17 Strangest and Weirdest Aircraft Designs from History

Weirdest Aircraft Designs: the Boeing X-48 has a weird design

History has had its fair share of weird and strange aircraft designs. However, some have been more so than others, but which are the weirdest aircraft designs?

Some of these designs are weird, others are just strange and others are just completely wacky!

17. Vought V-173

The Vought V-173 has perhaps the weirdest aircraft design. It was nicknamed the “Flying pancake” and for good reason too! The V-173 does indeed look like a pancake.

The V-173 had the “Tail dragger” design of many WWII aircraft, however featured many design elements that would become a staple of Cold War-era aircraft.

However, the V-173 also featured dual rudders on a fighter aircraft. Whilst this had been used on bombers and helicopters beforehand, the V-173 was the first use of it on a solely fighter aircraft.

This has led to the use of dual rudders being used on the F-14, F-15, F-18, F-22 and the F-35. All aircraft that served or are serving as primary US military aircraft.

The aircraft was also one of the few fighters to have two rotors. All of this combined with the yellow paint scheme, gave it one of the of the weirdest aircraft designs of the entirety of WWII!

16. NASA AD-1

The AD-1 reminds me of the U-2 in many ways. In many ways, their use were quite similar- they both needed to reach high speeds at high altitudes However, their developments were kept apart from one another.

However, what makes the AD-1 much more different form the U-2 is the fact that the AD-1’s wings move. In fact it is this that makes it one of the strangest aircraft ever.

Unlike the Panavia Tornado or the Grumman F-14 who’s wings are variable sweep wing, the AD-1’s wing moved from 0-60 during flight.

This gave it an advantage at high altitudes but did give it one of the weirdest aircraft designs I’ve ever seen!

15. Stipa-Caproni

The Stipa-Caproni, sometimes referred to as the Caproni Stipa is perhaps the weirdest aircraft of the post-WWI-era. The Stipa-Caproni was nicknamed the “Flying barrel”, and for good reason too.

At the end of the First World War, before the start of the Second World War, the Italian Royal Air Force wanted a new fighter aircraft that was faster and more maneuverable than what other European countries had.

As such, in order to make the aircraft more aerodynamic, the propeller was placed inside the fuselage of the aircraft. The result was one of the strangest aircraft, even by modern standards and contemporary ones.

However, the Stipa-Caproni did lead to the invention of the jet engine. The idea of placing the turbine inside something came from designers studying the Stipa-Caproni’s design!

14. McDonnell XF-85

During WWII, the US military needed more and more aircraft to protect its fleet of heavy bombers that were bombarding the German mainland. As such, they were open to any new fighter that was superior to BF 109s.

The resulting aircraft was one of the weirdest aircraft of the entirety of WWII. The US military needed an aircraft that was fast, agile and could travel long ranges- McDonnell delivered the XF-85.

However, the XF-85 is one of the strangest aircraft ever released. The XF-85 is strange for many reasons. Firstly, it is one of the few aircraft built before the collapse of the USSR to have winglets that worked.

Secondly, the entire fuselage looks like an egg. Because if this, the XF-85 has got no undercarriage, as such, it has no landing gear. This means that the XF-85 has to land on its landing gear, or else!

13. Boeing X-32

In the 1990’s, the US military wanted a new aircraft that met certain criteria, most notably being stealthy. The Boeing X-32 had to compete with the Lockheed X-35 for the JSF project.

Boeing’s entry into the mix had one of the coolest aircraft designs (in my own opinion!) however, this design also gave it one of the strangest aircraft designs in history!

The X-32 features an air intake under the nose of the aircraft which gives it one of the weirdest designs. The bottom of the aircraft also features a bay that opens, this also helps to give it one of the strangest aircraft designs.

12. Avro VZ9

The Avro VZ9 was commonly referred to as being a “UFO” but it was more commonly known as the “Avrocar”.

Unlike most of the aircraft on this list, the Avrocar wasn’t designed to attack enemy positions, nor was it designed to drop bombs. In fact, the Avrocar wouldn’t fly that high off the ground in most cases.

At the beginning of the Cold War, the US Army wanted a faster land vehicle than the jeeps they’d used during WWII. When they approached car manufacturers, they told them it would take years to develop a new jeep.

As such, the Army turned to the aviation industry. The result was Avro’s Canada division creating the Avrocar, however the Army weren’t interested in it and the project was awarded elsewhere.

However, one prototype was made and is perhaps the strangest aircraft on display on display at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada.

11. Super Guppy

The Super Guppy is perhaps the weirdest aircraft on this list. When it was produced, it was a commercial airliner, one of the largest of its time. Today, it carries the next generation of aircraft to and from assembly points.

The Super Guppy started off as the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, one of the most successful Boeing aircraft of its time. The 377 was the first double deck aircraft, and served as the inspiration for the 747’s design.

However, the 377 was converted from a passenger aircraft to a cargo aircraft. In order to carry more freight, an extension was put along the top of the aircraft.

This has given it one of the strangest appearances of any aircraft and has certainly made it one of the weirdest aircraft in terms of appearance. However, the Super Guppy does its job well and is even used by Airbus!

10. Kamov Ka-32

On the surface of it, the Ka-32 looks like any other heavy utility helicopter. However, when you look closer, the Ka-32 has two helicopter blades. However, unlike the Yak-24 and Chinook, they are right above one another.

These blades are offset by 30 degrees from the blade above or below them. For heavy utility helicopters, the Ka-32 also stands out in terms of its wheels too.

The Ka-32 has four sets of wheels with two wheels. Other heavy utility helicopters, even those that are used on aircraft carriers, tend to have three sets of wheels with two wheels each.

The Ka-32 also features a dual rudder. This is something that is quite common among many Russian heavy utility helicopters, yet is almost unheard of in the West.

Unlike many other Russian heavy utility helicopters, the Ka-32 has been widely exported to not only CIS countries but also the US too.

9. Beechcraft Starship

The Beechcraft Starship is called the Starship for a reason, it looks like something out of Star Wars or Star Trek. As with many Beechcraft aircraft, the Starship was developed and built in the Air Capital of the World.

The Starship was meant to be the successor to Beechcraft’s King Air line of business aircraft. However, it had one of the strangest and weirdest aircraft designs I have ever seen!

The Starship features canards, something mostly featured on fighter aircraft, however, the Starship features them too. Unlike many other business jets, the propellers are at the rear of the aircraft.

This gives it one of the most unique designs. Instead of the propellers being on the wings and pushing it along, they’re on the rear of the aircraft and are literally pushing the aircraft along! So cool!

To match the unique outward design of the Starship, Beechcraft designed the Starship with a unique interior design. The Starship is a light jet, yet its interior is designed like a very light jet.

8. Adam A700

The A700 looks like a combination of a teenager’s sports car and a Cessna business jet. Whilst this design may have made one of the most successful propeller business aircraft, it is one of the strangest aircraft designs for a jet.

The strange design gave the A700 several qualities that other business jets tend to lack. The Cessna-like nosecone and main fuselage design gave the A700 an almost unparalleled speed advantage other similar aircraft.

However, the dual rudder and high horizontal stabilizer gave it one of the slowest stall speeds in the industry. This made it so that even if noise restrictions become tighter in the future, the A700 will have no issues!

By far the strangest part of the A700’s design is its overly large undercarriage. Whilst this is common on some business jets, it’s not a standard, and is certainly very prominent on the A700!

7. ATG Javelin

You’d be forgiven for believing that the Javelin was a prototype fighter jet of some kind, perhaps a replacement for the ageing T-38 Talons. However, the Javelin was actually a business jet!

No, your eyes do not deceive you. The aircraft is truly as short as the picture may imply. The entire aircraft was only 37 ft (11.28 m) or just a few feet shorter than the Talon.

For a business jet, this is extremely small, especially so when you realize that most of the fuselage is the engines and the “luxurious” conditions are reminiscent of a fighter jet, not a business jet.

Unsurprisingly, businessmen didn’t flock to the aircraft, instead preferring their G650s and Global 7500s. This, combined with the Great Recession of 2008/09 ended the Javelin and ATG.

6. Boeing X-48

The X-48 was supposed to be the future of air travel. In fact, the X-48 shares much in common with the Horton Ho 229- it was too advanced for its time. In fact, it is considered to be one of the strangest aircraft Boeing has ever produced!

The X-48 was supposed to be an unmanned commercial airliner that would act in a similar role to the 747 and 787. However, it was ultimately scrapped after concepts of the aircraft were shown to test passengers.

The US military is apparently interested in the X-48, albeit as a air-to-air tanker aircraft.

What makes it one of the weirdest aircraft in the world is the fact that the wings and the fuselage blend in to one another. This may give it various aerodynamic qualities, however, also gives it several issues.

To passengers, it doesn’t look how they believe a passenger aircraft should.

5. Edgley Optica

Photo courtesy of Charly W. Karl via Flickr.

The Optica has one of the weirdest aircraft designs I’ve ever seen. However, the design reflects the purpose of the aircraft.

The prominent and overly large glass cockpit is perhaps the strangest feature of the Optica. However, as the name may imply, the Optica is meant to be a reconnaissance aircraft- something that is faster and cheaper than helicopters.

The overtly large turbine behind the cockpit is used to allow the Optica to go at slow enough speeds to get good visual contact without stalling or seeming overly suspicious.

The large tail at the end allows the aircraft to maintain its airspeed, whilst also being controllable at both high and low speeds, similarly o the Mosquito and Meteor.

4. Convair XFY-1

The Convair XFY-1 is by far the weirdest aircraft produced by Convair (and that’s saying something, as they’ve produced numerous strange aircraft over the years!)

Perhaps the most famous aspect of this aircraft is the fact that it lands and takes off vertically. In some ways, it is similar to the Harrier, having been the first V/TOL aircraft that was produced, albeit only a prototype.

The Convair is a tail-sitter, meaning that the aircraft took off similarly to a rocket or a pogostick. This is what gave the Convair the nickname of the “Pogostick” or more commonly just the “Pogo”.

The Convair is also famous for having two propellers one in front of the other, very similarly to how the Kamov Ka-32 has two set s of propellers one above the other.

3. Horten Ho 229

When I think of the aircraft of the future, I often think of an aircraft that looks like the Ho 229. However, when you realize that this aircraft was made during WWII, it makes it one of the strangest aircraft.

Quite frankly, the Ho 229 looks as though it belongs in Star Wars or Star Trek. Surprisingly, the Ho 229’s design is very reminiscent of the later B-2. The Ho 229 is quite flat, or at least more so than other aircraft.

Some have argued that the Ho 229, one of the first jet fighter-bombers, was actually the first stealth aircraft. However, this has as of yet been unproven, even despite Northrop Grumman trying to prove so.

In fact, had the war not ended when it did, it would’ve been likely that the Ho 229 would’ve gone into mass production and would’ve been used by the Nazis to decimate the allied forces.

However, that didn’t happen and the Ho 229 never got past the prototype stage.

2. Aviation Traders Carvair

The Aviation Traders Carvair has perhaps the strangest aircraft design on this list. When you look at it, it has a striking resemblance to the Boeing 747, an aircraft that would be released seven years after the Carvair.

In fact, the Carvair was developed to be the largest aircraft of its time. The Carvair was a conversion of the DC-4, the largest aircraft of its time.

However, what gives it one of the weirdest aircraft designs is the interior of the aircraft itself. The Carvair was an air ferry aircraft, in fact it was the first air ferry aircraft.

Air Ferry was a commercial airline and a cargo airline in one. This meant that the front of the aircraft was for cargo, the back of the aircraft was full of passengers.

This is something that is quite common for military aircraft. However, it is almost unheard of for civil and commercial aircraft!

1. Dornier Do 335

The Dornier Do 335 has perhaps one of the weirdest aircraft designs from the entirety of WWII. As with many other WWII-era aircraft, the Do 335 is a propeller-driven aircraft.

However, what gives it one of the strangest aircraft designs is the fact it has a second propeller. Instead of having wing-mounted propellers as many bombers do, the Do 335 (a fighter aircraft) had one mounted on the tail.

These propellers gave the Do 335 a deadly advantage in combat, or at least it would’ve been. The Do 335 was far much faster and agile than any aircraft the allies had at their disposal.

However, luckily for the allies, the Do 335 was brought into service far too late in the war to see major deployment or manufacture. As such, many of the Do 335s that were built are preserved in museums all over the world.

Which has is the weirdest aircraft on this list? Tell me in the comments!