Strange Shapes

Overview

Eliminating the fuselage on aircraft was an idea that never came to fruition, but it gave rise to a smaller, more aerodynamic design: the Flying Wing. Seen in the 1929 Halten Meteor to the modern-day Stealth Bomber, this smooth design featured backward wings, moving wings, small wings and even no wings at all; backward engines that "pushed" instead of "pulled"; engines that both pushed and pulled; huge tails and no tails. Aircraft seen include the Bell X5, XP 57 "Bat", SR71 Blackbird, F7 Cutlass, "Lifting Bodies", X24 and X29.

Episode Information