UGLIEST Aircraft Built and Flown

[Arjen]

Tadaa!



Blériot 125.

 

[Arjen]

A flying pram!


Blériot 73.

 

[Archibald]

"I have to push the pram a looooot !"

 

[Topi]

I don't think the Il-20 has been mentioned

It looks like someone transformed a 1930's American diesel-electric express passenger train into a šturmovik.

 

[publiusr]

Blériot 73.

Few know this, but adult film star Ron Jeremy was also an aircraft designer.

The IL-20 was designed by a pilot who spent time in the gulag---placement of the engine to serve double duty as a foot warmer

The HSL-1 was designed by a mechanic fed up with hearing pilot compliants--so he put the shafts in the tail and cockpit---and told the pilot to fix his own chopper from now on.

"Here! I made it easy for ya! You can do maintenance without even having to get up out of your seat, you sorry $#@&)÷¥¥!"

 

[Hood]

It seems that good looking aircraft were the exception rather than the rule.
No wonder they say "if it looks right it flies right", it must have been a revelation when something that looked flyable came out of the hangar.

 

[Archibald]

French aircraft industry was on top of the world by 1918. Then it was savagely gutted to near oblivion, by 1922 (from 200 000 to barely 4000 workers !) Took 30 years to recover: 1952.

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/french-airforce-from-1935-to-1940-41.38253/#post-496182

Le Fana de l'aviation magazine has analysed that dark era many times, and noted that French aircraft maker like Bleriot were sclerotic. Despite having a magnificent wind tunnel in Chalais Meudon near Paris, they were far behind, say, USA (NACA cowl aerodynamic wonder). This is the reason why there are so many interbellum aerodynamic monstrosities. Bleriot had been a world leader before 1914, but after WWI his star had paled. This is also one the reason why the countless aircraft companies (I counted 20 of them once) were nationalised and glued together in 1936.

 

[Charlesferdinand]

The French hadn't quite lost their flair for the bizarre after the war: the SO 1310 Farfadet (I can't help but thinking they wanted to call it farfelu)

 

[FighterJock]

Now that is weird, looks like they have tried to do an aerodynamic gyrocopter but with the propeller at the front. I am surprised that it did not work out, too advanced for it's time?

 

[snne]

Tadaa!
View attachment 730389


Blériot 125.

I actually like this design, seems pretty unique and might be fun on some occasions.

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

A flying pram!
View attachment 730415

Blériot 73.

I love how with the French it's a roll of the dice. Either it's the ugliest thing ever invented, or the most beautiful thing one has ever laid their eyes on.

Case in point:
On one end of the spectrum, we have the Breguet 460:



On the other, the M2K:

Tadaa!
View attachment 730389


Blériot 125.

Reminds me of those clickbait images you find on YouTube thumbnails

It seems that good looking aircraft were the exception rather than the rule.
No wonder they say "if it looks right it flies right", it must have been a revelation when something that looked flyable came out of the hangar.

Must be a lesson which hadn't been learnt yet in the 20's!

 

[snne]

I love how with the French it's a roll of the dice. Either it's the ugliest thing ever invented, or the most beautiful thing one has ever laid their eyes on.

Case in point:
On one end of the spectrum, we have the Breguet 460:
View attachment 730626


On the other, the M2K:
View attachment 730627


Reminds me of those clickbait images you find on YouTube thumbnails
View attachment 730628

Must be a lesson which hadn't been learnt yet in the 20's!

M2K only looks nice in the French camo livery

 

[Archibald]

They are polar opposites... one stemmed from a deadly sick, moribund industry. The other is the pinnacle of Dassault Mirage family. Funnily enough, Dassault merged with Breguet in 1967...

The Bleriot 125 certainly has Porco Rosso vibes. Something the Mama Aiutos could fly.

 

[Charlesferdinand]

However, only a few years after the Bréguet 460, they produced the Bréguet 693, which is quite elegant. I think the problem lies more with the specifications than with the designers. After all, the Armée de l'Air turned the Potez 630, another elegant plane, into the 63-11.

 

[Archibald]

Silly me ! I've just realized that the Bleriot 125 wasn't a floatplane... no kidding, I thought the giant "spats" were floats with people inside. And that the wheels retracted into the "floats" and thus the damn thing was an amphibious.
But no.
It is just a land plane. A very absurd one.

@Charlesferdinand This is the box art of Heller 1/72 scale Breguet 693. An antiquity for sure, and not very refined.

 

[publiusr]

View attachment 730628

In the final novel of David Brin’s Uplift universe, sea lamprey learn to design aircraft.

 

[Charlesferdinand]

.

@Charlesferdinand This is the box art of Heller 1/72 scale Breguet 693. An antiquity for sure, and not very refined.

I did a quick image search, and couldn't immediately find a good photo, so I settled for box art. IIRC this is indeed a reissue of the Heller kit under some other label, the original being of course