anyone seen a plane with two sets of wings (front and back)?

Question

i heard something in the sky so i look up and i see the bottom of a plane i've never seen, it had what looked like a small set of wings on the front and a normal sized set of wings near the back. anyone got any pics they can send a link or seen one yourself?

Tracy L · Accepted Answer

There are several "canard wing" aircraft.  The Cozy is one http://www.cozyaircraft.com/ or
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.livephysics.com/gallery/d/1226-2/Canard-Wings.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.livephysics.com/gallery/v/aviation/commercial/light/Canard-Wings.jpg.html&h=427&w=640&sz=23&tbnid=YBquNjfJVB2s-M:&tbnh=91&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcanard%2Bwing%2Baircraft&usg=__im5b2nkrpAdiqefdVKK1ggZCaf4=&ei=ODmYS_qOMYyWtge_zdXkAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=6&ct=image&ved=0CBoQ9QEwBQ
Rutans, VariEze is another http://www.airventuremuseum.org/collection/aircraft/Rutan%20VariEze%20Prototype.asp

There are several VariEze's around these days.
There were alot of military Canards as well http://www.strange-mecha.com/aircraft/Ente/canard.htm
Like already mentioned the Piaggio Avanti is a twin engine pusher prop  canard design. http://www.piaggioaero.com/

It it was small it probably was a VariEz, if it had two engines then the Piaggio would be likely.

Add - I forgot the Velocity!  http://www.velocityaircraft.com/airplane-faq.html

pointblank · Answer

planes with a canard design have what essentially is a tailplane, at the front of the plane. just google any of the names below to see pics.

SAAB Gripen
Eurofighter Typhoon
Dassault Rafale
Chengdu J-10
Rutan VariEze
Rutan LongEz
Beech Starship
Piaggio Avanti
Velocity aircraft
Su-47 Berkut

The sukhoi SU-30 MKI has a canard design, but has also got a tailplane. Others like this include the B-1B lancer, which also has a small canard at the front (but they are TINY)

William · Answer

Probably a Piaggio 'Avanti" It is a canard design with small wings up front and regular wings at the back. Just google it and see if it's the same.

jtk15sc15 · Answer

Yes, a canard.

Piaggio Avanti http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/piaggio/images/1-private-jet.jpg

http://www.livephysics.com/gallery/d/1226-2/Canard-Wings.jpg -Random aircraft

its about aerodynamics. They actually serve a very cool purpose but i don't want to try to go into the details because i'd probably say something wrong.

Anonymous · Answer

It could have been a Beechcraft "Starship" as there are still a few of them flying around. It's a very expensive aircraft to keep up but some people love them.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=beechcraft+starship+photos&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=_kmYS-LDAoKVtgfj0aHlAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CA8QsAQwAA

pilot T · Answer

I'm gonna guess it was the VariEze since there are still a lot of them around flying, I see one regularly over my house. Or it could be Rutan's Long-Ez. They are very distinctive with their main wings being very long and skinny.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=varieze+aircraft&rlz=1R2GGLL_enUS360&oq=varieze&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=z16YS9KcOpHctgOSh7nCAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CB0QsAQwAw

strech · Answer

The "small set of wings" are known as a "Canard".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canard_(aeronautics)

Anonymous · Answer

i have seen some photo's of very old aircraft from the 20's with the horizontal stabiliser in the front, ahead of the wings.

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anyone seen a plane with two sets of wings (front and back)?

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