Aircraft identification request

I figure an aircraft buff frequenting this forum could tell me what this odd-looking plane was that I saw the other day.

Description:

Medium size (midway between a large passenger jet and a small private recreational craft)

Conventional looking wings, body, and tail except for the nose of the plane. It had lateral projections coming from it that made it look like a hammerhead shark.

I saw this same plane several years ago, so I don't think that it is necessarily a new concept, but rather some kind of a modification for a specific purpose.

Thanks in advance to who ever nails this one for me.

Originally posted by GoneGrey
I figure an aircraft buff frequenting this forum could tell me what this odd-looking plane was that I saw the other day.

Description:

Medium size (midway between a large passenger jet and a small private recreational craft)

Conventional looking wings, body, and tail except for the nose of the plane. It had lateral projections coming from it that made it look like a hammerhead shark.

I saw this same plane several years ago, so I don't think that it is necessarily a new concept, but rather some kind of a modification for a specific purpose.

Thanks in advance to who ever nails this one for me.

Anything like this?
www.flightschoollist.com...

reply to post by Pauligirl


The nose feature is the same as what I saw though the plane itself did not appear to be of the passenger variety. It looked a bit larger and perhaps less streamlined than your linked image -- just more conventional and utilitarian looking (ie. no fancy paint job).

Thank you for your quick reply!

reply to post by Pauligirl


Good choice. Could also be a Beechcraft: Like this one here. This is called a "canard" design. Google "canard" and you'll see quite a few. Just FYI, the Wright Brother's first airplane had this kind of design.

Perhaps you could provide some more info such as a basic sketch? That would certainly help narrow down the possibilities.

My first instinct was to also name the Piaggio as the likely culprit, however you seem fairly certain that it was not it.

The Starship also came to mind but I doubt that is what you saw as 1). You described it as having a fairly conventional layout and the Beech doesn't fit that description too well. 2). There are very few if any Starships now flying as the company ceased production, withdrew support for them and even bought up and destroyed most of the airframes in a swap deal with then Starship owners.

LEE.

Sounds like one of Burt Rutan planes.
flatrock.org.nz...
www.hooked-on-rc-airplanes.com...
spacecollective.org...
www.vectorsite.net...
www.eaa.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by schuyler


The 'canard' design feature is no doubt what I saw. It was the unusual sound that the plane made that caught my attention in the first place and made me look skyward. I expect that it was headed for Detroit Metro Airport for landing given the fairly low altitude that provided me with a pretty good look at it.

I appreciate your input, too.

reply to post by GoneGrey


Sometimes a little extra info helps. Pauligirl's candidate is a actually a turbojet with propellors. It's not a pure jet engine. If it "sounded funny" this may be a clue. Now all you have to do is find the sound!

Did it look like this ? Try using this search string in google - canard equipped aircraft

You mentioned the sound it made, and the Piaggo Avanti does indeed make a very distinct, unique sound. An owner can paint it however they want, are you sure it isn't an Avanti? Its too bad you couldn't have gotten the tail number, than itd just take a few seconds to find out exactly what it was.

well, it was a double post, but I'm going to edit it to make it more useful

Here are some shots of an Avanti flying overhead. Look familar at all?

reply to post by JJRichey


From the view provided in the second photo (which is almost identical to the vantage point I had), that's it! No doubt now.

Thank you to you and to the first poster who suggested this. I didn't get the benefit a 'side' view of the craft and that is why I got the impression that there were no passenger windows and that perhaps it was some kind of a cargo plane.

Good work!

I was doing a search on google for plane that looks like a hammerhead and got routed here ( my fav place). I was doing yard work the other day and a weird sounding plane made me look up and my first thought was the plane looked like a hammerhead. I looked at all the pics that were posted and none of them seem right. It really was cool looking