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The MiG-105 was part of a program known as the Spiral : a manned test vehicle to explore low-speed handling and landing. A Soviet project to create an orbital space plane. This was originally conceived in response to the X-20 Dyna-Soar military space project and may have been influenced by contemporary manned lifting body research being conducted by NASA’s Flight Research Center in California.
Schienenzeppelin :The Schienenzeppelin was built in Germany in the late 1920s. The Rail Zeppelin was a revolutionary locomotive for its time. This streamlined aluminium metal tube was pushed by an ash propeller in the rear. The Schienenzeppelin or Rail Zeppelin was an experimental rail car which closely resembled a zeppelin airship in appearance. Read more
The Convair F2Y Sea Dart was a unique American seaplane fighter aircraft that rode on twin hydro-skis for takeoff. It flew only as a prototype, and never entered production. It is the only seaplane aircraft to have exceeded the speed of sound.
The SNECMA Coléoptère meaning “beetle” in French, was a VTOL aircraft developed by the French company SNECMA in the 1950s. It was a single-person aircraft with an annular wing designed to land vertically, therefore requiring no runway and very little space to take-off. There were several prototypes developed and tested, however the design proved to be very unstable and flying it was dangerous.
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The Bartini Beriev VVA-14 was developed in the Soviet Union during the 1970s. Designed to be able to take-off from the water and fly at high speed over long distances, it was to make true flights at high altitude, but also have the capability of ‘flying’ efficiently just above the sea surface, using ground effect. The VVA-14 was designed by Robert Bartini in answer to a perceived requirement to destroy United States Navy Polaris missile submarines.