Special Sub-Topic: Born Again Aircraft Click Here To Play: Born Again Aircraft

Start with a perfectly normal jet fighter but put the wings on backward making it unstable. It's OK though as the computer system keeps it controlled and the instability makes it extremely maneuverable.

X-29. Most of the fuselage of this aircraft came from re-manufactured F-5 airframes with some bits from the F-16 as well. I had the pleasure of meeting the first test pilot for this aircraft shortly before his death in 1986.

This strange aircraft pioneered the nose hump made famous by the 747 almost a decade earlier. Only 21 examples were produced and they were actually modifications of a standard 4 engine Douglas transport.

ATL-98 Carvair. These were built to be used as car ferries. Raising the cockpit over the main fuselage allowed cars to be driven on and off the aircraft easily.

The Boeing 747 is a huge and versatile aircraft that has seen many modified variants. Which of the following is not a modified 747 airframe?

Super Guppy. The Super Guppy is a modified Airbus A-300 primarily used for transporting fuselage and wing sections between production sites. The Large Cargo Freighter serves the same purpose for Boeing's new 787 program.

What vehicles were modified to build the Piasecki PA-97 Helistat?

A blimp and four helicopters. This aircraft was built under a US Forest Service contract as a possible solution for logging in remote areas. Unfortunately it crashed killing a pilot due to structural design flaws only a few months after its first flight. The test program was based at Lakehurst Naval Air Station which is known for the much more famous crash of the Hindenburg. Thanks to member Cryppie for catching an error in this as originally released.

Now for a fictional reborn aircraft. Dale Brown wrote a series of stories about the "Old Dog" which is a common USAF aircraft modified almost to the point of being a new aircraft. What type of aircraft is this?

B-52. The common B-52 is a Stratofortress while the Old Dog is a EB-52 Megafortress. Some of the modifications include air to air missiles, new engines, and a modified tail.

Recycling is great! Which company has made a specialty of recycling decommissioned ICBM boosters into space launch vehicles?

Orbital Sciences Corporation. Various models of the OSC Minotaur use Minuteman II or Peacekeeper(MX) missile boosters as the basis of the vehicle.

Take one of the largest aircraft in the world and add root extensions to the wings with two additional engines, add a couple fuselage plugs, change the tail, and finally beef up the landing gear. Now you have the heaviest aircraft ever built, what is it?

AN-225 Mriya. The AN-225 was originally built for the purpose of carrying the orbiter and boosters used by the Soviet shuttle program. Only one AN-225 has been completed.

Lockheed modified their F-104 Starfighter to produce what is easily the best known reconnaissance aircraft of all time. It has operated under several different military designations, which of the following is NOT one?

RQ-4. Most people know this aircraft only as the U-2 made famous by Francis Gary Powers as well as its use during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Some models were called the TR-1 mostly during the 1980s but were redesignated as U-2s in 1991. The ER-2 is a modified version used by NASA for high altitude research.

The US Army tested a unique gunship during Vietnam that ended up influencing the development of both the AC-130 Spectre and the AH-1 Huey Cobra. The unit flying this unique machine was commonly known as Guns a Go Go. What aircraft was modified to build this?

CH-47A Chinook. "Easy Money" is the only one of four built still in existence. It is fully restored and on display at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. The French did experiment with using the H-21 as a gunship in Algeria but the results were not very good.

Generally speaking, the more versatile an aircraft is, the more likely it is to be modified for additional uses. The Boeing 367-80 was a hand-built prototype for both the KC-135 and the 707 commercial jet both of which have been modified into numerous specialized configurations such as tankers, AWACS, etc. Who was the test pilot who dramatically demonstrated this aircraft's versatility by performing a barrel roll over Lake Washington just a year after first flight.

Tex Johnston. The maneuver was unplanned and spur of the moment and got him in a bit of trouble until management realized how many airplanes he had sold for them with such asn impressive demo. If you want to see for yourself, here's a link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_khhzuFlE Chuck Sewell and Chuck Yeager were also famous test pilots. Tex Schramm was the first President of the Dallas Cowboys.