Aircraft that would have been awesome, page 1

its a shame really, there are a large number of british aircraft designed before and during WW2, such as the Miles M.52 this was a British designed aircraft which was cancelled by the government as it was too expensive, but they turned over the designs and data to the American airforce, and a few months later Ole' Chuck made Mach 1.05

There are examples of flying wings, and other variants designed the in the UK well before equivalent designs were made in other countries,

Halton Meteor

Then we have the BAC Mustard - Lockheed took a few notes here and there on their designs Pictures

You just have to look at the companies of the time
Miles / Hunters / Gloster / Avro

Links to Aircraft designed in the UK 50-59 link

If you are interested there is a really good book Empires Of the Clouds by James Hamilton-Paterson or as always the Janes Manuals for this period

Wee Mad

edit on 3/6/2011 by weemadmental because: add further details

reply posted on 3-6-2011 @ 04:48 PM by waynos

reply to post by benintheuk

Tis a sobering thought that at the end of the 1960's we were flying supersonic airliners and jump jets and looking to an exciting future, and forty years on we have neither.

Following on from Mustard, see also BAe HOTOL.

While the X-1 only really benefitted in a relatively small way from M.52, the flying tail for instance and it's true that the M.52 was more advanced in overall concept, it's fun, and in a way reassuring for a beleagured Brit, to spot UK programmes that seem to be realised much later elsewhere.

Examples including the current V-22 and the Westland WG22 of 1968, the Boeing 757 and the Hawker Siddeley HS.134 of 1967 and the 1954 Vickers SP.4 and the near-as-dammit identical B-70 Valkyrie which flew a decade later, only with the wingtips turning down instead of up. And so many others, but also in general areas such as the 1949 Bristol Brabazon being the first electrically controlled, now called fly by wire, aircraft to fly, the proposal of sidestick controllers a full 20 years before the F-16 made them real, and of course the things like jets, radar and aircraft carriers with angled decks and catapults goes without saying, but at least we used those too.

While we're recommending books do a search for 'Project Cancelled' and 'Stuck on the Drawing Board' plus the excellent Ian Allen 'Secret Projects' series for more examp,es of coulda, woulda, shoulda, if only we had the dosh

edit on 3-6-2011 by waynos because: (no reason given)

reply posted on 3-6-2011 @ 04:52 PM by intrepid

The Canadian in me has to point out the Avro Arrow.

reply posted on 4-6-2011 @ 08:01 AM by benintheuk

reply to post by intrepid

Avro aircraft are great

reply posted on 5-6-2011 @ 01:40 PM by C-JEAN

reply to post by intrepid

Hi intrepid.

Hoooo man ! Do I love to hate the government that
scrapped/killed that marvel ! ! !

! ! Imagine the performances, with the "Iroquois" engines ! !

Blue skies.

reply posted on 10-6-2011 @ 03:06 AM by kondor

My list of capable jets that have flown and didn't enter production:

CF-105 Arrow
TSR2
IAI F-4E-2000 Super Phantom
Mirage 4000
F-20 Tigershark
F-15 ACTIVE
F-16 MATV
F-16XL
YF-23
X-29

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