# The Great Ongoing Aviation Thread (general and other) (Part 1)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 23, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499 "2011-10-23T02:17:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 4126

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-aviation-thread-general-and-other-part-1/600499/4126 "2023-07-02T13:47:00Z")

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Posting my reply here, so as to avoid a hijack.

> [@"Titan" submersible investigation begins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins/986242/105):
>
> > [@"Titan" submersible investigation begins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins/986242/102):
> >
> > Rush flew in to Vegas to meet them FLYING AN EXPERIMENTAL PLANE HE HAD BUILT HIMSELF,
> 
> A bit of a nit pik. He built a kit plane called a Glassair III which is a serious plane compared to similar production 2 seat single engine piston planes. And by serious I mean superior.

Thank you for that. I wondered if he had built a Van’s, since they’re up here like Rush was. I can see why someone who built a composite submarine would want to display a composite aircraft he built.

> [@"Titan" submersible investigation begins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins/986242/108):
>
> There’s nothing exotic about them (unlike Burt Rutan designs or the “flying telephone pole” Max-Air),

Hm. Compared to most aircraft, Rutan’s designs are ‘exotic’. OTOH, the Wright Flyer was a canard configuration. Of course the VariEze and Long-EZ are much more stable and in every way better. The Rutan-designed Quickie, Q2, and Q200 were more exotic-looking, but still based on sound engineering. (I would love to have a Q200.) The point is, the only thing ‘exotic’ about them is their looks – and maybe their now-common construction materials that were unusual when they were conceived.

I had to look up the Maxair Drifter (ultralight), since I’ve never heard of it. Yes, it could be called a ‘flying telephone pole’. But then, the Dornier Do 17 was called the ‘Flying Pencil’. Given that ultralights ‘look funny’ anyway (at least to me), the Maxair looks like a bog-standard kite. Is there something about its construction that makes it ‘exotic’?

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