Strange Planes

Season 2 · 1990 · 7 episodes

A series of six episodes, entitled Strange Planes (and later released on VHS video), focused on several unusual aircraft types.

1Drones, Midgets and MutationsFrom the German SC-1262, a 1930s drone controlled by wires connected to a telephone, and Hitler's ominous V-1 to ultra-lights and one-man rocket packs, this episode recounts some of the most outlandish - and innovative - aviation creations. Drones include radio-controlled air vehicles and aerial torpedo "bugs." Mutants fulfill secondary purposes. Pint-sized experimentals like midgets are also remembered.
2ParasitesParasites represent enormous technological breakthroughs. In the beginning, Curtis fighters hid inside dirigibles. Later, parasite aircraft launched out of giant bombers to protect the plane. Now, the space shuttle itself counts as a parasite.
3Eyes in the SkyTakes a look at the people behind covert operations and the inventions that hid in the clouds - from the observation balloons of the Civil War to modern electronic surveillance aircraft like the U2, AWACS, spy satellites, and the SR71 "Blackbird."
4GiantsTraces the story of aviation's most mammoth aircraft. Built for civil and and military uses, these amazing planes stun the imagination with their vast size. With names such as 'Fat Albert' and 'Pregnant Guppies' these giants of the skies rank with the world's strangest aircraft. From dirigibles like the Hindenberg and Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose, touching all the major milestones along the way, up to the B36, B52, and B1 bombers; the C5 Galaxy; and the U.S.S.R.'s giant AN 124.
5VerticalTells the fascinating story of attempts to design airplanes that could be launched straight up into the air. From the Bell XV3 and XV15 to the Hawker and Harrier, a recounting of the planes that leap into the sky without a runway - and some that were supposed to but didn't.
6Strange ShapesEliminating the fuselage on aircraft was an idea that never came to fruition, but it gave rise to a smaller, more aerodynamic design: the Flying Wing. Seen in the 1929 Halten Meteor to the modern-day Stealth Bomber, this smooth design featured backward wings, moving wings, small wings and even no wings at all; backward engines that "pushed" instead of "pulled"; engines that both pushed and pulled; huge tails and no tails. Aircraft seen include the Bell X5, XP 57 "Bat", SR71 Blackbird, F7 Cutlass, "Lifting Bodies", X24 and X29.
7Canards and Pusher Propellers

Episodes