UGLIEST Aircraft Built and Flown

lol... the il-102... wtf were they thinking. a rear gunner on a small attack plane in mid/late cold war era. wow. the k2 wins today on this thread. i still love that abomination tho ngl.

Edit: and internal bomb bays lol
 
This is the first time that I have ever heard that the Il-102 had internal bomb bays in the wings. Certainly a weird design.
 
Plausible deniability
"We just had a camera in the nose--honest!"
 
Who stole my window blinds?

At any rate, let's bow our heads over the DBA's cancer diagnosis.

Poor thing couldn't fit in the MRI, but that wasn't even needed.

So, President Taft will have to use what for Air Force One?
 
For me the most revolting aircraft to have flown recently has got to be the TAI KAAN

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Look at that nose. The only good thing about it is that the nose is so ugly it distracts you from the rest of the aircraft.

I really hate calling aircraft ugly, but there are some things which are beyond saving, and the Turks really do not help themselves.
 
I found every single stealth design boring, except perhaps Boramae. I kinda like this one. Ok, I also like J-20, that huge beast with a canard. Brutish, but spectacular.
As for the KAAN (Captain Kirk anybody ?) I understand this one is very much a demonstrator - think EFA for Typhoon or Rafale-A for Rafale.
I think the prototypes and production aircraft will be more refined.
 
Archibald said:
I found every single stealth design boring, except perhaps Boramae. I kinda like this one. Ok, I also like J-20, that huge beast with a canard. Brutish, but spectacular.
As for the KAAN (Captain Kirk anybody ?) I understand this one is very much a demonstrator - think EFA for Typhoon or Rafale-A for Rafale.
I think the prototypes and production aircraft will be more refined.
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J-20 isn't actually even very huge - it's both shorter and lower than a Su-27 and has also got a narrower wingspan.
 
The K2 said:
I don’t know what is going on with this particular model of Nanchang Q-5…
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Well, it looks like modified nose/forward fuselage structure from a McDonnell Douglas A-4E or F with a bespoke radome. If there is an Israeli ELTA radar under the skin, one could assume that the nose was from (or patterned from) an Israeli A-4E or A-4N.
 
The Short Sturgeon S.B.3 an ASW variant no longer resembles a sturgeon but a "sheepsheadfish", as ugly as its fish namesake with a monstrosity in its nose, a radar in its chin and a pair of radar operators on top. It has often been described as a hideous aircraft, a horror to some.
 

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The K2 said:
I don’t know what is going on with this particular model of Nanchang Q-5…
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The TAI KAAN’s smirk was the result of calling Q-5 fat—thus the frown.

Poor Droopy…

That or they left the radar on overnight and…

Poor radome got cancer.

As for the S.B.3…we call that “the Pertwee.”
 
Out of curiosity because of the somewhat barbaric name "sheepshead fish", here is what I found.
 

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2v5MvgAkaI
 
Jason Dykstra (Wyvern) said:
For me the most revolting aircraft to have flown recently has got to be the TAI KAAN

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Look at that nose. The only good thing about it is that the nose is so ugly it distracts you from the rest of the aircraft.

I really hate calling aircraft ugly, but there are some things which are beyond saving, and the Turks really do not help themselves.
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Tbf the reason why it looks ugly here is because of the wide angle shot.

I do agree that, that "duck beak" of a radome looks ugly from certain angles (especially in wide shots) but it also kinda looks nice from some other angles, i.e. I like from the rear and above. At least that's how I feel, I find TAI's other manned jet (Hurjet) way more ugly than Kaan.

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Regardless, this plane is still just a tech demonstrator that hasn't even flown for 30 minutes yet, so it's a bit early to praise or criticise the way it looks.
 
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Archibald said:
I found every single stealth design boring, except perhaps Boramae. I kinda like this one. Ok, I also like J-20, that huge beast with a canard. Brutish, but spectacular.
As for the KAAN (Captain Kirk anybody ?) I understand this one is very much a demonstrator - think EFA for Typhoon or Rafale-A for Rafale.
I think the prototypes and production aircraft will be more refined.
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Why though, Boramae looks exactly like a 4.5th gen, Superbug-size F-22 (due to Lockmart's contribution?). In comparison J-20, Su-57 and Kaan look way more original.

Anyway, it's not like having a different looking design matters when it comes to physics, LOity and military aviation; it's not like they all copied each other...

Topi said:
J-20 isn't actually even very huge - it's both shorter and lower than a Su-27 and has also got a narrower wingspan.
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J-20 is a vastly misunderstood aircraft mostly due to how the American "experts" have conveyed it to the public during its development. In most aspects, Its sneither inferior to American stealth jets nor is it a huge interceptor. It is just a long range air superiority fighter optimized for a Pacific showdown.
 
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The Aerogenio 1932, a vertical take-off aircraft by the Spanish Fernando Gallego Herrera. I wouldn't say ugly, but rather temerarious and audacious for its time, it never flew, but burned up on the ground.
 

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A 777 engine could fit there :)

The most plain plane--so simple it's ugly... what would that be?
 
On french forums I'm "renowned" for my, eeerh, peculiar sense of humor and play-on-words... that Bell shopper is certainly more practical than beautiful. To use charitable words.
 

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