The World's Worst Aircraft: From Pioneering Failures to Multimillion Dollar Disasters Book

The great aviation pioneers, the Wright Brothers, Lindbergh, Chuck Yeager, proved their doubters wrong and made history. But what about the aircraft that proved their doubters right? What about the Flying Crane? The Flying Jeep? And Inflatoplane? Because for all the aviation success stories there's also a vast airfield's worth of less than magnificent flying machines which the makers would rather forget. More a memorial than a celebration, the World's Worst Aircraft examines the inglorious hour of 150 civilian and military aircraft from around the world, and asks the essential questions. How on earth did these planes ever get beyond the drawing board? What went wrong? And how much money was lost by manufacturers, governments and individual dreamers in trying to make them a success? From Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" to the Flying Flea, each aircraft is illustrated with a full-page annotated photograph, text on its troubled history, and archive images, artwork and diagrams. Featuring some of the world's strangest and most dangerous aviation follies, this book is a perfect illustration of how not to build an aircraft.