Not A Bird & Not A Plane: A Quick Guide To Super Alternative Military Aircraft
Some flying machines like ekranoplans are in a gray area between ships and airplanes, using ground effect.
Rocket planes are odd aircraft using rocket engines, achieving hypersonic speeds.
Drones come in various forms, from fixed-wing to quadcopters, and can be manned planes retrofitted for autonomy.
When is a plane, not a plane? This question is similar to "When does a pond become a lake." While everyone will agree that an A320 or F-22 Raptor is an airplane, disagreement and confusion arise around the margins. Even the Wright Brothers were far from the first men to 'fly.' The first man to fly was a Frenchman in 1783 in a balloon. Before 1903, men had already achieved powered flight (airships) and heavier than air flight (with gliders). The Wright brothers achieved a very qualified world-first "sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft" - aka the first flight in an airplane.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/not-a-bird-not-a-plane-a-quick-guide-to-super-alternative-military-aircraft/ar-BB1qVtOR?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=a672d60fec334aba86d9f044ae9b862f&ei=39
