Unique Aeroplanes

[Herod]

I was taking a group at a museum yesterday, and a young lad asked me "what do you think is the most unique aeroplane?". If we exclude the last-remaining of a line, and say just "one-offs", what are your thoughts? My own reply was the "Spruce Goose". Do we limit it to ones where the aircraft remains intact, or can we throw in the Brabazon and so on? This could raise a few "unknowns".

[treadigraph]

I suppose the Spruce Goose was really just a larger version of what had gone before. Perhaps it could be something that has unique attributes...?

[ZFT]

TSR-2 gets my vote. Only 1 flew I recall

[Planemike]

Herod..... Apologies for being a pedant. You cannot qualify the word "unique" i.e. "most unique" is incorrect. Unique means, one off, on its own, alone. If there is more than one it is NOT unique, less than one means it is only part of one: incomplete.

When it comes to aircraft types there are some obvious examples of truly (hey, fell into the trap myself !!!) unique examples. Spruce Goose would certainly qualify, as would the Reid & Sigrist Desford. Then there will be some that are unique, in that they have a "one off" engine installation but there will be other airframes with different engines.

Sometimes a particular Mark of a design will be a "one off, unique". The de Havilland 106 Comet 3 was unique but of course there were others Comets of different Mks.... While we are on de Havilland aircraft, the deH 81 Swallow Moth & deH 92 Dolphin were both unique.

[Ohrly]

How about the Myasishchev M-50?

Two engines with reheat and two without, as well as mounting engines on the wingtips. I think it is the only one to have those two features. Plus they only made one working example.

[meleagertoo]

Features have nothing to do with uniqueness.
A unique aeroplane is a one-off, and there must be/have been hundreds, if not thousands in that category. All unique.

[ATSA1]

Saro Princess..only 1 flew, another 2 were built but cocooned for 15 years

[Herod]

Planemike. My apologies; you are of course quite correct (or perhaps that shouldn't be qualified either. It's either correct or not). Vernacular I suppose.

[Arthur Bellcrank]

The Beardmore Inflexible was pretty impressive, built by Glasgow shipbuilders it was certainly unique.

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

Only a wheel survives.

[Sue Vêtements]

Might I be even more pedantic and suggest that the term "unique" (at least as in how question was asked) might refer to an unusual design and not that only one was made

BV 141 for instance

[Bill Macgillivray]

Cranfield A1?

[Zaxis]

Fairey Rotodyne
Absolutely unique
There are a few bits left at Weston-Super-Mare.

[Asturias56]

"There are a few bits left at Weston-Super-Mare."

I wondered what the noise was when I was there last year........................

[Ohrly]

Features have nothing to do with uniqueness.
A unique aeroplane is a one-off, and there must be/have been hundreds, if not thousands in that category. All unique.

Your definition of unique is certainly unique.

Merriam-Webster
Unique adjective
\ yu̇-ˈnēk \
Definition of unique
1: being the only one
2a: being without a like or equal
b: distinctively characteristic
c: able to be distinguished from all others of its class or type

Cambridge
Unique
adjective
UK /juːˈniːk/ US /juːˈniːk/

Being the only existing one of its type or, more generally, unusual, or special in some way.

Oxford
Unique adjective
/yuˈnik/


Being the only one of its kind.
Very special or unusual.
Unique (to somebody/something) belonging to or connected with one particular person, place, or thing.

[DH106]

Geez - I think we all know what we're trying to list here, can we move on from the pedanticism? :suspect:

[ChrisJ800]

I always think the Blohn & Voss BV 141 as being a unique asymmetrical design.

[Jhieminga]

Well.... the linguistics do have a place in this discussion so that we are all aware of what it is we're discussing... at least, that's my view! Without them, you may end up with one of those 'which is the best' discussions where no-one states what it is that makes it the best.

Unique aircraft... The Rutan Voyager gets my vote for its capability and achievement.

[aloominumtoob]

AN225.Dream.
AN70.

[Beamr]

One springs to mind especially: the Edgley Optica. I've no idea what the designers had had but I'll have the same. Double.

[B2N2]

Caspian Seamonster


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1200x900/image_19ed2675c4a19c6db33e4665c4c22059c741fd18.jpeg

For for the purists:

noun, plural air·craft.
any machine supported for flight in the air by buoyancy or by the dynamic action of air on its surfaces, especially powered airplanes, gliders, and helicopters.

[tdracer]

I'd put in a vote for the XB-70. Mach 3 bomber, half a million pounds, stainless steel construction, variable geometry - all in the early 1960's. It also looks awesome...
Not quite a one-off since they built two, but only one survives today.

[teeteringhead]

DH106

can we move on from the pedanticism? I think you'll find the word is pedantry. (See what I did there!!)

[dixi188]

One springs to mind especially: the Edgley Optica. I've no idea what the designers had had but I'll have the same. Double.
22 built? Unique design.

[DH106]

DH106

I think you'll find the word is pedantry. (See what I did there!!)
Not biting :)

[treadigraph]

I always think the Blohn & Voss BV 141 as being a unique asymmetrical design

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

[Planemike]

Planemike. My apologies; you are of course quite correct (or perhaps that shouldn't be qualified either. It's either correct or not). Vernacular I suppose.

No apology required....just one of those terms that seem to stand out, goes with the list of aviation related spellings/misspellings: hangar / hanger & Gipsy / gypsy. OK Mike...back onto your perch !!!!

Oh, you can add the Pilatus P4 to the list.... It morphed into the rather better known Pilatus PC6 Porter, later Turbo Porter.

[chevvron]

One springs to mind especially: the Edgley Optica. I've no idea what the designers had had but I'll have the same. Double.
I flew the prototype at Farnborough with Angus McVitie; landed it too!!

[Jhieminga]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutan_Boomerang
I read an article a long, long time ago that explained the thought process that led Burt Rutan to come up with this configuration. I think it started with a generic Beechcraft Baron and then discussed the different issues inherent in that design (or any typical light twin) and how the Boomerang configuration solved that. I wish I could find that article.

[Krystal n chips]

The Westland Wendover would appear to meet the criteria....never heard of it until fairly recently, so looked it up. ...of the first two words that sprung to mind, only me can be repeated.

[India Four Two]

The Wendover looks like the result of a Lysander accidentally ending up on a Lancaster production line! :sad:

[treadigraph]

. I wish I could find that article.

Might have been in Flying as I think I recall it too. Possibly penned by Peter Garrison. They are all on line, see if I can find it later.

[chevvron]

I could mention the Vickers Windsor.
A 4 engined bomber with Geodetic construction powered by Merlins; three built; assembled at Foxwarren near Brooklands but then disassembled and moved to Farnborough for test flying.
Had to have 4 mainwheels because the wings drooped when on the ground; notable for its pressurised crew compartments and remote controlled guns called 'barbettes' at the rear of each outboard nacelle. First one flew Oct 1943, followed by the second in Feb 1944 and third in Jul 1944. Development curtailed as the Lancaster was in full production and the end of the war was in sight.
Then there was the CMC Leopard lightweight bizjet. 2 built with twin jet engines and designed to carry a pilot and 3 passengers. Prototype first flew in 1988 followed by the second with more powerful engines in early 1997.
Project cancelled on the death of the designer, Ian Chichester Miles, in 2009.

[ZH875]

The Hunting H126, jet powered and could dawdle along at 28 knots.
Two were ordered but only one completed and flown.

[chevvron]

The Hunting H126, jet powered and could dawdle along at 28 knots.
Two were ordered but only one completed and flown.
My first visit to RAE Bedford in 1974, I saw the '126 departing on the back of a lorry.
There was also the HP115 'slim' delta designed for swept wing research. Used piston Provost undercarriage legs, one of which decided to collapse on landing one day at Bedford; the runway controller (temporarily on detachment from Farnborough) told me he watched as the aircraft described a circle around his vantage point.

[ATNotts]

Truly "unique" as I believe only one example built was the Douglas DC4E.

[treadigraph]

Garrison on the Rutan Boomerang :

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GxFTcEaqITAC&pg=PA100&dq=Boomerang&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwixke36htz2AhWRT8AKHWzOBUQQuwV6BAgDEAY#v=onepage&q=Boomerang&f=false

[muggins]

another singular example would be the Miles M.100 Student

[Shackman]

Surely there is only one 'unique' aircraft - The Wright Flyer. Everything else is a descendant.

[Beamr]

I flew the prototype at Farnborough with Angus McVitie; landed it too!!
You caught my attention! Sorry for the thread drift, but was it good at what it was designed for, to replace helicopters in low-level/low-speed observation tasks?

[meleagertoo]

What really is unique here is the hilarious misuse of the simple word "unique".

[FLHerne]

I read an article a long, long time ago that explained the thought process that led Burt Rutan to come up with this configuration. I think it started with a generic Beechcraft Baron and then discussed the different issues inherent in that design (or any typical light twin) and how the Boomerang configuration solved that. I wish I could find that article.

It's a page on the Rutan Boomerang website:
rutanboomerang.com and click 'Design' -- I can't post links as a new user.

Definitely quite interesting. I'd think the Boomerang is the most unique civilian light aircraft at least.

re. the pedantry -- every plane is unique in some way -- "only 737 to be completed at 2:14pm on a Tuesday". A plane can be more or less unique depending on the significance of the categories it's unique in.

Surely the Caproni Ca. 60 has to be the most unique, just look at the thing...

A related question might be the most useful/significant one-of-a-kind plane, perhaps the late An-225?

[DH106]

Then there was the CMC Leopard lightweight bizjet. 2 built with twin jet engines and designed to carry a pilot and 3 passengers. Prototype first flew in 1988 followed by the second with more powerful engines in early 1997.Project cancelled on the death of the designer, Ian Chichester Miles, in 2009.

I think one of the Leopards is in the museum at Coventry Airport?

[DH106]

I flew the prototype at Farnborough with Angus McVitie; landed it too!!

Angus McVitie - there's a name you don't forget easily!
I did a week's course at Cranfield in the mid-80's as part of my degree, and I'm sure Angus flew the Jetstream sorties that were part of the course.

[DH106]

What really is unique here is the hilarious misuse of the simple word "unique".

Hardly a unique misuse! :-D

[Sue Vêtements]

Surely there is only one 'unique' aircraft - The Wright Flyer. Everything else is a descendant.

<pedantically pedantic>

That would be "powered aircraft"

</pedantically pedantic>

[WB627]

I42 beat me to the Wendover, so ladies and gentlemen I give you The Hillson FH.40 ..... AKA The Slip Wing Hurricane

[DHfan]

The Westland Wendover would appear to meet the criteria....never heard of it until fairly recently, so looked it up. ...of the first two words that sprung to mind, only me can be repeated.

I knew of the aircraft but I'd never heard that name for it.

How about the Percival P.74 helicopter? The only helicopter Percival built, and it refused point-blank to even lift off the ground, let alone fly.

[Sue Vêtements]

I give you The Hillson FH.40 ..... AKA The Slip Wing Hurricane

which leads to that Russian one that could fly as either a monoplane OR a Biplane

[treadigraph]

which leads to that Russian one that could fly as either a monoplane OR a Biplane

The Bowers Fly Baby? Ski...?

[Self loading bear]

I knew of the aircraft but I'd never heard that name for it.

How about the Percival P.74 helicopter? The only helicopter Percival built, and it refused point-blank to even lift off the ground, let alone fly.

Machines that didn’t fly are called a “try”
And they are not very unique.

[Asturias56]

IIRC we never figured out what this was in "What aeroplane " so pretty unique!​​​​​​​
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/750x603/99aaa252_31fa_4a30_5ada61ab093e4_2a64e141f60f9279716eb6daa27 fdb61e78ebe50.jpeg

[Beamr]

IIRC we never figured out what this was in "What aeroplane " so pretty unique!

Ah, yes, that one has been haunting me ever since. Very annoying.

[FullOppositeRudder]

If I may follow the somewhat broader definition, Henri Mignet's Flying Flea is certainly some kind of unique - at least in concept and design; probably some other variation of unique in its flying characteristics. I knew a bloke once who had one. He claimed it was OK so long as you understood it (whatever that meant - he didn't expand and I didn't ask). Quite sad that he died (reportedly of a heart attack) whilst enjoying one of his local flying outings in the aircraft. I guess that's sort of unique too - in the saddest sense.

[PDR1]

(deleted)
​​​​​​

[chevvron]

IIRC we never figured out what this was in "What aeroplane " so pretty unique!
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/750x603/99aaa252_31fa_4a30_5ada61ab093e4_2a64e141f60f9279716eb6daa27 fdb61e78ebe50.jpeg
​​​​​​​Looks like an upscaled Cri-Cri.

[Planemike]

Machines that didn’t fly are called a “try”
And they are not very unique.
Sorry to come back to this but they are either unique or they are not....To me the Percival P 74 helicopter was unique whether it flew or not..... One designed, one built. To me that makes it unique.

[treadigraph]

The Slingsby V-Liner would have been a serious contender!

[Sue Vêtements]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the XF-85 Goblin

Fairly unique that it was launched from another aircraft, but then again so were Bell XB1 and the X15 ... but ... the Goblin had the distinction of also "landing" on another aircraft!

[treadigraph]

I presume the Brittany Ferries Cri Cri never attempted to land back on its Broussard mothership? I would certainly assume too great a risk.

[B2N2]

IIRC we never figured out what this was in "What aeroplane " so pretty unique!
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/750x603/99aaa252_31fa_4a30_5ada61ab093e4_2a64e141f60f9279716eb6daa27 fdb61e78ebe50.jpeg

​​​​​​​The Diamond DA-22 prototype.

[rixt]

The Pander S.4 postjager: Pander S-4 Postjager - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pander_S-4_Postjager)

[TLDNMCL]

Herod..... Apologies for being a pedant. You cannot qualify the word "unique" i.e. "most unique" is incorrect. Unique means, one off, on its own, alone. If there is more than one it is NOT unique, less than one means it is only part of one: incomplete.

When it comes to aircraft types there are some obvious examples of truly (hey, fell into the trap myself !!!) unique examples. Spruce Goose would certainly qualify, as would the Reid & Sigrist Desford. Then there will be some that are unique, in that they have a "one off" engine installation but there will be other airframes with different engines.

Sometimes a particular Mark of a design will be a "one off, unique". The de Havilland 106 Comet 3 was unique but of course there were others Comets of different Mks.... While we are on de Havilland aircraft, the deH 81 Swallow Moth & deH 92 Dolphin were both unique.
With you all the way; no such thing as "a bit unique, quite unique , slightly /rather unique."

[B2N2]

This whole unique discussion is a little silly.
Even a one off aero plane is not unique because as soon as it becomes airborne it flies just like any other aero plane.
Even the ones that have never flown are not unique as there are many other ones that have never flown.
Now what did I win?

[Herod]

B2N2. I agree with the silly comment. I was asked this question by a young lad, and posted it here for fun, expecting interesting replies. What I got was the grammar police.

[Asturias56]

"The Diamond DA-22 prototype."

I don't think so - the "What Aircraft" forum had to abandon this when it was a challenge - looks nothing like the Diamond - IIRC it was photographed in France at a show
​​​​​​​
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/750x1334/5bfa5af0_56c5_4a25df0cbc84aa96d33ff60ea_0515e876990be47fcf63 52f136c317143cf11a24.jpeg