Funny Fictional Aircraft (the old "Humorous aircraft never meant to fly..")

[gtg947h]

The MACNAPHANTOM!

 

[The Artist]

The Museum has this art on a handout lithograph with real F-4 information on the back. I can scan it and post a clean copy of this image without the Photobucket banner.

Also I'd like to suggest we expand this thread to include other silly art like this with official histories, NOT user artwork, that already on this site to make this thread the place to check to see (before posting your copy of an image elsewhere) if the art already exists here. Here is a scan of another silly F-4 Phantom image (with a D4C number printed on the back) in the Museum's collection that I've been looking to see if it has been posted already. (Note: F-4 gets it done is the title I gave this scan.) The number is D4C-46029, and it is dated 5/67.

 

[jstar]

From Bruce McCalls 'Major Howdy Bixby's Album of Forgotten Warbirds', I give you:

 

[riggerrob]

What ever happened to the fictional Handley-Page Howdah assymetric transport airplane?

 

[riggerrob]

Igor Sokorov's fictional quadra-plane is based upon the Lloyd 04.08 Luftcreuzer prototype. The tri-motor, tri-plane LLC was built in the Austro-Hungarian Empire during 1915. The prototype was poorly-balanced and tipped over on its nose during taxi tests. They tried adding a nose wheel, but LLC was last seen headed for the scrap yard.
The Lloyd Sky Cruiser bomber prototype was even uglier than the single-engined, turreted fighter it was based upon! Both airplanes shared a horrid view from the pilot's seat!

 

[riggerrob]

The Museum has this art on a handout lithograph with real F-4 information on the back. I can scan it and post a clean copy of this image without the Photobucket banner.

Also I'd like to suggest we expand this thread to include other silly art like this with official histories, NOT user artwork, that already on this site to make this thread the place to check to see (before posting your copy of an image elsewhere) if the art already exists here. Here is a scan of another silly F-4 Phantom image (with a D4C number printed on the back) in the Museum's collection that I've been looking to see if it has been posted already. (Note: F-4 gets it done is the title I gave this scan.) The number is D4C-46029, and it is dated 5/67.

View attachment 631264

That reminds us of Haank Caruso's Aerocatures series.

 

[Apophenia]

Spit-Mossie ,unknown source...

Mistletoe by Tory Macuro in 1/48th scale

 

[Grey Havoc]

On something of a tangent, regarding Bruce McCall:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOk6HQaNpdE

 

[Rhinocrates]

William Heath Robinson (1872 – 1944) **1933 illustration for "The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm" by Norman Hunter.

 

[publiusr]

I seem to remember similar art in a childrens book in the late 60's very early 70's where a kid wanted wings on a red wagon-decades before the movie Radio Flyer. I was at a doctor's office-Klich?-as a child seeing something similar. I love this design. Soap box derby entrants are too slick. An early Fat Albert film had more whimsical fare. Does this book have a section of similar oddites in the air all at once?

 

[Rhinocrates]

I seem to remember similar art in a childrens book in the late 60's very early 70's where a kid wanted wings on a red wagon-decades before the movie Radio Flyer. I was at a doctor's office-Klich?-as a child seeing something similar. I love this design. Soap box derby entrants are too slick. An early Fat Albert film had more whimsical fare. Does this book have a section of similar oddites in the air all at once?

I remember reading some of the later Professor Branestawm books in my childhood. Usually his inventions were unique, so probably not - the Heath Robinson illustration is for one of the first, which I haven't read.

Professor Branestawm - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Rhinocrates]

Some publicity shots of the Citroen DS used to advertise its hydropneumatic suspension.

 

[TsrJoe]

I recall seeing the Citroën 'space car' on display at the Atomium (suspended in a side gallery), Brussels circa 2002 ...

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/347269821242731479/

View: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/347269821242731479/

 

[T. A. Gardner]

There's nothing quite like the creations of Hayao Miyazaki in his anime movies:



Sky "battleship" Goliath. How four inverted ceiling fans keep that thing airborne is beyond me...



Or this... At least it has a large gas envelope helping out...





Or this one with flapping wings...

 

[publiusr]

In VR, elegance, not gravity, should rule.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Now, this one is interesting because art becomes reality...

This jet glider thing in the anime movie Nausicaa



Was replicated in real life and flown

 

[publiusr]

Occasionally nature will let something slip by. Rocket gods are crueler. They let the Totem Beast Saturns be flawless due the size of those sacrificial stages and call-out chants lulling them to sleep. Now here comes Elon Kratos.

 

[Armin Derer]

Hi,
can we consider this Baranowski flying-machine a humorous design.

Well, it is most likely not either/or regarding humorous or not humorous, but rather both. The distinction lies between intention and perception.

Designs of the 19th century like the steam driven plane were considered to may be possible in some future, and not meant to be humorous.

Look at it now, with the kowledge at hand of all the aeronautical development that had happend since then, with all he proficiencies gained, you may find humorous what you see, even ridiculous.

However, that‘s not what this thread is about. It is about fictional aircraft that were intended to be funny, be it back in the day or at present.

And no, the Baranowski is not a humorous design. A humorous design has to be designed humorously, with the intend to be funny. The Baranoeski represented a serious proposal, however improbable, or even ridiculous, when you look it it now.

 

[perttime]

Anglo-Atomic Thunderbolt X1966
from: https://www.deviantart.com/tomzoo/art/Anglo-Atomic-Thunderbolt-X1966-491863296

 

[Armin Derer]

Look for a copy of Bruce McCall's book Zany Afternoons, which mostly consists of illustrations of imaginary aircraft, cars, ships and buildings from around the 1930s. A couple of examples I found on the web:

and so on!

GREAT! Great great great!

They were published first in National Lampoon, early 80s. Here some more:

Major Howdy Bixby’s Album of Forgotten Warbirds

If you like Stan Mott, you'll like Bruce McCall.

www.deansgarage.com

Also, somebody made a CGI of the Dombrowski-Sedlitz:

Dombrowski-Sedlitz B on KerbalX.com

A 103 part, stock+ craft by docphees

kerbalx.com

 

[Romantic Technofreak]

Hi all,

I need to update my data storage. There are some pictures I downloaded already many years ago, but never had a chance to correctly label them. Even trying at key.aro kept on being unsuccessfull, and people there are very able in aircraft recognition.

So I thought to myself, secretprojects.co.uk maybe the only remaining possibilty. Although I fear even you could reach your limits. What if a person in, say, rural Wyoming creates an aircraft, shows it somewhere, it is pictured without any visible registration, and then he and his work never come up again?

But, as I said, I have no other chance. First try is this mystery. I wonder if I2HS is an aircraft at all. There are people who take time and material for to produce very big toys. Somehow I mean the picture could have been taken in an Eastern European country that writes in Latin letters, e.g. Poland.

Should you know something substantial, please tell.

Thank you for every answer, and regards,
RT

 

[Hood]

This is one of the aircraft knocked up from spare bits by Fleet Air Arm groundcrew for a public airshow (the main fuselage and wings are a Sea Venom). There were a couple of these made in the 1960s from surplus airframes, one of them was taxiable.

 

[Romantic Technofreak]

I see.

Going to store it as "Abbotsinch Vennet".

Regards, RT

 

[Archibald]

Major Howdy Bixby’s Album of Forgotten Warbirds

If you like Stan Mott, you'll like Bruce McCall.

www.deansgarage.com

He perfectly grasped every single major WWII air power quirks.

USA: not a penny to buy combat aircraft from Congress before Pearl Harbor, so - be creative !

USSR: flawed with absurd flaws, but nobody says anything because Stalin terror

France: 100% 3rd Republic / Gamelin decaying bureaucracy way of fighting a war

Nazi LW : wunderwaffen to the deep end of absurdness (the next beyond Me-163 and Bachem Natter can only be this - literally: fireworks)

Japan: miracle suicide weapon to sink the imperialist americans

Italy: obsessed by aerodynamics and look and raw performance. Forget powerful engines and armement, too.

And finally, Great Britain: interbellum monstrosities with pompous names. Should have been retired in 1937, but still flying on "secondary" theaters by 1942...

 

[GeorgeA]

Also in this vein is P. J. O’Rorke’s “Battling Buses of WWII”.

 

[Stargazer]

An odd jet bomber design... I can't remember where I found it, but it sure doesn't look like a genuine industry project.

 

[Hood]

Some bizarre roof top decorations from India...

Up on the roof: the homespun art of rural Punjab – in pictures

Photographer Rajesh Vora has documented the grandiose sculptures that adorn the tops of buildings in north-west India

www.theguardian.com

 

[Stargazer]

Some bizarre roof top decorations from India...

So funny and original... Thanks!

 

[Rhinocrates]

English surrealist artist Henry Orlik. 'Kite.'

 

[Rhinocrates]

Alien Attack by Mike Conrad.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

This music video features a novel biplane at about 2:50 into it

 

[Rhinocrates]

This music video features a novel biplane at about 2:50 into it

An actual aircraft:

Santos-Dumont 14-bis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[martinbayer]

Alien Attack by Mike Conrad.
View attachment 736287

Dogs vs. Aliens? I wouldn't watch that - my sympathy is on *neither* side. Now if the dogs were replaced by cats...

 

[T. A. Gardner]

An actual aircraft:

Santos-Dumont 14-bis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I'll be! But it was unique to include such an obscure aircraft in a music video I'd think...

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Dogs vs. Aliens? I wouldn't watch that - my sympathy is on *neither* side. Now if the dogs were replaced by cats...

I'd root for the aliens!

 

[martinbayer]

I'd root for the aliens!

Thank you for your thoroughly understandable candor, Sir!

 

[southwestforests]

William Heath Robinson (1872 – 1944) **1933 illustration for "The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm" by Norman Hunter.

Gone back and forth for 2 weeks on whether to post it or not, decided I will.
The loose bolts flying around in that have become reality,

Jul 25, 2024
A flap motor bolt hits Alina in the face and she makes a precautionary landing. At first I couldn't figure out where it came from since I hadn't taken apart the flap motor ever. Good that she caught it. Some loctite and a screw driver and it was repaired and she was back flying

 

[Graham1973]

I'll be! But it was unique to include such an obscure aircraft in a music video I'd think...

I also think that the pilot was meant to be taken as Santos-Dumont himself, rather an odd memorial to one of the lesser known pioneers of aviation. But that may be due to the fact that Cartier released a set of watches named after the man in 2012.

As to the plane it may not have been the 14-Bis but rather one of the Oiseau de Proie (eng : Bird of Prey) derivatives that succeeded it.

 

[publiusr]

An odd jet bomber design... I can't remember where I found it, but it sure doesn't look like a genuine industry project.

That actually looks pretty cool

 

[Graham1973]

A few screen shots from the Cartier video T. A. Gardner linked to, I just wish it had been uploaded at a higher resolution.

Later: As I've posted later in the thread I managed to find a higher resolution version of the video. The attached screenshots, including an extra shot of that Daliesque elephant are below.