Gloster (A-W) Meteor F.8 “Prone Pilot”: Almost as long as its denomination.

This Meteor extravagance was a testbed conceived in 1954 to evaluate the pros and cons of a prone pilot position in high-speed aircraft; the more modest R.S.4 “Bobsleigh” covered the proof-of concept stage and low-speed range. Flown successfully a number of times, but never with the prone pilot alone, “Pinocchio” displayed mixed results. Despite its advantages to allow the pilot to withstand G-forces, it also suffered for degraded visibility (rearward mainly) and sheer ergonomic clumsiness. This very unique prototype survives at the superb RAF Museum, Cosford.

The best -of the very few available- in flight photo of WK935. Built by Armstrong-Whitworth, the “Prone Meteor” used the utterly “Buck Rogers-esque” Meteor NF 12 tail feathers. So bird-like it all.