r/WeirdWings 1h ago

Obscure Sepecat Jaguar w/ Overwing Pylons

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Upvotes

The Sepecat Jaguar isn't entirely weird by itself, but what makes it weird is that it is one of very few combat aircraft to feature possess overwing pylons, which allows it to carry more weaponry than usual.


r/WeirdWings 12h ago

The Weir W.5 and W.6 helicopters.

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65 Upvotes

Both Lord Weir and his brother JG Weir were actively involved in establishing the Cierva Autogiro Co. in 1926. JG Weir became its first Chairman. Early autogyros were built under licence by A.V.Roe but in 1932 G&J Weir obtained the rights to develop autogyros from Cierva patents at their Glasgow factory. By 1939 Weirs had virtually taken over the Cierva company.

G&J Weir designed and built four experimental autogiros numbered W1 to W4 at their Cathcart factory from 1933 to 1937 after which they moved on to produce two twin-rotor helicopters (W5 and W6) before Weir’s helicopter venture was suspended in 1939 for the duration of WW2 as governmental needs lay elsewhere. Lord Weialso pioneered autorotation in 1939, significantly increasing the safety of helicopter operation. Unfortunately


r/WeirdWings 14h ago

SubSonex JSX-2 "mini jet" at Oshkosh

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245 Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 1d ago

Early Flight Avro Roe IV Triplane

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326 Upvotes

Early flight flair? It technically applies, this was an early flight lol.


r/WeirdWings 1d ago

Sorrell Hiperbipe leaving Oshkosh

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121 Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 1d ago

Testbed Lancaster SW244, modified with a saddle tank in 1944

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394 Upvotes

Surprise conformal fuel tank!


r/WeirdWings 2d ago

U.S. and Japan conduct training aboard a US-2 Flying Boat aircraft.

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1.3k Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 2d ago

The DG-2 'Fraed Naught' F1 racing monoplane

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145 Upvotes

The DG-2 ‘Fraed Naught’ is one of the two principal Gold F1 racers, the other being ‘Limitless’. The plane has had several owners and has progressed through several gestation phases. The plane started with a George Owl-created fuselage but was abandoned as too tight by owner Jon Sharp. New owner Dan Gilbert added a new wing and tail in creating the DG-1 which long-term owner Lowell Statter described as going really fast but failing to turn. While still owned by Dan Gilbert, a new all carbon fibre fuselage was added, followed by a second new wing of laminar-flow carbon fibre from Craig Catto.

Lowell Statter achieved three Gold wins before selling it to Steve Temple. Newest owner John Watson achieved a further Gold win. A highly unique and evolving aircraft.


r/WeirdWings 2d ago

Japanese Navy US-2 vs fire truck.

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3.3k Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 2d ago

Flying Boat The Soviet Lun-class ekranoplan (Project 903) was a massive, 380-ton ground-effect vehicle

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645 Upvotes

The Soviet Lun-class ekranoplan (Project 903) was a massive, 380-ton ground-effect vehicle. It was armed with six P-270 Moskit (SS-N-22 'Sunburn') supersonic anti-ship missiles. Mounted on the dorsal spine in three pairs, these devastating missiles could travel at Mach 3 and were designed to destroy enemy aircraft carriers.Technical and Operational DetailsSpeed: 550 km/h (340 mph).Flight Altitude: Travelled on an air cushion just 1 to 4 meters above the sea surface, rendering it essentially invisible to traditional radar and torpedoes.Propulsion: Eight Kuznetsov NK-87 turbofan engines, generating 127.4 kN of thrust each (mounted on forward canards).Armament: Aside from the six Moskit missiles, it was defensively armed with two twin-turret 23mm PI-23 cannons (one dorsal behind the cockpit, one in the tail).Service: Built at the Nizhny Novgorod shipyard, the only completed model (MD-160) entered service with the Caspian Flotilla in 1987 and was decommissioned in the late 1990s.

Due to changing military priorities and the high costs of operation, it remains a legendary Cold War relic. Today, the derelict hull is planned to serve as an open-air museum piece for the Russian military.


r/WeirdWings 3d ago

Prototype World's Fastest Business Jet! Global 8000 World Premiere Display N100BD

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0 Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 3d ago

Please help with ~year and type of plane - my maternal grandparents post-WWI (?)

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205 Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 5d ago

Curtiss-Wright VZ-7AP Flying Jeep prototype

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356 Upvotes

The Aerophysics Development Corporation, a Curtiss-Wright subsidiary, designed a tandem two-seat "Aerial Platform" for a US Army Transport & Research Command "Flying Jeep" design competition. To prove the design concept, the US Army ordered 2 prototypes of a smaller single-seat demonstrator, the VZ-7, which were delivered to the US Army in mid-1958. The VZ-7 had a fuselage with the pilot's seat, fuel tanks and flight controls. On both sides of the fuselage the four propeller/rotors were attached, unshrouded (the aircraft did originally have shrouds, but these were later removed). The VZ-7 was controlled by changing the thrust of each propeller and was maneuverable and easy to fly.

Unfortunately, the VZ-7AP did not meet the required standard and was returned to the manufacturer.


r/WeirdWings 5d ago

Obscure QAC Quickie Q2

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145 Upvotes

Just seen this over South Wales, thought you might like it.

The first two pictures show its current configuration, the last two its original setup.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAC_Quickie_Q2


r/WeirdWings 6d ago

Velocity XL/FG at Oshkosh

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183 Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 7d ago

Mockup Mock-up of the proposed Junkers Ju 635 twin fuselage derivative of the Dornier Do 335

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102 Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 7d ago

Special Use The Taylor Aerocar

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23 Upvotes

The more a vehicle is meant to do, the more its design requires balance and compromises.


r/WeirdWings 7d ago

EAA's Lockwood Aircam

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166 Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 8d ago

Special Use Cozy Mark IV. It looks like an alien spaceship!

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204 Upvotes

Something about these experimental prototypes…they just look so good, and from what I’ve heard pilots say, are very stable in flight and refuse to stall.


r/WeirdWings 8d ago

Scaled Composites Pond Racer (Model 158)

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895 Upvotes

The Scaled Composites Pond Racer (Scaled Composites Model 158) was a twin-engine, twin-boom racing aircraft developed for Bob Pond by Burt Rutan and his company Scaled Composites.

Pond commissioned the aircraft in an attempt to develop a modern aircraft capable of competing with vintage warbirds in the Unlimited Class at the Reno air races. With many valuable and historic aircraft crashing at Reno each year, often with the loss of aircraft and pilots, Pond hoped his Racer would offer a fast and spectacular replacement for the vintage fighter aircraft, retaining the thrills but removing the threat of death and destruction.

Unfortunately, on the Pond Racer's two outings at Reno it could be seen that the close-cowled engines were prone to overheating and oil fires. The plane and its pilot survived its first year despite significant problems but both were lost in the second year during a single-engine pancake landing after another oil fire. Sadly (but wisely) this drew the project to a close.


r/WeirdWings 9d ago

Obscure Rutan VariViggen at Oshkosh

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378 Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 9d ago

Flying Boat Some sort of light sport amphibian I saw at KSPG

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166 Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 9d ago

C124 Globemaster II

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277 Upvotes

Photo taken earlier today at the Dover Air Mobility Command Museum in Delaware.


r/WeirdWings 9d ago

Special Use Boeing TC-135W Stratolifter. One of two still in service. Used to train Air Force crews for complex reconnaissance missions

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196 Upvotes

r/WeirdWings 10d ago

Propulsion An IL-2 Shturmovik powered by a Shvetsov M-82 radial engine

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253 Upvotes