The airplane is without a doubt one of the greatest inventions in the history of mankind. It allows us to travel from one part of the world to another part, thousands of miles away, in an incredibly safe and (usually!) comfortable manner. Think about what we’re able to do and see today in our lifetime because we’re able to fly! Ancestors of ours couldn’t visit multiple countries, try different cuisines, and see the natural wonders of the world in their lifetime, but we can do this all in the span of a few months if we really wanted to. Isn’t that crazy?
Aside from personal benefits, the airplane has allowed economies and countries to grow faster. Cargo transport, for example, is so much more efficient because people are no longer reliant on ships, which pose significantly more risk than airplanes, not to mention they take much longer in transit. The world feels more connected than ever before!
When thinking about the history of the airplane, most of us know that the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, invented the basis of the modern-day airplane back in 1903. But did you know their work was actually inspired by another innovator’s (George Cayley) work from 1799? Plenty of people have tried their luck at designing and creating their version of an airplane. While we’re thankful for their efforts, some planes are honestly better off remaining on the ground and never seeing the light of day.
Take a look at some of the airplanes that should have never been built!
1. The Wright Flyer
The Wright Flyer took on and completed its first flight in 1903. A legend in the aviation industry, the flight lasted for nearly a minute, flying over 850 feet over North Carolina’s beaches. It was the landing that broke the front support, forcing the plane to do somersaults. The plane never flew again.
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2. The Fisher P-75 Eagle
World War II saw President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered plane manufacturers with around 50,000 airplanes to aid the US in the war. The Fisher P-75 Eagle was designed as the top-of-the-line aircraft with incredible climbing abilities and aggressive artillery rate. The test run sealed its fate. The Fisher P-75 Eagle performed poorly, resulting in the discontinuation of the program.
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3. The McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 was about to make people’s dreams come true, being the promise of transporting large numbers of passengers anywhere. But the plane was called the “Death Trap” after several flight disasters that killed hundreds of people. Its subpar safety features caused many disasters including a flight from Paris that crashed in Turkey killing more than 300 people. Another accident killed around 200 people shortly after take-off.
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4. The Bell YFM-1 Airacuda
The Bell Airacuda’s initial design brought it fame as its image was to be the war weapon against which all others were measured. Promises of speed and power with its cannon gun torrents mounted on each side of its wings seemed to make it formidable but the Bell Airacuda did not deliver. It was so heavy and its trajectory was very slow, making stealth missions impossible. The weaponry also backfired, filling the compartment with smoke instead of releasing ammunition outside.
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5. The Vought F7U Cutlass
The Vought Cutlass was sleek and imposing, making it seem like a terror in the skies. Yet out of the 300 fleets manufactured, around 75 were destroyed. Frequent engine failures saw more 25 navy pilots killed, causing more navy pilots quitting after flying the Vought Cutlass.
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6. The NB-36 Convair Crusader
The NB-36 Convair Crusader was designed as a bomber aircraft with a nuclear reactor mounted at the tip of its tail. It was designed and tested to run on nuclear power. Safety features were installed like lead to covering the nuclear reactor. The project was a success but public concern had President Eisenhower discontinue the project.
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7. The PZL M-15 Belphegor
Belphegor is the name of a demon god. He tricks people into creating useless inventions, and such was this plane named after the demon god. The Belphegor was to be Poland’s answer to aid dry farmlands. The plane was built to crop dust but it proved to be too costly. It didn’t help that the plane was ugly, heavy, and slow.
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8. Yakovlev Yak-38
The Yakovlev Yak-38 was designed as a military supersonic jet with boosters installed for vertical take-offs and landings. The concept and design seemed promising enough but Russian aircraft proved useless for military purposes. It consumed so much fuel that it could only fly in a 200-mile radius.
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9. The Sikorsky S-76
The Sikorsky S-76 has been involved in multiple aircraft disasters. It began with a mechanical failure in the North Sea, killing five people and leaving six stranded. A crash in the Baltic Sea killed all 14 on board. Another crashed in an Indonesian tree in 2015. And in 2020, perhaps its most famous crash, Kobe Bryant was killed along with his daughter and friends.
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10. The Lockheed Martin VH-71
The Lockheed Martin was too expensive to maintain and run thanks to its fuel consumption. It was supposed to be the presidential helicopter but President Barack Obama decided to discontinue the program. It was then replaced with a more cost-effective presidential helicopter program, called the Lockheed.
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11. The Bell X-1
The Bell aircraft was to be the fastest plane back in the ’40s. It flew by at a record of over 1000 mph. That made it the quickest human-crewed supersonic flight. But it was in October 1947 when the very quiet Mojave Desert was interrupted with a loud boom. At a Mach 1.06 speed, the plane broke the sound barrier.
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12. The Aerodrome A
Noted physicist Samuel Pierpont Langley was the man responsible for the Aerodrome A. The design for a crewless airplane was a success, and soon demands poured in. It was when he designed a manned aircraft that his work failed.
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13. The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin
The Goblin was easy to fly, stable, and could recover from spins quite easily. It was small and light, designed to escort large bombers as back-up fighters. It would launch from the bomber’s belly so it could be dropped into combat. But after multiple attempts, the Goblin did not work as intended with the plane not reconnecting with the retractable tether.
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14. The Lockheed XFV-1 Salmon
VTOL technology in aircrafts was all the rave back in the fifties. The Salmon was designed to be the best among all other aircrafts when it came to VTOL technology. Two prototypes were produced the Lockheed Salmon did not meet expectations. 32 test flights failed before the project was scrapped.
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15. The Grumman X-29
The plane was armed with the latest aviation technology. Forward-swept wings were meant to improve handling and maneuverability, but the Grumman was so unruly and unmanageable. No pilot could command and keep it under control. The X-29 had 400 test flights before the project was put to an end.
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16. The Baade 152
German engineer Brunolf Baade wanted to convert the fighter jet into a commercial aircraft. It was after the war and fighters were no longer needed. But its first flight was fatal, crashing immediately and killing everyone on board. The crash was blamed on its fuel supply, which caused a malfunction.
17. The Rockwell XFV-12
The Rockwell XFV-12 had a sleek and futuristic look, and it was involved in VTOL technology. But the plane wasn’t a success because of its weight. The plane couldn’t execute a vertical take-off. The development cost was also more expensive than its ROI.
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18. The Tupolev TU-144
Russia’s supersonic passenger jet was the first of its kind back in the day. But three humiliating crashes ruined its hype with one crash occurring atthe Paris Air Show. This caused the Russians to think twice of flying the aircraft. They say that regardless of its status, everything was built so cheaply that even the toilets did not always work.
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19. The Dassault Balzac V
VTOL technology was so popular back in the day that even the French wanted to have the technology in the Dassault Balzac. The Balzac V had the fastest VTOL, even hitting Mach 2, but zero safety features proved fatal, killing the pilot. After several other test runs, another pilot was killed.
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20. The de Havilland Comet G-ALYY
The de Havilland Comet G-ALYY was the first commercial aircraft after WW2. The British adored the aircraft but mechanical problems plagued the Comet. It started with a few runway mishaps before two aircrafts exploding in the sky. The British plane soon lost its popularity as a result.
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21. The HZ-1 “Aerocycle” Heli-Vector
The HZ-1 “Aerocycle” Heli-vector was designed s a personl helicopter. The US army wanted each soldier to pilot the aerocycle like dragonflies allowing them to cross water easily. The Aerocycle was said to be faster than motorcycles but design issues with its spinning rotors and strong winds meant it was unsafe to use.
HZ-1 Aerocycle, DH-4 Heli-Vector, was US one-man “personal helicopter” developed by de Lackner Helicopters in the mid-1950s. Intended to be operated by inexperienced pilots with a min 20 minutes of instruction.
Careful when you step off! pic.twitter.com/5bQTHJ5Kol— Chris Bolton (@CcibChris) January 26, 2020
22. The Christmas Bullet
A man named Dr. William Christmas was in a race to create the first plane along with the Wright brothers. With no experience in the aviation industry, Christmas had the public believe that he himself flew the first airplane. The people asked for evidence so Christmas said he lost all the plans and the plane in a fire.
23. The Me-163 “Komet”
The Komet beat the world’s fastest plane back in the day, even reaching double the speeds. The rocket-powered aircraft was truly impressive but it did have its drawbacks. It burned through all its fuel after just seven minutes of flight. And It was so fast that it would miss its targets.
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24. The Noviplano Ca.60
The Noviplano was invented by Gianni Caproni. It was the first flying boat, meant to fly a hundred people out in the Atlantic at 100 mph over air and sea. Eight engines and three sets of wings did see it fly but the craft crashed into pieces minutes after.
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25. The Blackburn B-25 Roc
The Blackburn failed its supposed role of being one of the greatest military assets. All Blackburn aircrafts were retired soon after all its faults came out. Those included a faulty water landing, and capability and design issues that could not compete against other better performing planes.
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26. The Blackburn B-26
The brother of the Blackburn B-25 had features like a twin-engine, a three-seater torpedo bomber, and reconnaissance craft. It seemed impressive enough to be part of the royal air force. But aircraft became heavy after becoming a four seater. Several crashes deemed it too unstable and unsafe.
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Wikipedia
27. The Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia
The Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia has a maximum capacity of 30 people. It is still active but because of its less-than-stellar safety record, people are often hesitant to board. The Brazilian plane first smashed into a mountain near Brazil, killing all on board. Another crash in a forest saw the same results. Then in 1991, killed US Senator John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter. All crashes from 1995 to 2017 left no survivors.
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28. The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9
Designed to be a prototype reconnaissance plane, the B.E.9 was stable enough but a passenger seat caused it to have issues. Placing a gunner in the passenger front part of the plane was unsafe so it was recalled.
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29. The Fairey Albacore
The Fairey Albacore was to be part of the royal air fleet but didn’t exactly performed as promised. The single-engine biplane with a torpedo bomber had great amenities. There was in-cabin heating hydraulic flaps, and could even dive-bomb. It was soon replaced with a newer and better plane.
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30. The Mikoyan-Gurevich-23 MiG-23
The Mikoyan-Gurevich was a common sight in WWII. It proved to be unpopular since it was prone to accidents. Subpar performance during the war itself revealed less than impressive abilities.
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Wikipedia
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