Some aircraft are so bold, so experimental, or so extreme that only one was ever built. The one-off machines developed engineering capabilities to their maximum potential which sometimes resulted in excessive technological advances. The following list presents the most extraordinary aircraft that existed as a single prototype.
MiG 1.44
Clint Eastwood portrays a pilot who embarks on a dangerous mission to the Soviet Union in order to search for and steal an advanced Soviet fighter plane in the 1982 film Firefox. The 'Firefox' existed only as a fictional creation while the Mikoyan Project 1.44 served as its closest actual counterpart. The aircraft utilized a canard delta tail-first design which included two tailfins. A shark-like nose sat atop a vast ramp-like air intake. The aircraft displayed an extremely powerful physical presence. The aircraft was designed to achieve speeds of Mach 2.35 and maintain Mach 1.5 during super cruise operation. The 1.42 fighter version would operate as the ultimate fighter model which featured an internal weapons bay that contained modern air-to-air missile systems.
Sukhoi Su-47 (S-37)
The Sukhoi S-37 appeared more exotic than the 1.44 because its design included a black paint job and forward-swept wings which created an intimidating effect. The state showed embarrassment about the MiG 1.44 yet the S-37 achieved 'rockstar' status because it received greater recognition and appeal among Russian citizens.
Martin-Baker MB3
The test flights which began on August 31 1942 demonstrated that the aircraft had a high level of maneuverability and required minimal effort to operate. The aircraft reached a maximum speed of 415 mph which exceeded the speed of the Spitfire Mk VIII that existed during that time. The aircraft used heavy tubing and built-up spars as its primary structural components which enabled it to withstand more combat damage than a typical stressed skin aircraft.
Payens
The PA-100 aircraft experienced extreme power deficiency from its 180 horsepower Régnier in-line engine which resulted in inadequate speed performance required for optimal wing operation. The second prototype named PA-101 was built after the first one crashed which occurred on April 27 1935 to compete in the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe race. The PA-22 represents the final Payen delta design which served as an experimental plane from 1939 until its initial operation with a Melot 1R ramjet engine. The aircraft was later converted to a conventional engine, the 180 hp six-cylinder Regnier. The Germans completed wind tunnel testing of the aircraft which had not yet flown when Germany invaded France in 1940 because they found the machine to be interesting.
Hughes H-4 Hercules ‘Spruce Goose’
Hughes conducted his single flight of the Spruce Goose on November 2 1947. The aircraft took off from Long Beach Harbor in California and flew one mile while reaching an altitude of 70 feet. The short flight established the aircraft's ability to fly yet led to its end because critics doubted its effective operation and expensive requirements. The war between the two nations ended, which resulted in the United States military no longer needing the Hercules aircraft.
Antonov An-225 Mriya
The An-225 first flew in late December 1988 and was soon smashing a series of world records. The An-225 established 214 national records together with 124 international records while transporting an unmatched aerial cargo weight of 253820 kilograms 559577 pounds which equals the weight of 42 elephants.
Grumman F5F ‘Skyrocket’
Lieutenant Commander Crommelin later stated, “I remember testing the XF5F against the XF4U on climb to the 10,000 foot level. I pulled away from the Corsair so fast I thought he was having engine trouble. The F5F was a carrier pilot’s dream, as opposite rotating propellers eliminated all torque…The research findings proved the F5F as the superior aircraft, while the Spitfire ranked as a distant second.
Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin
The construction of a 1/5 scale radio-controlled model started before they built the full-scale aircraft. The project used this model to test how well the design worked when flying at high angles of attack. The X-2 had a total expense approximately equal to $330 million.
Vought V-173
The people of the area started reporting UFO sightings because the term UFO had not yet been established. The United States Air Force introduced the term 'UFO' to the world in 1953. Aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh flew the type and found it handled extremely well. The first difficulties with the system occurred because the propulsion system used an elaborate geared mechanism to transmit engine power to the propellers.
Scaled Composites Model 351 Strat launch/Roc:
The Stratolaunch Roc holds the title of being the biggest aircraft that exists today and it also possesses the strongest flying capabilities. The mothership system which operates as an air launch platform uses two Pratt & Whitney PW4000 turbofans to achieve its maximum thrust capacity of 1776 kilonewtons for launching space rockets and hypersonic vehicles.
