to hurt sheep?!" haha...
Ooooh Herding, not hurting.
I really enjoyed this! Your collection of airborne oddities was very fun! Thank you and congratulations for earning a subscription!!
Hey, much appreciated!
Every time a plane manufacturer mentions "air taxi", run in the other direction!
Just when I was starting to worry I'd seen it all...New subscriber..thanks and keep up the good work.
Thanks for the sub! There's definitely more rare stuff I'll be sharing soon...stay tuned!
Airplanes suffer from a need for form to follow function, I’m one of those who believes if somethings function is perfectly suited to the situation then I think it’s beautiful.
Bingo!
Hence the love for the Airtruk.
Also the McaDonnel XF-85 "Goblin", which test pilots said flew very well with good handling.
@@JFrazer4303 the runner up to the F-22 Raptor, Blackwidow ? Was an excellent air craft, I believe they just didn’t like the way it looked.
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8:18 I am so proud of my country❤🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿
Nice compilation + well documented + pleasant voice !
Thank you so much 😀
Awesome video. Anyone who loves all things aviation must see. Thank you for making.
Glad you enjoyed it! Keeps me motivated to working on a new ones. 👍
i love to see unique looking planes that ESPECIALLY use propellers… and guess what! this video caught my eye INSTANTLY. thank you for covering this topic for my weird obsession
Glad you enjoyed it! makes two of us (with the weird obsession)
Can I thank you now?
Absolutely fascinating aircraft. Much apreesh AA!
And thank you for watching! Had fun putting this together.
The world needs more small radial powered planes.
No doubt! But I'll say the eastern european countries have done a great job at keeping them going
I am building a sopwith camel from the airdrome company and using a verner radial instead of a rotary. So in about a year there will be one more lol.
@@AlanpittsS2b Yes! I LOVE the Verner engines and how they fit like a glove on so many nice homebuilts (kitfox, replicas, etc) Plus they somehow sound 10x more powerful than they are. Good on you, post some videos of your progress!
@ yep the verner is neat. My dad has used one for a long time and I very much prefer them over rotec. I’ve seen and heard many horror stories of rotec engine failures in flight and some even causing crashes. Then their customer service is said to be awful. Some people are happy with them but there are many who are not
For small radials ... the Pobjoy geared radial based aircraft family take some beating ...including the notorious Fleet Shadower.
iPhone from the 60’s 😂😂😂😂
I'll keep my day job, lol
Bro's gonna take us entering the holy grail of uncanny and odds aircraft we never heard of before
Enter at your own risk! Thanks for watching
You do so great with all your videos. I didn’t see anything on Gyrocopters. I’m sure you could put together a pretty awesome video.
Yeah I've been asked a couple of times about that, maybe I should. It's an area I don't have too much knowledge on, but maybe could do a collection of rare/long-gone models of gyros.
Great video Richard. It's like you've hacked in to my photos file. I've had those saved for many years , as well. Keep the "odd" content coming!
Thanks Brad! Yeah I'm slowly going through my extensive collection of IG posts over the years and "youtubizing" them. Figure a lot of folks would like to see them.
Quality content. Subscribed !
Thank you!!!
Winner! thanks for sharing, gracias
Thanks for watching! Abrazos
This was a nice clip to watch for the end of the day setting into the weekend.
Just liek the earlier one you've published, really encountered a few real oddballs there 😄
Oh, as as suggesion, "Tiira 1" , PIK-18 Sytky and PIK-26 Mini-Sytky, or Atol 450 and FlyNano Nano. There's a few oddities for you 😉
Awesome! Tx for the recos. I actually covered the Atol long time ago on my IG, a friend worked on the project.
Love these videos. Been a Wingnut since the 60s. First time behind a stick 1980. I love your channel. Always drawn to odd planes cars trucks ect.
Hey, thanks for watching!
Just subscribed and I love your channel!!!❤
Thanks for watching! And tx for the sub 👍
Fascinating video, well done!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks
Nice. Thanks. The Spratt was genius.
Indeed! Would be nice if someone kept it going.
Thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching!
I just discovered your channel. Instant subscription! Thanks!
Welcome aboard! Thanks for the sub, and when you got some time check out the other vids!
Love this video! I'm 21 and I hope to become a pilot some day. I love strange planes. Don't know what it is, but they are extremely fascinating
Thanks for watching! You know, most airports are populated with Cessnas trainers, Pipers, Cirrus and a few Caravans. At least that's MY experience where I live. So it's refreshing to know there's a whole world of other aircraft out there, and some even flying till this day. As to the license....go for it!!! It was one of the best experiences in my life.
16:05 Small wingspan, easy to fit in the garage XD
True!
Cool video - put out by a real person?!
That and the Gyro Captain avatar earned a subscribe!
Much appreciated! Yeah I'm real (at least, I think i am) Gyro captain's my favorite aviation character, hence my avatar.
An iPhone in the 1960s 🤣 LOL
And some folks here actually disputing that there was no iPhone in the 60s. Seriously, I bet there was!
John Roncz prototype model looks awesome. Need more info on that!!
Catbird, maybe?
Stopped in for a peek, stayed to the end 👍❤️
Hey, thanks!!
I have a little experience flying a taildragger, and none with a Meta Sokal, but I imagine that the short distance between the main gears and the aft wheel would make it very sensitive to rudder inputs while landing. I imagine it would be a handful on rollout.
Not sure, but isn't it the other way around though? Longer moment = more propensity to ground loop? Just mentioning it as it made the long Helio Courier a handful to taxi.
"Stall-proof" usually comes with a deadly tradeoff: unrecoverable spins.
This is a very entertaining and informative video. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the kind words!
👍 for saying that plane looked like timone 😂
Thanks for the Fascinatin' post. MIght start saving up for one of these beasties.
Thanks for watching!
Iphone in the 1960s? That's a neat trick! 😂😂
Selfies at Woodstock, baby!
Surprised you had two Australian oddball planes but NOT the Transavia PL-12 Airtruk! A plane so weird it got a part in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome!
Ask and you shall receive! I already did the Airtruk 👍ua-cam.com/video/crk7zskslmU/v-deo.htmlsi=i7FnuhgTvgz-_d6w
The Meta-Sokol has a good reputation among those who are lucky enough to have flown them. I think the Nomad is good looking in a strange way. It was originally designed for the Royal Flying Doctor Service as a flying ambulance to replace the de Havilland DHA3 Drover.
The MS isn't bad looking, and I really like inline engines (in fact one of my favorite twins is the Aero 145). Also correct on the Nomad, it was built for domestic use but if I recall, they did try to market it abroad. But the poor choice of Allison turbines didn't help its image.
I can only have admiration and wonder for anyone that is able to design/engineer and buld an aircraft.
Likewise!
11:54
Thats from down here in New Zealand.
Just up the road from me.😂
12:38 that's from New Zealand as well, Lake Tekapo.
Gotcha! And just as I mentioned that they were only sold in Australia. Oops..
Australian aircraft look weird - thanks to Mad-Max --- 🙂
Thanks for the video.....good fun :)
Evident a ton of work went into it.
My fav discontinued "oddball plane"? - Beechcraft Starship.
Never flown one, but fortunate have gotten a peek inside a few times.
Yeah the Starship is insanely cool, and even more insane is that someone is still keeping one flying! (based in AZ I think?). Glad you enjoyed the video, thanks!
I remember flying with my father in a Meta Sokol in the 70's in the UK. It was a fine aircraft and definitely something of an oddity even then, but nothing special springs to mind except the upright stance as we mostly flew tail-draggers. My dad's favourite aircraft was his Fournier RF4, but unfortunately as a single seater I never got to ride in that. Still, we had a lot of fun in our Super Cub 😄
Thanks for sharing your experience! It does look like a fun plane.
I would suggest the Custer Culver Channel wing
Good one, noted!
The eagle sheep herder is almost always owned by pilots wearing tall boots.
With the pants tucked into the boots
Well done well narrated INTERESTING look at unconventional flying machines. Thank you!
Thanks!! Glad you enjoyed it!
The Eagle 150 was not good as a trainer because its safety characteristics would give the trainees habits that would not transfer to safely flying more conventional designs.
That makes 100% sense. It would be like learning to fly in a gyrocopter then switching to a Cessna 150. (maybe a little exaggerated, but still)
Thank you random recommended for a good quality video. Though you got to be careful if you say "flown in only Australia" and show footage of several New Zealand operators. My countrymen won't be as forgiving being left off the map again haha
Yea, I've been called out on it, I should have said "primarily in Australia".
Good work... Now please regale us with a listing of planes for a category called 'So Ugly They're Beautiful'. Planes that actually entered production. Some of the nominees could include the Fairey Gannett, the Mcdonnell Demon, the Vought 'Gutless' Cutlass, and the pudgy Brewster Buffalo...It's all an opinion of course...😃
All cool planes but I usually focus more on civilian planes, given that there's tons of UA-cam channels that focus on military products and cover all of these. But tx for the reco's.
The Prosecutor looks like a flying guppy! 😂
Can you make a video on the Nemuth Parasol Disc Wing Airplane? It is quite strange. I would love to see more information about it. I want to build an RC version.
Sure I can drop that one into my list. I have to admit that whatever info is out there on it, is all I'll be able to obtain.
I love the Eagle 150. I’d love to have one sounds like the perfect enjoyable aircraft to fly.😊
I inspected a Meta-Sokol in Australia, in 1978. It used tail feathers (and part of the rear fuselage) from an L-13 Blanik glider, which probably accounted for the "reverse tricycle " arrangement, because the Blanik rear fuselage was too lightly built to take the loads from a conventional tailwheel. It was powered by a Walther M332 engine, with a variable-pitch propeller. The M332 had a supercharger that shared its gearing with the electric starter, so it developed 140 hp (at sea level) for takeoff, and 115 HP with the supercharged stopped. It cruised at 115 knots, so it is one of the very few aircraft that could carry 4 adults on 1 horsepower per knot. Unfortunately, it had rather small fuel capacity, which limited its utility in Australia.
Wow! You had me pulling up pics of the Blanik and sure enough, there's the tail! That's pretty cool, thanks for sharing that.
excellent video
Glad you liked it!
It’s strange to see the IA-50 Guarani II as an oddball… I actually made an downloadable add-on of this Argentine plane to fly accurately. The reason of that was all that, thanks to you!
I don't know, I guess it's very subjective. Nose shape is weird, coupled with long skinny wings and massively swept tail. Surely, not as odd as the Aitruk, but still.
That’s understandable.
Have seen the Prospector in the flesh, so to speak, and spoken with the owner, nice chap. It was at the 'Tail Draggers' day which is held regularly at the Hastings aerodrome in New Zealand. The pod part of the aircraft is very roomy.
Man I would LOVE to see one of these here in the states. I bet it would be a blast at Oshkosh, all the crowds it would draw.
The Rockwell Space shuttle did not use lifting body design. It avoided it.
The CBY-3 was not a very-low aspect-ratio plane. It had normal wings and a lifting fuselage body.
Aspect ratio is span squared, divided by area. At under 3, they get stall-proof handling and super-STOL ability while not being as draggy as normal planes nor compared to STOL wings.
See the '30s: the Arup planes from Indiana. The Nemeth "parachute plane". Wartime, the Vought V-173, the Sack AS-6. The Eshelman commonly known as the"flying flounder". The plans for the Boeing model 390 & 391 "flapjack" fighter.
The '80s Hatfield "Little Bird ", the '90s Wainfan "Facetmobile".
The 2010s Australian Rowe "UFO".
All of which deserved a mention.
While covering the Burnelli CBY-3, think about the '70s Boeing model 754 of a similar sort.
By Boeing ads to carriers like Emirates, Husky, and Cargolux: with same engines and fuel load as a "normal" plane, x1.5 the range and payload onto shooter runways.
(Similar claims for the recent Lock-Mart Hybrid wing-body logistics plane.)
When the Burnelli estate said they'd be happy to have it be license built Boeing hastily dropped it.
Ah yes the Facetmobile, I'm quite fascinated by that one, and recall reading about it when it graced the cover of Kitplanes in the 90s. I've held back on doing a video on it as there's scant good media to work from, available images are quite poor. Maybe ol Barnaby can help with that? Hmm...gonna find his email..
really cool, never had knowledge of most of these. I saw the Nomad in north Australia with government markings, a nose radome and presumed it was used for coastal maritime patrol.
Someone probably already mentioned it but the Sprat 107 flying boat in the video had a VW engine shown. That was the most interesting to me. So cool Thanks, DS
Yeah it was brought up and it sure seems like it, after a closer look. Well, that's fine by me, I'm huge aircooled VW nut!
And would not have been recorded on an "I-Phone from the 1960's"
@ why not?
IPhone , you meant Android I'm assuming ...
Good vid , subscribed .
Ah yes, my bad. and tx for the sub!
Dang I like that Gniady, that is like a truck of an airplane! To bad their not airworthy anymore
I for one am glad that the Eagle 150 was not successful with flight schools. Primary trainers need to be able to stall and spin so that pilots learn how to recover from stalls and spins. The Eagle 150, like the Ercoupe, would be great plane for licensed pilots to fly around in, but it has no business being a primary trainer.
Makes sense.
I fly a Pitts and a yak55m. It is amazing how after the fundamental of flight was figured out the size and shape of air frames changed so quickly and evolved.
That's awesome! what's your take on both aircraft? I mean, how do they compare, in terms of handling?
@ they are both great in their own ways. The Pitts is more of a challenge landing and with visuals in approach. The yak overall is a bit more capable in aerobatics but the operating cost of the engine is more. I really wanted an extra or edge but I do not have 300k to invest in one and for a yak being under 100k they are amazing and capable for the money.
nice video
Not quite my 1900-1950 area. An your right, I hadn't heard of a couple, 4 or 5 of them. Been toying with idea like the Sprat, an Amphib but, on a pension, now. Thanks m8!
Thanks for watching!
Since you like the boxy, practical Nomad, why not do a video on the Shorts Skyvan/330/360, in many ways the ultimate "flying panel van"?
Yup, that would probably yield enough material to warrant a video on its own. I have a personal connection to the Shorts planes...my dad was sales director for Shorts Brothers in the mid 80s. In fact he brought me along with him for a sales demo tour, flying on a S360 from Washington DC to Naples, FL and making a couple of stops along the way. I sat in the copilot seat on some of the flights but at only 8 years old I couldn't see for a lick in front of me without a bunch of cushions, lol. Good times though. It was really a weird plane. And probably the tallest cabin ever built for a turboprop!
@@aircraftadventures-vids Oh wow! That's great. Definitely put that story in the video: nothing like a personal touch, and that's not in ANY reference book.
I'm a what-if model maker: I've done a model of a Skyvan on skis serving with the British Antarctic Survey instead of their Twin Otters, and years ago I started, but didn't finish, a Skyvan-based helicopter model with a Kaman-style intermeshing dual rotor ("The Five-Tom Bumble Bee..."). Both built from Airfix 1/72nd Skyvan models. I keep lobbying Airfix to bring it back in their Vintage Classics range, but no luck so far.
@@MrHws5mp That's really cool! I love "what-if's", do you have a social media account where I can see your work? I used to follow a FB page run by a friend from France that specialized in photoshop "frankenplanes", one of my favorite creations was a Shorts 360 amphibian. I even dabbled myself and created some silly planes, like a trigear DC-3 and retractible-gear Stearman.
I had a Konieg engine in an ultralight, it blew up, luckily I had altitude an was on floats above lots of lakes.
Ultimately I dead sticked in front of my summer home, Rotax was the fix
Oof, and I thought it was common knowledge the old rotax 2-strokes would seize up. Sounds like this one was worse?
@@aircraftadventures-vids
You know the US used a special near silent spy plane like this in Vietnam with a realy weird drive system.
Again a modified glider it was a lockheed Curtis's Wright project..built for the CIA 🤫 called the Q star's
When you see one you will be impressed 😁😉🧙🏼♂️
Theres the Beriev Be3 wet wing Amphibious Aircraft .. there are some really cool Russian light sporting Amphibians with unsual empinage and engine configurations that are also suprisingly attractive.
There was also the NZ Sherewater .. another atractive pusher powered Amphibian with a V tail.
Great stuff, thank you 🏍️🇨🇦
Glad you enjoyed it
I thought for sure you would have mentioned the PL-12 Airtruck or Blumm and Voss 141?😆
No need! I already covered the Airtruk in a previous video, check it out: ua-cam.com/video/crk7zskslmU/v-deo.html
This is the first time I've seen your videos and I also enjoy unusual aircraft designs.
I subscribed and will now start watching what else you have featured.
One plane I like is the Shorts 330(?) boxy cargo plane.
We have a few of them here in Alaska.
I will see if you have put out something on it already.
I have not, but Shorts aircraft have been highly recommended. They're definitely a crowd pleaser. I got quite a bit of time as a passenger in the S360 as my dad was sales director for Short Brothers in the 80s and took me along for a demo flight along the east coast. That plane was a mammoth, compared to other commuters from the time.
@@aircraftadventures-vids That's really neat and quite a coincidence that your father worked for Shorts and you got to fly in a 360. I just did a search and I realize I didn't mean the 330, it was the original Skyvan (SC.7) that I've seen here. The longer 330 was a cleaner and larger plane that I also like but I really like the stubby bush plane look of the Skyvan.
@@JagLite Ah yes the Skyvan. I live near KFLL and up till about 15 years ago we had this local Skyvan operating daily to the Bahamas. Very loud with its 3-blade prop, hard to miss. Was also very raggedy looking. Then I think it was decommissioned, but I think the airframe is still laying around somewhere at FLL. Well, recently I found out that this SAME Skyvan was used to toss political enemies to their death in Argentina, back in the 70s. Someone who researched the incident traced to airframe back to the same one at FLL.
@@aircraftadventures-vids That's horrendous. Evil people doing evil things.
Interesting aircraft
Thanks for watching!
I remember the last plane from the 1970's (Sawyer Sky Jacker). Sawyer tried to interest the Canadian military in having many and many of these built cheaply and using them as ground attack against Soviet armor .... they did not accept his proposal.
That's wild, didn't know about that. Sort of like a mass-produced ground attack aircraft?
@@aircraftadventures-vids Yah, it was an intriguing idea of sorts. The Canadian program that aired it was I believe called W5.
Whoever thought you can herd sheep from a plane neglected to speak to sheep farmers: Sheep don't look up.
You can't even drive sheep from horseback because they don't look that high! Instead, people use dogs to move them.
And that's the "dog-gone" truth!🐑
Wouldn't be the first time a company chases a solution to a problem
Seen the last one sitting in mojave...been there for years. Cool vid.. gre a t info.
Thanks for watching!
The HPA unstability didn't look like it would be crazy difficult to fix, even by keeping the configuration.
11:00 I've got an idea for a WIG/flying hydrofoil cargo amphibian craft that leaves it's wing at the dock and drives away
Let's do it! Someone in Australia is also working on a small Wig.
Glad I watched this, led me to discovering Ralph Sawyer. I'll enjoy reading up on his exploits. These kinds of lone aviation inventor stories are like pancakes and butter to me.
I too appreciate these kinds of stories. Check out the Dyke Delta video, kind of similar life journey.
I remember the last plane (Sawyer Sky Jacker). Sawyer tried to interest the Canadian military in having many and many of these (Thousands I think) built cheaply and using them as ground attack against Soviet armor in case of a war.... they did not accept his proposal. I think I saw this on a Canadian TV program called W5 in the mid to late 1970's.
Knot an odd ball . I would say under appreciated ❤️ my favorite aircraft is the Beachcraft Starship thanks to Burt Ratan
The Starship is seriously a hot plane!
The metasokol, how about the Champion "Sky Trac"..... had the tail wheel at the mid point of the fuselage....which one was built first??? Neat video and some interesting " Critters "! Thanks!🤗
I vaguely recall that! Is that the name though? Couldn't pull anything up in google
Sweet!! Would love for you to go over the Beechcraft Queen Bee and Honey Bee!
Minor correction, it's BEEcraft (but I'm sure most people say "beechcraft" when they see the V-tail, lol.) Interesting designs, but there's scant information or photos on them. I think I might have posted about them on my IG years ago.
@@aircraftadventures-vids Hah, totally missed that there wasn't an 'h.'
@@aircraftadventures-vids Or if we wanna be adventurous, the QT-2PC
The 1st 1 reminds me of an airtruk before it was beat with an ugly stick. 😂
Is it even possible to beat an Airtruk harder with an ugly stick??
Lake Argyle 0:51 my back yard
Woah lucky you!
Beautiful!
they should of used clips from "The Flying Doctors" tv show for the Nomad
Nice list. 8:38 tricycle landing gear is conventional. Taildragger gear was conventional through the mid-1940s, but that was 80 years ago.
Conventional is still a term that refers to taildragger today in the aviation community.
@@anonymous12345678935 similar to a manual transmission is sometimes called a standard because the automatic was optional.
It might sound counterintuitive, but till this day, "conventional gear" STILL refers to taildraggers! I agree that at this point it would change, but that's still the way it is.
do you know if any more work has been done re the "control-wing" design that was shown in that flying boat? would such a design be less prone to stalling compared to a regular fixed wing that has ailerons?
Not bad. Some genuinely original content, here.
Thanks for watching! A lot more in the pipeline.
Experimental ultralight junkie from the 80s. If it flies. And I have clean shorts after the landing I'm cool with it. If I get to fly 1/10 the planes and hours that Kermit has flown. Would be amazing.
Yeah, Kermit's got the life! I'm happy he shares with it with the rest of us (lots of POV videos on his channel).
11:15 I forgot, what iPhone models were out in the 1960s? Also, how many times did Simon say “UPGRADE?”
The Nomad in Indonesia: From the writing on the side and the Royal Thai Air Force roundel I would say that's Thailand, not Indonesia.
You're correct, I referenced Indonesia while displaying a Thai operated Nomad. But it still remains true that Indonesia operated quite a few Nomads.
A couple of operators in Alaska used the Nomad for a while.
Really? Never thought they'd make it on this side of the world
Very cool, I thought I knew everything aviation……..I know nothing 😢about
Hey, I'm glad to help! and trust I'm always learning something new. What fun would it be if we all knew everything? lol
What are your thoughts on the Edgley OPTICA ?