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Really Ugly Aircraft


Max Headroom

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Surely the Kawasaki EC-1 must qualify:

kawasaki-ec-1a.jpg

net photo

And how an "ugliest aircraft" thread can go half a page without mention of the Carvair is beyond me. It almost makes me vomit to look at the thing:

atl98_gilland.jpg

net photo

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This makes me wonder if ugly aircraft shouldn't be classified:

  • those that are born ugly - designs that only a mother could love from the very start
  • those that achieve ugliness - conversions that fundamentally change the structure and make it a munter
  • those that have ugliness thrust upon them - non-structural additions to a decent-looking airframe that add up to an ugly whole

Examples would be, respectively, the Belphegor, the Carvair, and the EMB-145 AEW originally posted. The 145 is actually a bit of a looker under all that Halloween make-up.

Edited by pigsty
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I think the Sturgeon looked pretty nice in it's original form.

Short_Sturgeon.jpg

It was when they added the ASW radar that things went very badly awry:

Sturgeon_SB3.jpg

David

Can you imagine what the Chief Designer must have thought when he saw what they did to his quite handsome design?

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I think the Sturgeon looked pretty nice in it's original form.

Short_Sturgeon.jpg

It was when they added the ASW radar that things went very badly awry:

Sturgeon_SB3.jpg

David

Is that before and after it underwent 'uncosmetic sturgery'...?

I'll get me coat :coat:

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Is that before and after it underwent 'uncosmetic sturgery'...?

I'll get me coat :coat:

All true BUT the Indians can design them and Build them. Which is mire that we Brits can do and they can take airpower to sea unlike us.

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More like Jodie Marsh :S

Only if 1) those wheel housings were much bigger and added at a later date, 2) it was camouflaged 'tanning orange' and 3) it made a horrible whining noise all the time :P

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I was thinking it looked something like her nose TBH... not down in the gutter thinking about her :bouncy: like you :innocent:

I thought you meant her lips...and then my mind went elsewhere :whistle:

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Looking at the latest Air International and noticed India's upcoming Embraer EMB-145 based AEW&C aircraft.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=isch&am...mp;bih=158#i=11

It may be a very capable platform but is it also the ugliest 'thing' flying today?

What do you think and do you have any rivals to compete?

Trevor

It's just a warty version of THIS!

The Mexicans also have the maritime surveillance version too - the EMB-145MP.

I'm not convinced about the pregnant look though.... :shrug:

Mike. :)

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who cares what it looks like it works !!!!! looks like a cheap replacement for the beloved but gone nimrod

And why was Blackburn so good at making UGLY Aircraft, were the designers all deformed so they thought aircraft should be as well.

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I have always had the general impression that all Soviet/Russian aircraft were ugly to a great extent. :D Perhaps experts in aircraft design could change my mind about this prejudice.

Some are really ugly ! The MiG-21 might have been a succesful aircraft and sure is a fascinating subject, but will never win any beauty context. And what about the Su-17/22 ? Terrible looking machine ! Not to mention things like the Ilyushin Il-20 and Il-40, some of the ugliest aircrafts ever built (that fortunately never entered service).

Most have what I could call a utilitaristic design, they do the job but can't be be called elegant or beautiful. However the same can be said of several western designs (F-4 anyone?) and some soviet designs were not ugly at all: the MiG-29 and Su-27 are very good looking and so is the Tu-22M. The Tu-16 is IMHO a very elegant design and so is the Su-24. Last but not least, even if it was not a success and never entered service, I consider the M-50 a very beautiful aircraf

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I have always had the general impression that all Soviet/Russian aircraft were ugly to a great extent. :D Perhaps experts in aircraft design could change my mind about this prejudice.

Here you go. Perhaps not all are beautiful, but they're hardly ugly. They certainly can't hold a candle to the Blackburn Blackburd (last picture) in that respect. I suppose all countries have had their ugly aircraft when it comes to manufacturing aeroplanes.

Regards,

Jason

Tupolev SBB-1 (ultimate development of the Tupolev SB, although it didn't go into production):

TupolevSBB-1.jpg

Tupolev Tu-104 (something like a transport version of the Tu-16 bomber and the second jet transport in service):

Tu-104.jpg

La-7 (perhaps the finest radial-engined fighter of WWII):

La-7Profile.jpg

Yak-3 (perhaps the finest inline-engined fighter of WWII):

baevskyYak.jpg

Tu-2 (a fast, medium bomber):

Tu-2-ColourProfile6.jpg

The never-to-be imitated, should not have even been allowed Blackburn Blackburd:

blackburd-c1.jpg

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That flew????

Trevor

Yes, amazingly. I've even see a picture of it flying. If I'd seen that in a Warner Bros. cartoon I would have thought it over the top.

Regards,

Jason

[Edit: Here's a photograph of it flying. Perhaps the ground was so repelled by its existence it forced it into the air.]

Stipa-Caproni41.jpg

Edited by Learstang
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Surely this must come near the top of the list...Mig I-320....Makes you shudder....

migi320.jpg

Looks like a bloke I used to work with....

Surely the Kawasaki EC-1 must qualify:

kawasaki-ec-1a.jpg

net photo

And how an "ugliest aircraft" thread can go half a page without mention of the Carvair is beyond me. It almost makes me vomit to look at the thing:

atl98_gilland.jpg

net photo

You should try flying on it and really experience mass vomiting....

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