The Lockheed XFV-1 Salmon
This American experimental prototype aircraft was created halfway through the twentieth century to show the operation of vertical take-off and landing with the sole purpose of protecting convoys. Supported by a fairly high budget the American Army became very creative with its aeronautical concepts. The big budgets allowed for these crazy ideas to come to life. The main feature of the Salmon was the vertical take-off and landing but it resulted in the engine collapsing and the plane was ultimately destroyed by its own flaws, so, we say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
The Lockheed XFV1 Salmon
The Grumman X-29
The Grumman X-29 was yet another experimental aircraft created by the American Airforce. The Grumman X-29 was born somewhere around the ’80s and it did have some snazzy looking features, one being the forward-facing wings. The unconventional design was supposed to improve the crafts aerodynamic abilities and provide a cool appearance at the same time. (I mean, why should all planes look the same?!)To the disappointment of the designers all the rear-facing wings did was stop the X-29 from being able to fly as a plane should. One would expect better calculations and designs considering that a combination of NASA, The Air Force, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Grumman all put efforts into this project. It should have been the ultimate aeronautical wonder but it wasn’t! It was also unflyable unless it was accompanied by a huge computer to virtually control it!
The Grumman X29
