Very Cool Pics of Rare Aircraft

[CoasterMatt]

Some pretty wild stuff in here - I wonder how many were mistaken for UFOs?

http://rareaircraf1.greyfalcon.us/UNITED%20STATES.htm

[Capt Jack]

ok, that was freakin awesome!
thanks a ton for those:cool:

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Very cool. I'm not sure I'd want to be the pilot of the XP-63 "Manned Aerial Target"

http://rareaircraf1.greyfalcon.us/picturesm/au9.jpg

[Alex]

In searching to find out what a manned aerial target is (it is exactly what it says) I found this page (http://www.ww2f.com/information-requests/23757-b-17-mod.html) which claims pretty categorically that the turboprop B-17 on the page is photoshopped.

[scaeagles]

The Pima Air and Space Museum (near Tucson) is a great place for stuff like this. One of my favorites there, and very odd looking as well, is the Super Guppy (http://www.pimaair.org/collection-detail.php?cid=1&pn=1).

[Capt Jack]

Very cool. I'm not sure I'd want to be the pilot of the XP-63 "Manned Aerial Target"

http://rareaircraf1.greyfalcon.us/picturesm/au9.jpg




The most unusual P-63 variations were the RP-63A and RP-63C “pinball” versions developed late in WWII. These manned target aircraft were fired at by aerial gunnery students using .30-cal. lead and plastic frangible machine gun bullets that disintegrated harmlessly against the target’s external skin of Duralumin armor plating. Special instruments sent impulses to red lights in the nose of the “pinball” aircraft, causing them to blink when bullets struck the plane.



sounds like FUN!!!

The Pima Air and Space Museum (near Tucson) is a great place for stuff like this. One of my favorites there, and very odd looking as well, is the Super Guppy (http://www.pimaair.org/collection-detail.php?cid=1&pn=1).

I got to see one on takeoff when I was a kid. freakish site to see that thing actually fly. like a blimp with wings only slower

[RStar]

At the right angle the one sponsered by Sears could look like a UFO.