Summary The B-2 Spirit, with only 21 built, pioneered the flying wing design and remains in service today. The F-117 Nighthawk, produced in the 1980s, was the world's first manned stealth aircraft. The Boeing X-32 lost the competition to the Lockheed Martin X-35, which led to the F-35 program.
Arguably, the era of the strangest aircraft designs took place at the beginning of aviation—this was when people were experimenting to find out what aircraft shapes worked. Arguably, none of these designs were unconventional, as convention had not yet been established. Another period of strange aircraft design happened during and after WWII with designs like the Convair XFY-1 Pogo .
Some unconventional designs never got past the experimental stage, while others, like the B-2 Spirit 'flying wing', have become the standard for stealth design . 1 Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit 21 B-2 Spirits were built First flew: 1989 Noted for: Pioneering flying wing design Outcome: Serial production, early production cancelation, remains in service When the B-2 Spirit was first developed, it was an unconventional design - at least for manned aircraft. Only 21 B-2s were ever built; today, 19 remain in service (two have been lost to accidents).
The B-2 Spirit remains the world's only flying wing and stealthy bomber in service (although many stealth drones now use the flying wing design ). If the B-2 Spirit's design was unconventional when it was first made, it has now become the conventional design for ste.