The slightly less well known

[Angry Turnip]

Rud Aero RA-3

The RA-3 is a single engine two-seat,side-by-side configuration,low wing,tricycle gear of composite construction.The aircraft is built using carbon fiber throughout.
It has a cambered training wing that can be exchanged for a constant chord symmetrical wing for advanced aerobatic training.
The aircraft is designed to operate as an FAR Part 21.24 aircraft, with future modifications to meet American LSA standards.

Powerplant is a Lycoming IO-360 Horizontally opposed piston aircraft engine of 180 hp.Maximum speed is 150mph,with a cruise speed of 135mph.


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[Angry Turnip]

Rutan VariViggen

The Rutan VariViggen is a homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan.The aircraft is a tandem two-seater of primarily wooden construction with a delta wing and a canard foreplane.The prototype was designated Model 27, and the production version was Model 32.

The VariViggen was named after the Swedish fighter,the Saab 37 Viggen.Rutan became interested in aircraft which resisted stalls and spins,and the VariViggen was his first full scale design.After four years of work, the aircraft made its first flight in April, 1972.In order to increase efficiency, the Model 32 (also known as the VariViggen SP) had a slightly longer fuselage, a larger wingspan and winglets.It is powered by a 150 hp Lycoming O-320 aero engine in pusher configuration.

The Rutan Aircraft Factory sold 600 plan sets for the VariViggen to homebuilders,eventually only about 20 of the aircraft were built.Following the crash of one in New Brunswick, Canada in September 2006 due to wing tank fuel contamination,fewer than five are currently still flying.The prototype aircraft, N27VV, was donated to the EAA AirVenture Museum in 1988.

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[Angry Turnip]

Rutan Defiant

The Rutan Model 40 Defiant is a four-seat,twin-engine aircraft with the engines in a push-pull configuration.
The prototype Defiant, N78RA, was first flown on 30 June 1978.It had been intended as a proof-of-concept of a very safe light twin design, requiring little trim change and no pilot action in case of engine failure,and with good single engine performance.

In 1979 the Rutan Aircraft Factory announced they would proceed with certification of a Defiant-based light twin.Adequate financing was not secured for this project,and the design was modified for homebuilt construction as the Model 74.

Powerplant is 2 × Lycoming O-320,of 160 hp each,giving a max speed of 210mph.The Defiant is built using fiberglass layup over Styrofoam core shapes in the same manner as the Rutan VariEze. The main gear is fixed, and there are no flaps. The Propellers are fixed-pitch non-feathering.176 sets of plans were purchased before RAF discontinued selling them in 1985.Nineteen are registered with the FAA as of 2005.

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[Angry Turnip]

Rutan Model 72 Grizzly

The Rutan Model 72 Grizzly is a tandem-wing STOL research aircraft.
It is a composite-construction aircraft featuring three lifting surfaces:A front wing with approximately half the span of the main wing and a classical cruciform empennage. Front and main wings are connected by a pair of struts with square cross-section which also serve as fuel tanks.Both wings carry flaps on part of their span for STOL.

The Grizzly is intended for use as a bush plane with unique safety and comfort, the four-seater could be used by two persons as a camper for back-country activities with its seats folded to become a 6 ft long bed. A planned amphibian version of the Grizzly was never realized.

The unusual undercarriage has four low-pressure,small-diameter main-wheels,on two cantilever spring struts,with a spring mounted tail-wheel assembly.The four-seat cabin is completely enclosed with a combination of flat, squared and outward-bulged tear-drop shaped windows.It`s first flight was on 22 January 1982 and lasted over two hours.
Powerplant is 1 × Lycoming O-360B 4-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine,180 hp.
After completion of testing the Grizzly was donated to the EAA AirVenture Museum, Oshkosh in 1997

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[Angry Turnip]

Republic P-43 Lancer

The Republic P-43 Lancer was a single-engine,all-metal,low-wing monoplane fighter,first delivered to the United States Army Air Corps in 1940.
The Seversky Aircraft Company,which in 1939 changed its name to Republic,constructed a range of private venture,one-off variants of its P-35 design,featuring different powerplants and enhancements,from which the P-43 was derived.

The YP-43 prototype was powered by an R-1830-35 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine with a General Electric B-2 turbo-supercharger generating 1,200 hp and driving a three-blade variable-pitch propeller.Armament consisted of two synchronized .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in the cowl and a single .30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun in each wing.

The first of 13 YP-43s was delivered in September 1940, the last in April 1941.Early testing revealed a strong tendency to yaw during takeoff and landing rolls,fixed by redesigning the tailwheel.Although the aircraft exceeded the initial USAAC performance requirements,by 1941 it was clearly obsolete.The USAAC felt the basic P-35/P-43 design had run it`s course for further improvement in performance and shifted its interest to the new promising P-47.

Due to delays with the P-47,it was decided to order 54 P-43s to keep the Republic production lines operating. An additional 125 P-43A-1s were ordered for China through the Lend-Lease program, originally intended to equip the Third American Volunteer Group (AVG). These initially differed in the Air Materiel Command specification from earlier P-43s in being armed with two 0.50 in machine guns in each wing and no fuselage guns, and having basic armor and fuel tank protection.By 1942, a total of 272 P-43s were built, including all its variants, a remarkable number considering the original intention was to not build any.

The Lend-Lease aircraft were delivered to China through Claire Chennault's American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers.The P-43 performed poorly in combat in the hands of the Chinese Air Force against Japan due to its great vulnerability;it was replaced by other types in early 1944. 
The aircraft that were not sent to China were modified for photo-reconn duties or training.Eight P-43s (four P-43A-1s and four P-43Ds) were loaned to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 and served with No. 1 Photo Reconnaissance Unit.The RAAF flew many long range, high-altitude photo reconnaissance missions before the six survivors were returned to the USAAF in 1943.

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[Angry Turnip]

Republic XF-12 Rainbow

The Republic XF-12 Rainbow was a four-engine, all-metal prototype reconnaissance aircraft designed in the 1940`s.
The proposal was for a reconnaissance aircraft which included a requirement for speed (400 mph), ceiling (40,000 ft), and range (4,000 nmi).It`s primary objective was for high-speed overflights of the Japanese homeland and key enemy installations.During World War II, due to the extended range requirements of operating in the Pacific, existing fighters and bombers were being used for missions for which they were never intended. The need existed for an aircraft specifically designed for the photo-reconnaissance mission with adequate speed, range, and altitude capabilities for its missions to be successful.

The XF-12's first flight was made on 4 February 1946.During the flight testing and development period,it demonstrated the capability of operating at 45,000 feet (14,000 m), at a speed of 470 mph (760 km/h), over a range of 4,500 mi (7,200 km), so it met and exceeded the design goals for which it had been designed.
It was powered by four of the new Pratt & Whitney R-4360-31 Wasp Major 28-cyl. four-row air-cooled radial piston engines,of 3,250 hp each.
The original design called for contra-rotating propellers,due to the added complexity and reliability issues,the propellers were never installed.The aircraft used standard four-bladed Curtiss Electric propellers for all flights.

The USAF canceled the entire XF-12 program in late 1948.The primary reason for its demise was the availability of both Boeing B-29 Superfortress and B-50 types to meet the long-range photo-reconnaissance requirement.
Republic had intended to also build an airline version of the aircraft to be known as the RC-2.This variant was supposed to be a "stretched" version of the XF-12, growing in length from 93 ft 9 in to 98 ft 9 in, with the addition of a fuselage "plug" in front of the wing.Also the complex Plexiglas nose section was supposed to be replaced with a solid metal nose,changes to the engines and superchargers were also included in the civil design.

Had the XF-12 Rainbow been available in 1944,it almost inevitably would have been ordered in quantity,and along with its civilian counterpart, the whole postwar structure of aircraft markets might have been altered. As it was, the XF-12 disappeared into oblivion, despite its graceful lines and high performance.
It`s high speed, near-perfect streamlined form, and neatly cowled engines make it a design classic, often unappreciated, and not very well known. The XF-12 was the fastest, four engine pure piston-powered aircraft of its day, and the only one ever to exceed 450 mph in level flight.

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[Angry Turnip]

Republic XF-84H Thunderscreech

The Republic XF-84H "Thunderscreech" was an experimental turboprop aircraft derived from the F-84F Thunderstreak. Powered by a turbine engine that was mated to a supersonic propeller, the XF-84H had the potential of setting the unofficial air speed record for propeller-driven aircraft.
The USAF Wright Air Development Center was the key sponsor of the Republic Project 3347 turboprop fighter, the initial inception came from a U.S. Navy requirement for a carrier fighter not requiring catapult assistance.Originally known as XF-106,the project and its resultant prototype aircraft were redesignated XF-84H.

A projected contract for three prototypes was scrubbed when the US Navy cancelled its order,the remaining XF-84H prototypes became pure research aircraft built for the Air Force’s Propeller Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB to test supersonic propellers.
The XF-84H was created by modifying a F-84F airframe, installing a 5,850 hp Allison XT40-A-1 turboprop engine in a centrally-located housing behind the cockpit with a long extension shaft to the nose-mounted propeller.The turbine engine also provided thrust through its exhaust; an afterburner which could further increase power to 7,230 hp was installed but never used.

It was destabilized by the powerful torque from the propeller, as well as inherent problems with supersonic propeller blades. A number of exotic blade configurations were tested before settling on a final design.
First flown on July 22, 1955, the XF-84F had incredible acceleration but soon its impracticality was discovered.It was unsuited to combat due to the engine's 30 minute warm up time but the most serious concerns were vibration generated from the 12-foot propeller diameter and mechanical failures of the prop pitch gearing.

Lin Hendrix, one of the Republic test pilots assigned to the program, flew the aircraft once and refused to ever fly it again, claiming "You aren't big enough and there aren't enough of you to get me in that thing again".Test pilot Hank Beaird took the XF-84H up 11 times, with 10 of these flights ending in forced landings.

The XF-84H was almost certainly the loudest aircraft ever built, earning the nickname "Thunderscreech" as well as the "Mighty Ear Banger".On the ground "run ups", the prototypes could reportedly be heard 25 miles away.Unlike standard propellers that turn at subsonic speeds, the outer 24–30 inches (61–76 cm) of the blades on the XF-84H's propeller traveled faster than the speed of sound even at idle thrust.The aircraft was notorious for inducing severe nausea and headaches among ground crews.In one report, a Republic engineer suffered a seizure after close range exposure to the shock waves emanating from a powered-up XF-84H.

Engine and equipment failures coupled with the inability to reach design speeds and subsequent instability experienced were insurmountable problems, the USAF cancelled the program in September 1956.

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[Angry Turnip]

Taylorcraft F-19 Sportsman

The Taylorcraft Model F-19 Sportsman is a two-seat cabin monoplane designed and built by Taylorcraft Aircraft as the first new product of the reformed Taylorcraft Aviation Company.

C.G. Taylor and his brother formed the Taylor Brothers Aviation Corporation in 1929,it had produced several thousand light single-engines by the time it went bankrupt in 1946. It emerged in 1947 as Taylorcraft Inc. and produced light airplanes until 1958, when it ceased production.
In 1968 a new company, Taylorcraft Aviation Corporation, was formed, primarily to provide support for the thousands of airplanes still operational.

In 1973 the company geared up to produce an updated Taylorcraft B, now named the Model F-19 Sportsman.It was similar to the Model B but incorporated more power,and better performance.Production continued until early 1980, when the company chose to switch to the higher-powered Model F-21.
Powerplant was 1 × Continental O-200 of 100 hp,giving a max speed of 127mph and a cruise speed of 115mph with a range of 400 miles.

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[Angry Turnip]

Due to a line fault, I have had no tinterweb since Saturday morning, 3x KN vans just away after much fiddling and gadget testing.

Hopefully normal service will resume shortly.

[Angry Turnip]

Taylorcraft Ranch Wagon

The Taylorcraft Model 20 Ranch Wagon was a four-seat cabin monoplane designed as a development of the earlier experimental Model 18.
It`s construction  was  of moulded fibreglass over a tubular framework.It had a conventional landing gear and powerplant was a nose-mounted 225 hp Continental O-470-J engine,which was sufficent to give a max speed of 160mph and a 150mph cruise.

It came in four main versions,

Model 20 Ranch Wagon   Utility model powered by a 225hp Continental O-470-J engine.
Model 20 Zephyr 400      Tourer variant of 1958 with detailed changes from the basic Model 20.
Model 20AG Topper        Agricultural variant. Chemical hopper or tank in rear of cabin.
Model 20 Seabird            Floatplane variant.

Approx 40 were built.

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[Angry Turnip]

VanGrunsven RV-1

The RV-1 is a Stits Playboy that was constructed with modifications by Richard VanGrunsven.The aircraft was the first of a series of Van's aircraft that became popular homebuilt aircraft.

The first RV-1 was a Stits SA-3A completed on 3 October 1965.It is a single seat strut-braced, low-wing aircraft with conventional landing gear. The engine was upgraded from the normally-fitted 65 hp powerplant to a 125 hp Lycoming O-290G.The resulting aircraft had good performance,but a high landing speed.On 16 August 1965,the aircraft was registered as an RV-1.

Other modifications included a new aluminum wing with flaps,and a bubble canopy.The fuselage uses welded steel tube construction in contrast to the RV series that followed which uses all-aluminum fuselage construction.The flaps reduced the stall speed to 50 mph. A second series of modifications included a more streamlined cowling, wheel pants and modified horizontal tail surfaces.

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[Angry Turnip]

Van's Aircraft RV-9

The Van's RV-9 and RV-9A are two-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplanes sold in kit form.The RV-9 is the tail-wheel equipped version while the RV-9A features a nose-wheel.

The RV-9 was designed from the start as a two-seater, side-by-side, touring aircraft and as such it forgoes the aerobatic capabilities and the lighter handling for more stability and economy.Design horsepower is 118-160 and the prototype was flown with a Lycoming O-235 powerplant of 118 hp as a proof-of-concept.
Compared to the similar RV-7, the RV-9 has a wing of increased span and higher aspect ratio using a Roncz airfoil. The RV-9 has a slow stall speed, and docile handling suitable for low-time pilots.Cruise speed is 167 mph even with the 118 hp engine.

The RV-9 is unique in Van’s aircraft history in that the tricycle gear RV-9A version was flown first on June 15, 2000, three years before the tail wheel version flew. The later conventional landing gear equipped RV-9 was first flown by its designer in 2002. The RV-9A features solid circular spring steel landing gear, the aircraft is steered with differential braking.


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[Angry Turnip]

Viking SF-2A Cygnet

The Viking SF-2A Cygnet, also called the Sisler SF-2A Cygnet and the HAPI SF-2A Cygnet, is a STOL amateur-built aircraft,designed by Bert Sisler and produced by Viking Aircraft LLC.The aircraft is supplied in the form of plans for amateur construction.

It is a development of the earlier Sisler SF-2 Whistler introduced in 1973.The design features a strut-braced shoulder-wing, a two-seats-side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.
The aircraft's recommended engine power range is 60 to 82 hp and standard engines used include the 82 hp Volkswagen four-stroke powerplant.Construction time from the supplied kit is estimated as 1700–1800 hours.The aircraft is made from wood, 4130 steel tubing and covered in doped aircraft fabric.

In July 2016 a total of 19 SF-2A Cygnets were registered in the US with the FAA,four with Transport Canada and seven with the CAA in the United Kingdom.

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[Angry Turnip]

Vought FU-1 / FU-2

The Vought FU was a biplane fighter aircraft in service with the USN during the late 1920s.
 
In 1926 the Navy gave Vought a contract for 20 convertible land/sea fighters.Vought already had a two-seat observation plane, the UO-1, basically a VE with additional fuselage streamlining and a Wright J-3 radial engine.This was made into a fighter by closing one cockpit and adding machine guns, and upgrading to a 220 hp Wright R-790 Whirlwind with a supercharger.
The newly designated FU-1 was able to reach a speed of 147 mph at 13,000 ft.

The FU-1s were delivered to VF-2B based in San Diego, California.One was assigned to each of the battleships of the Pacific Fleet, where they were launched from catapults. They spent eight months in this role, but as the squadron went to aircraft carrier operations, the further-aft cockpit proved to have a visibility problem when maneuvering around a carrier deck.In response,the forward cockpit was re-opened,the resulting aircraft being designated FU-2.

As well as the USN,the Peruvian Air Force and Navy operated two aircraft each.Twenty aircraft were built in total.

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[Angry Turnip]

Vought SBU Corsair

The Vought SBU-1 Corsair was a two-seat, all-metal biplane dive bomber, built for the USN.
The aircraft was equipped with a closed cockpit, had fixed landing gear, and was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1535 700hp radial air-cooled engine, as had the F3U-1, but also included a controllable pitch propeller and a new NACA cowl with adjustable cowling gills on the trailing edge of the cowl.
The adjustable cowling gills permitted better control of cooling airflow over the engine.Max speed was 205mph, with a cruising speed of a more sedate 122mph.

Armament consisted of 1 x fixed forward firing 0.30in Browning machine gun, and 1 x 0.30inch rear firing machine gun in the rear cockpit,it could also carry a 500lb bomb.
It`s first flight was in May 1933,the SBU-1 completed flight tests in 1934 and went into production under a contract awarded in January 1935.The Corsair was the first aircraft of its type, a scout bomber, to fly faster than 200 mph. The last SBU Corsairs were retired from active service in 1941, being reassigned as trainers.

As well as being operated by the USN,the type also served with the Argentine Navy,125 aircraft were built.The name "Corsair" was used several times by Vought's planes; the O2U/O3U, SBU, F4U, and the A-7 Corsair II.

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[Angry Turnip]

Vought F6U Pirate

The Vought F6U Pirate was the Vought company's first jet fighter,designed for US Navy during the mid-1940s.The XF6U was a small aircraft with tricycle landing gear and with straight wings and tail surfaces.The wings were short enough that they did not need to fold.

The most unusual feature of the aircraft was its use of "Metalite" for its skin,made of balsa,sandwiched between two thin sheets of aluminum. "Fabrilite" was also used for the surfaces of the vertical stabilizer and rudder; this was similar to Metalite but used fiberglass instead of aluminum.Underneath the cockpit were four 20 mm (0.79 in) M3 autocannon.
After a company contest to name the aircraft,the initial prototype received the name Pirate and made its first flight on 2 October 1946.Flight tests revealed severe aerodynamic problems,mainly caused by the airfoil section and thickness of the wing. The vertical stabilizer also had to be redesigned to smooth out the airflow at the intersection of the horizontal and vertical stabilizers.Other changes included the addition of dive brakes on the sides of the fuselage and the replacement of the Metalite panels near the engine exhaust with stainless steel ones.

To improve the lacklustre performance, the 3rd prototype,which first flew on 10 Nov 1947,was lengthened by 8 feet to use a Westinghouse J34-WE-30 afterburning engine of 4,224 lbf thrust,the first USN fighter to have such a powerplant.
Before the flight testing of the prototypes was completed,30 production aircraft were ordered.They incorporated an ejection seat and a redesigned vertical stabilizer as well as two auxiliary fins.
The first production F6U-1 performed its initial flight on 29 June 1949,and 20 of the aircraft were provided to VX-3, an OES based at NAS Patuxent River.The judgment from the evaluation was that the Pirate was unacceptable for operational use.On 30 October 1950, BuAer informed Vought of the Navy's opinion of the Pirate "The F6U-1 had proven so sub-marginal in performance that combat utilization is not feasible.".

The 30 production aircraft had only a total of 945 hours of flight time,31.5 hrs each.Some aircraft flew only 6 hrs which was enough for little more than their acceptance flight and the flight to their disposition.

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[Angry Turnip]

Vought F7U Cutlass

The Vought F7U Cutlass is a USN carrier-based jet fighter and fighter-bomber of the early Cold War era. Allegedly based on aerodynamic data and plans captured from the German Arado company at the end of World War II, though Vought designers denied any link to the German research at the time.It`s first flight was 29th Sept 1948.

Former Messerschmitt AG senior designer Waldemar Voigt, who supervised the development of numerous experimental jet fighters in Nazi Germany, contributed to its design with his experience in the development of the Messerschmitt P.1110 and P.1112 projects.
The design featured low aspect ratio,swept wings,with twin wing-mounted tail fins either side of a short fuselage.The cockpit was situated well forward to provide good visibility for the pilot during aircraft carrier approaches.The design was given the company type number of V-346 and then the official designation of "F7U" when it was announced the winner of a USN competition.

The aircraft had all-hydraulic controls which provided artificial feedback so the pilot could feel aerodynamic forces acting on the plane.The hydraulic system was not ready for front-line service and was unreliable.
The F7U was also largely let down by its underpowered Westinghouse J34 turbojets,an engine that some pilots liked to say "put out less heat than Westinghouse's toasters." Naval aviators called the F7U the "Gutless Cutlass".None of the 14 F7U-1s built between 1950 and 1952 became approved to be used in squadron service.Test pilots found it a stable weapons platform, maneuverable, fun to fly and the strengthened airframe to be sturdy.Test pilots particularly praised its high roll rate at 570 degrees/s, three times faster than most production jets at the time.

The F7U's performance suffered due to a lack of sufficient engine thrust;its carrier landing and takeoff performance was notoriously poor.The J35 was known to flame out in rain, a very serious fault.
The first fleet squadron to receive F7Us was Fighter Squadron 81 (VF-81) in April 1954.Few squadrons made deployments with the type, and most "beached" them ashore during part of the cruise owing to operating difficulties.
The US.Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, flew two F7U-1 Cutlasses as a side demonstration during their 1953 show season in an effort to promote the new aircraft,but did not use them as part of their regular formation demonstration.

During a flight to an airshow at Naval Air Station Glenview in Chicago, one of the two Blue Angels aircraft had an engine flameout  forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing at NAS Glenview.His wingman Lt Edward "Whitey" Feightner, was redirected to make his landing at Chicago's former Orchard Airpark, which had been expanded and renamed O'Hare Airport. The runway had just been completed and was covered with peach baskets to prevent aircraft from landing until it was opened. Feightner was told to ignore the baskets and land on the new runway. As a result, Feightner's F7U became the first aircraft to land on the new runway for Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

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[Angry Turnip]

Vought SB2U Vindicator

The Vought SB2U Vindicator is a carrier-based dive bomber developed for the US Navy in the 1930s, the first monoplane in this role.
In 1934,the USN issued a requirement for a new monoplane Scout Bomber for carrier use,Vought submitted the XSB2U-1,a conventional low-wing monoplane configuration with a retractable tailwheel landing gear,the pilot and gunner being seated in tandem under a long greenhouse-style canopy.A Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin-Wasp Junior 750hp radial engine drove a two-blade constant-speed propeller, which was intended to act as a dive brake.A single 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb could be carried on a swinging trapeze to allow it to clear the propeller in a steep dive, while further bombs could be carried under the wings to give a maximum bombload of 1,500 lb.

First flight was 4th Jan 1936,it was accepted for operational evaluation on 2 July 1936, the prototype XSB2U-1, BuNo 9725, crashed on 20 August 1936.However it`s successful completion of trials led to further orders.An export version for the French Navy was produced,it had an 825hp engine and was known as the the V-156-F,40 of this type were delivered and they saw action in the early part of WWII,but were outclassed by Luftwaffe aircraft.

Aside from the US Navy,the SB2U also served with the USMC,VMSB-131 and VMSB-241 were the only two USMC squadrons that fielded the Marine-specific SB2U-3 between March 1941 and September 1943. VMSB-241's Vindicators saw combat at the Battle of Midway in June 1942.

The Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm,took over a French order for 50 V-156B-1 export versions similar to the SB2U-3 and powered by a 750hp R-1535-SB4-G engine,it was designated Chesapeake Mk.I,they were fitted with 4 x .303 forward firing machine guns.Fourteen Chesapeakes were used to equip a reformed 811 NAS on 14 July 1941 at RNAS Lee-on-Solent.The squadron crews referred to it as the "cheesecake", intended to use them for anti-submarine patrols, and they were earmarked for the escort carrier HMS Archer.
They were withdrawn from 811 Squadron in November 1941 for use as training aircraft and the unit was re-equipped with the biplane Fairey Swordfish.
 
There were 260 examples of all Vindicator variants produced, and a single example is preserved at the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola.

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[Angry Turnip]

Vought XF5U

The Vought XF5U "Flying Flapjack" was an experimental U.S. Navy fighter designed by Charles H. Zimmerman for Vought during World War II.The unorthodox design consisted of a flat,disc-shaped body serving as the lifting surface.Two piston engines buried in the body drove propellers located on the leading edge at the wingtips.

It was a much developed version of the original V-173 prototype,the XF5U-1 was a larger aircraft.With an all-metal construction, it was almost five times heavier, with two 1,600 hp P & W R-2000 radial engines.The unusual configuration was designed to create a low aspect ratio aircraft with low takeoff and landing speeds but high top speed.
The XF5U attempted to overcome the tip vortex problem using the propellers to actively cancel the drag-causing tip vortices.The propellers are arranged to rotate in the opposite direction to the tip vortices,the aim being retaining the higher-pressure air below the wing.With this source of drag eliminated, the aircraft would fly with a much smaller wing area, and the small wing would yield high maneuverability with greater structural strength.

An ejection seat was fitted to allow the pilot to clear the massive propellers in the event of an in-flight emergency.Although the prototype was unarmed, a combination of machine guns and cannons would have been installed under the nose.The XF5U design was promising,however,it came at the time when the USN was switching to jet propelled aircraft.By 1946,the project was already long over its expected development time,and well over budget.

The Navy finally canceled the project on 17 March 1947,the prototype aircraft (V-173) was transferred to the Smithsonian Museum for display.Although two aircraft were constructed, a lone XF5U-1 underwent ground runs but never overcame serious vibration problems.Taxi trials culminated in short "hops" that were not true flights.The only completed XF5U-1 proved to be so structurally solid that it had to be destroyed with a wrecking ball. 

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[Angry Turnip]

Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III

The Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III was an aircraft developed by Chance Vought as a successor to the successful Vought F-8 Crusader program, and as a competitor to the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.
The Crusader design team was also working on a larger aircraft with even greater performance, internally designated as the V-401.Externally similar to the Crusader and sharing with it such design elements as the variable incidence wing, the new fighter was larger and was powered by the Pratt & Whitney J75-P-5A engine generating 29,500 lbf of afterburning thrust.To deal with Mach 2+ flight conditions it was fitted with large vertical ventral fins under the tail which rotated to the horizontal position for landing.

The XF8U-3 was officially labeled "Crusader III and first flew on 2 June 1958.The first time that the aircraft exceeded Mach 2.0 in level flight was on August 14, during its 38th test flight,well before the rival F4H-1.In fly-offs against the Crusader III's main competitor, the future McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, demonstrated that the Vought design had a definite advantage in maneuverability. John Konrad, Vought's chief test pilot,stated that the Crusader III could fly circles around the Phantom II.However it emerged that combat workload was extremely high for the single seat Crusader.
The Phantom's considerably larger payload and the ability to perform air-to-ground as well as air-to-air missions, trumped Vought's fast but single-purposed fighter. For similar reasons, the Phantom would replace the Navy's F-8 Crusader as the primary daylight air superiority fighter in the Vietnam War.

The F8U-3 program was canceled with five aircraft built. Three aircraft flew during the test program, and, along with two other airframes, were transferred to NASA for atmospheric testing, as the Crusader III was capable of flying above 95% of the Earth's atmosphere. NASA pilots flying at NAS Patuxent River routinely intercepted and defeated U.S. Navy Phantom IIs in mock dogfights, until complaints from the Navy jocks put an end to the harassment.

All of the Crusader IIIs were later scrapped.

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[Angry Turnip]

Waco 9

The Waco 9 is an American-built three-seat biplane design that first flew in 1925.The Model 9 was of rugged construction to meet the barnstorming requirements of the period. The cost when new was between $2,025 and $2,500.A Waco 9 was flown in the 1926 Ford National Reliability Air Tour.

The Waco 9 was the first of the steel-tubed fuselage aircraft designs to be built by the Advance Aircraft Company,which became the Waco Aircraft Company circa 1929.
The Model 9 was a three-seat open cockpit biplane with the ailerons on the upper wings extending outboard of the main wing surfaces.
Model 9s were fitted with a variety of engines including the 90 hp Curtiss OX-5, the 100 hp Curtiss OXX-6, up to the 150 hp Hisso A.

By 2007, a few examples remained airworthy in the USA, and five aircraft were held by museums.

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[Angry Turnip]

Wittman Tailwind

The Wittman W-8 Tailwind is a popular two-seat light aircraft for homebuilding.It is a high-wing,braced cabin monoplane of taildragger configuration. Construction is with a steel tubing fuselage,wooden wings, and fabric covering.

The Tailwind is the third in a series of high-wing aircraft designed by Sylvester J."Steve" Wittman (1904–1995), a well-known air racing pilot and race plane designer.
A model of the 1965 Wittman Tailwind may be found in the Sun 'n Fun Museum.In 1953, the Tailwind became the first aircraft covered under the FAA's Experimental category to be certified to carry a passenger. Whilst crude looking by modern standards, it outperformed many similar factory-built planes, and only with the advent of composite construction were new designs able to achieve similar speed per horsepower and range.

Usual powerplant is 1 × Lycoming O-320, 160 hp giving a max speed of 200mph.The aircraft can be built as a taildragger or with a tricycle undercarriage, W-9 or W-10 Tailwind.

The example below G-CFON used to be a resident at Newtownards,but it now lives in Scotland.

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[Angry Turnip]

Wright Model R

The Wright Model R was a single-seat biplane built by the Wright Company in Ohio,in 1910.Sometimes known as the Roadster or the Baby Wright,it was designed for speed and altitude competitions.

It was derived from the Wright Model B, and was a two seat biplane with rear-mounted twin rudders mounted in front of a single elevator and carried on wire-braced wood booms behind the wing and was powered by a 30 hp Wright four-cylinder inline water-cooled engine driving a pair of pusher propellers via chains.

Two examples were flown at the International Aviation Tournament in November 1910, one being a standard model flown by Alec Ogilvie and the other being a special competition model known as the Baby Grand, which had a 60 hp V-8 engine and a reduced wingspan of 21 ft 5 in.Orville Wright succeeded in flying the Baby Grand at a speed of nearly 70 mph Both aircraft were entered for the second Gordon Bennett Trophy competition which was held at the meeting, but the Baby Grand, flown by Walter Brookins, suffered an engine failure during a trial flight on the race day and crashed heavily. Ogilvie's aircraft also had engine problems, but after repairs finished third.

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[Angry Turnip]

World Aircraft Vision / Sentinel

The World Aircraft Vision, also called the Sentinel, is an American STOL amateur-built aircraft, produced by the World Aircraft Company.
A development of the World Aircraft Spirit, the Vision has a strut-braced high-wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit that is 48.5 in (123 cm) wide, fixed tricycle landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration. It also has large clear plastic doors and an enlarged front windshield to enhance visibility.

The aircraft's recommended engine is the 100 hp Rotax 912ULS four-stroke powerplant.The tricycle landing gear is strengthened for rough field operations and includes an adjustable nose strut shock absorber.Electric rudder trim is standard.
Vision kits are fully assembled at the factory and then disassembled for customer delivery and may be shipped pre-painted.
As of October 2012, the design appears on the Federal Aviation Administration's list of approved special light-sport aircraft.Two have been registered with the FAA to date.

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[Angry Turnip]

Oops, I forgot about some other "V" aircraft.

Vultee V-1

The Vultee V-1 was a 1930s single-engined airliner built by the Airplane Development Corporation, designed by Gerard Vultee.
The prototype (V-1) was an all-metal low-wing cantilever monoplane with a retractable tailwheel landing gear. It could carry a pilot and six passengers and first flew on February 19, 1933.It was powered by a 650 hp Wright SR-1820-F2 Cyclone engine.
Production aircraft were designated the V-1A and had a slightly larger and longer fuselage for two pilots and eight passengers,they had a 735 hp Wright Cyclone R-1820-F2 radial engine.

American Airlines bought at least 13 V-1As and the V-1 prototype ( it was modified for two pilot operation) and they entered service in 1934.On introduction, they were the fastest commercial airliners of their day.By 1936, they were sold, having been replaced with twin-engined aircraft when the Bureau of Air Commerce severely limited the use of single engine airliners.
V-1ADs were operated by several private companies or individuals as high-speed executive aircraft, they had an uprated 850hp engine.

Seven former American Airlines aircraft, plus eight others were used by the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, with machine guns and under-fuselage bomb racks fitted. Four of the aircraft were captured by the Nationalists.
The V-1 was used in the filming of Jungle Queen (1944) with Clark Gable, and The Tarnished Angels (1957).

The V-1AD Special NC16099 ( with a 1,000 hp Wright Cyclone R-1820-G2 radial engine) is the sole survivor of the 25 V-1`s built,and is preserved on public display at KEZF Shannon Air Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

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