The ring wing or annular airfoil is an aircraft design which has been experimented with throughout the history of aviation with some interesting variations. It has served as the inspiration for several paper airplane designs, model airplanes of course, and a variety of children's toys. The capabilities imagined by the French coléoptère engineers of the 1950's and 1960's and the U.S. "flying tank" designers are available today at least in the form of unmanned vehicles (large PDF brochure, 6 minute video download, 1½ minute YT news clip). The technology has also been adapted to become the surfboard tunnel fin and there are underwater UAVs as well.
posted by XMLicious on Aug 28, 2009 - 14 comments

Building and flying free flight model airplanes is a pastime so obscure it doesn't even register on the geek heirarchy. But in the period between Lindberg's flight across the Atlantic until the start of the Second World War, thousands of boys (and some girls) around the world succumbed to the allure of rubber, lube, and dope. [more inside]
posted by gamera on Aug 6, 2009 - 13 comments

Ask the Pilot. Columnist Patrick Smith explains why you shouldn't be afraid of flying. [more inside]
posted by lalex on Jun 5, 2009 - 42 comments

"Once Upon A Time... there were two very special airplanes that lived.... far.... far.... away on a tiny island in the Bering Sea. One was named Rivet Ball and the other was named Rivet Amber. Very few people knew anything about these two planes or the men that flew them. Even family members knew very little. That's because their mission was... TOP SECRET." (some photos and language within are NSFW) [more inside]
posted by kurmbox on Aug 7, 2008 - 18 comments

Russian cold war bombers - The Tu 95 Bear and Tu 160 Blackjack, based in central Russia, which resumed long range patrols in August.
posted by Artw on Dec 23, 2007 - 52 comments

Haute Voltage stunt flight (Direct .mpg. Bonus if you read Russian)
posted by growabrain on May 13, 2005 - 10 comments

Fantasy Planes. Sometimes I think the most interesting airplanes are the ones that never got built
posted by growabrain on Feb 10, 2005 - 7 comments

Twin Pushers and Other Free Flight Oddities. "For years, twin pushers were the dominant form of competition model. The format was discovered well before the first world war and remained common until the  mid thirties." Dannysoar excavates a lost model airplane format, and goes on to look at Mystery Biplanes, The Airplanes of Things to Come, Miss Auto Gyro Across the Channel Day, and other winging things, in great and pleasingly eccentric abundance. Klick the Klicker!
posted by mwhybark on Jun 29, 2004 - 7 comments

Aerosite.
posted by hama7 on Dec 29, 2003 - 15 comments