Learn to Fly

Uncommon Aircraft

UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

MARTIN B-26 MARAUDER

Although the Martin B-26 suffered some serious problems in its stateside training programs, the airplane was one of…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

SAVOIA-MARCHETTI S-56-B

The American Aeronautical Corporation was the U.S. contractor for the manufacture of the Italian-designed, three-place Savoia-Marchetti S-56-B.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

WACO CABIN STANDARD SEAPLANE

The Waco Cabin Standards were quite commonly used as floatplanes due to their excellent short field performance and…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

KREUTZER AIR COACH

One of the first light multi-engine airplanes, the Kreutzer Air Coach was an airplane with no market.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

CONVAIR B-36

With a crew of 15, a wing span of 230 feet, and six 3,500 hp pusher Pratt &…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

AERONCA C-3 MASTER

A slightly updated version of the C-3 Collegian, the C-3 Master had three obvious externally visible changes.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

WACO YMF-5 SEAPLANE

The Waco YMF's that were produced the thirties were available as floatplanes, and were certainly one of the…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

GRUMMAN TRACKER

A jack of many trades, the four-place Grumman Tracker was primarily used as a carrier-based anti-submarine airplane.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

MILES HAWK SPEED SIX

One of the most attractive English aircraft to come out of the 1930’s, the Miles Hawk Speed Six…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

BEECH 18-S

One of the most successful twin-engine airplanes in the history of aviation, there are still a large number…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

PIPER PA-18 SUPER CUB SEAPLANE

Probably the most heavily produced floatplane in the short history of aviation is the Piper PA-18 Super Cub.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

DOUGLAS DC-3

By almost anyone’s definition, the Douglas DC-3 is one of the ten most successful airplanes in aviation’s short…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

DE HAVILLAND COMET

Long considered one of the most beautiful aircraft ever produced, the Comet was originally designed for one specific…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

LUSCOMBE MODEL 11-A SEDAN

The Sedan was the Luscombe Company’s entry into the medium-performance four-place general aviation market.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

VOUGHT F4U CORSAIR

Designed as a single-place carrier-based fighter, the Corsair was a very long-lived airplane.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

BOEING KC-97

The basic design of the later KC-97 started out as a transport version of the B-29 Superfortress.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

PIPER L-4

The Piper Aircraft Company, like several other lightplane manufacturers, submitted a liaison version of their tandem trainer to…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

YAKOVLEV Yak-11

The Yakovlev Yak-11 “Moose” (a United Nations Designation), went into service with the Russian Air Force in 1946…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

CURTISS-WRIGHT TRAVEL AIR 12-Q

Although some of the of the two-place Curtiss-Wright Travel Air 12 series airplanes had radial engines (there were…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

BROCHET PIPISTRELLE

The Brochet “Pipistrelle” was designed by Maurice Brochet before the War, but, as France was no place to…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

MARTIN MARS

The Martin Mars was designed for a need that evaporated before it went into service.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

DE HAVILLAND CANADA DHC-3 OTTER SEAPLANE

One of the greatest bushplanes to come out of aviation’s short history was the De Havilland Otter.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

BELLANCA CRUISAIR JUNIOR

A step out of the norm for the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation, the Cruisair Junior was a small fully-cantilevered…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

CULVER CADET

With its elliptical wing and handcrank-operated gear, the Culver Cadet was an interesting little airplane.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

HOWARD DGA-3 ‘PETE’

One of the most enduring of the early speedsters, the Howard 'Pete' raced continually from 1930 to 1935.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

LUSCOMBE MODEL 8 SILVAIRE

The Luscombe Model 8 was one of those classics in aviation that was recognized for its nice lines,…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

DE HAVILLAND THRUXTON JACKAROO

In the mid-1950’s, a very unusual modification of the De Havilland Tiger Moth began to appear over the…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

GEE BEE SPORTSTER

Developed for the Cirrus Derby cross country race (in which the type placed second behind the Command-Aire 'Little…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

WACO QDC

The first of the long line of cabin biplanes produced by the Waco Company was the QDC.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

CHILTON D.W.1

One has to wonder why there were only four Chiltons completed before the airplane was put out of…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

GRUMMAN F4F WILDCAT

Originally designed as a biplane, the Wildcat was converted on the drawing board to a mid-wing monoplane when…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

HAWKER HURRICANE

Made famous by its success in the “Battle of Britain”, the Hurricane is still close to the hearts…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

FOKKER D.VIII

The last of the great WWI Fokker fighters, the D.VIII (Flying Razor, as it was called by the…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

FOKKER Dr.1 TRIPLANE

The Fokker Triplane will always be remembered by the general public as the flaming-red mount of Manfred von…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

PIPER J-3 CUB

The ultimate classic, a J-3 Cub, is what comes to mind when most people think of “a lightplane”.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

FLEETWINGS SEA BIRD

A very unusual and expensive five-place airplane, the Sea Bird had many fascinating characteristics.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

VICKERS VIMY

Designed as a WWI era five-place heavy bomber, the 68 foot span Vickers Vimy was produced too late…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

SPARTAN NP-1

Never known for their production of military aircraft, Spartan did build a few primary trainers for the United…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

CURTISS PUSHER

One of the most successful of early pioneer designs was the Curtiss Pusher series of biplanes.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

ERCO 415-C ERCOUPE

The two-place side-by-side Ercoupe first enter production just before World War II, with a 65 hp Continental engine.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

NORTH AMERICAN BT-14

The BT-14 was a later development of the 440 hp Wright-powered BT-9 basic trainer used by the United…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

SOPWITH CAMEL

The most successful British fighter of WWI (1,294 “kills”), the Sopwith Camel was also one of the most…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

SCHAVROV Sch-2

The Sch-2 was built in the Soviet Union, with production beginning in 1930.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

PIPER PA-16 CLIPPER SEAPLANE

The Piper PA-16 Clipper is not a common seaplane, but there are a few still out there flying…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

SIKORSKY S-38

With as many as 12 seats, 900 hp, and amphibious capabilities, the S-38 was a very useful airplane.

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

BIRD MODEL BK

Built in New York State by the Brunner-Winkle Aircraft Corporation, the Bird biplane began as another of those…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

HELIO COURIER

The four- to six-place Helio Courier was developed from the Helioplane proof-of-concept aircraft (which now resides in the…

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UNCOMMON AIRCRAFT

TAYLOR E-2 CUB

Designed by C. G. Taylor (who also developed the Taylorcraft line), the Cub series became the most recognized…

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