History Main / FlyingSaucer

* Some conspiracy theorists do suggest that the Germans had, or at least tried to, develop flying saucers. An example would be the peculiar Foo fighter, reported by allied pilots, resembling balls of fire that were extremely maneuverable, that would fly around allied aircraft and vanish afterwards. However, there has been no evidence solid enough to prove they actually exist, as is the case with all UFO's.

** The Dalek warships from the new series, from [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays "The Parting of the Ways"]]. This is a ContinuityNod to their use as Dalek spacecraft in the early episodes, made back in the '60's when this trope was all the rage.

* The Jupiter-2 from ''Series/LostInSpace''.

** Some ships, like the USS ''Vengeance'' from ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'' and the ''Discovery'' and the future ''Constitution''-class from ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', change the basic saucer design by featuring conspicuous empty spaces within the saucer; for ''Discovery'', this involves cocentric rings that rotate when the ship spore-jumps.

* [[TheGreys Vree/Streib]] ships in ''Series/BabylonFive''. The Vree appear to have 2 different ship classes, but both feature a saucer-shaped design. The original Vree warships (some sources call them ''Xorr''s and claim they're an older design being phased away) don't appear to be capable of atmospheric flight. The new ''Xill''s look like typical flying saucers with glowing blue lines and sleek curves. Fluff [[note]]most notably a [[HilaritySues throwaway gag]] in Recap/BabylonFiveS01E15Grail[[/note]] also suggests that the Vree have indeed visited Earth, but it was a routine survey of a primitive world. In fact, they find the fact that this even has affected human culture so much extremely hilarious (for reference, their deity is TheTrickster).

* [[TheGreys Vree/Streib]] ships in ''Series/BabylonFive''. The Vree appear to have 2 different ship classes, but both feature a saucer-shaped design. The original Vree warships (some sources call them ''Xorr''s and claim they're an older design being phased away) don't appear to be capable of atmospheric flight. The new ''Xill''s look like typical flying saucers with glowing blue lines and sleek curves. Fluff also suggests that the Vree have indeed visited Earth, but it was a routine survey of a primitive world. In fact, they find the fact that this even has affected human culture so much extremely hilarious (for reference, their deity is TheTrickster).

* Film/{{Gamera}}, in his flying form, resembles a flying saucer [[TurtlePower made of turtle meat]].

* ''Flying Saucer Rock and Roll'', a 1957 novelty song by rockabilly artist Billy Lee Riler

* The Europans' ship of choice in ''TabletopGame/RocketAge''. The saucers use Gravitic Pulse drives, making them seem to move against the laws of physics.

* Jordan Peele’s ''Film/{{Nope}}'' features one as the main threat harassing the Haywood ranch. [[spoiler:Subverted insofar as the “UFO” is actually a predatory flying animal that happened to find a surplus of food in their area. It mostly consists of a membranous sheet of flesh and folds up into a saucer-like shape while hunting, and uses a form of electromagnetic propulsion to achieve flight.]]

* In the ParodyFic ''Fanfic/Plan7Of9FromOuterSpace'', the aerodynamic instability of a flying saucer is used to explain [[SpecialEffectsFailure why they wobble when flying]].

** Early attempts at a disc-shaped aircraft with a fan for lift had difficulty getting more than a few feet off the ground. The design eventually morphed into the first hovercraft. See Wiki/TheOtherWiki for details on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_VZ-9_Avrocar the Canadian-US Avrocar,]] a secret project for US military from 1950s.

* Jordan Peele’s ''Film/{{Nope}}'' features one as the main threat harassing the Haywood ranch. [[spoiler:Subverted insofar as the “UFO” is actually a [[LivingShip organic]] [[StarfishAliens creature]] that has come to earth to [[ToServeMan feed.]] It's actually made of thin membranes folded into a saucer shape.]]

** At the beginning of ''Literature/ThePuppetMasters'' the secret agent protagonist is informed his next assignment is to investigate a "flying saucer" that has landed in Iowa. His reaction is skeptical, but the ships of the alien invasion are the classic flying saucer shape (complete with a smaller hemispherical dome on top), and are un-ironically referred to as "saucers" throughout the book. The trope is implied to have originated with reconnaissance carried out decades before for the planned AlienInvasion.

* The plot of ''Disney's Hide and Sneak'' centers around a UFO-shaped alien named Lu-Lu crashing into Earth, and after either [[WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse Mickey]] or [[WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse Minnie]] get taken away by her due to unintentionally standing on her believing to be a big mushroom, the captive mouse then knocks out several [=UFOs=] out of her as they fly above the night sky, which they act as the primary enemies of the game. However, the playable mouse then proceeds to help Lu-Lu after a misunderstanding by summoning an ''even bigger'' UFO to help her get back to her home planet.

* The plot of ''Disney's Hide and Sneak'' centers around a UFO-shaped alien named Lu-Lu crashing into Earth, and after either [[WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse Mickey]] or [[WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse Minnie]] get taken away by her due to unintentionally standing on her believing to be a big mushroom, the captive mouse then knocks out several UFOs out of her as they fly above the night sky, which they act as the primary enemies of the game. However, the playable mouse then proceeds to help Lu-Lu after a misunderstanding by summoning an ''even bigger'' UFO to help her get back to her home planet.

** Some UFOS are also used by the Squeaks.

** "Literature/TheWateryPlace": The aliens from Venus use a saucer-shaped craft with 0incredibly silent engines. They're probably capable of interstellar flight, but they were only observed in atmosphere.

* Issue #43 of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'', "Power Picnic," features a family of giant one-eyed alien chickens who arrive on Earth in their flying saucer which is (what else?) an egg.

* Jordan Peele’s ''Film/{{Nope}}'' features one as the main threat harassing the Haywood ranch. [[spoiler:Subverted insofar as the “UFO” is actually a [[LivingShip organic]] [[StarfishAliens creature]] that has come to earth to [[ToServeMan feed]].]]

* Played with in ''Film/{{Nope}}''. What appears to be a classic smooth and silver flying saucer terrorizing the characters [[spoiler:is actually a [[StarfishAliens Starfish Alien]] itself, made of thin membranes folded into a saucer shape.]]

** "Literature/TheWateryPlace": The aliens from Venus use a saucer-shaped craft with incredibly silent engines. They're probably capable of interstellar flight, but they were only observed in atmosphere.

* Jordan Peele’s ''Film/Nope'' features one as the main threat harassing the Haywood ranch. [[spoiler:Subverted insofar as the “UFO” is actually a [[LivingShip organic]] [[StarfishAliens creature]] that has come to earth to [[ToServeMan feed]].]]

* ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager''. The Caretaker uses a small discoid hover-craft to move about.

In actuality the most efficient design for a spacecraft would likely be a [[SpheroidDropship sphere]] as this shape encloses the greatest volume with the least amount of material. They just don't look very cool or quite as alien, though they [[SinisterGeometry have their own charms]]. But there can be some merits to this design as some of them are seen rotating and might therefore use the Centripetal force to create an ArtificialGravity. They also have a smaller radar cross-section compared to some other shapes, like the previous mentioned [[SpheroidDropship sphere]] or ThatsNoMoon

The term comes from Kenneth Arnold's description of a UFO sighting. Arnold described their flight (but not their shape) as "like saucers skipping across water." Nevertheless, the term stuck. Flying Saucers are the most reported type of UFO (and the most commonly hoaxed type as well) though it is unknown if the term was being used by the witness as an interchangeable word for UFO or describing the nature of the UFO (the term UFO describes any possible aircraft shape, as long as it is Unidentified.) Flying Saucers are still reported today, with a recent one reported over Chicago O'Hare airport in 2006.

* {{Superdickery}} showed a cover featuring '[[http://www.superdickery.com/fatman-the-human-flying-saucer/ Fatman, the human Flying Saucer!]]'.

* The ''humans'' have one in ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet''. Specifically, [[http://www.collectorsquest.com/blog/2008/12/21/a-christmas-story-of-flying-saucers-tree-lights/ United Planets Cruiser C-57D]].

* Also appears in Creator/JohnCarpenter's ''Film/TheThing1982'', where the guys find it in the bottom of an enormous crater. There was also [[spoiler: the Blair-Thing's homemade craft, though it is blown up before it can be used. Also some have speculated that it would actually work more like a hovercraft as a means of getting to the coast so that it could find more life forms to assimilate]].

* Photojournalist Douglas Curran's 1980 book ''In Advance of the Landing: Folk Concepts of Outer Space'' is a beautifully illustrated folkloric look at Americans' ideas of flying saucers and alien contact, including in popular culture (motel and restaurant signs, the "landing" at the 1984 UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, etc). UFO contactees explain their experiences and communication, UsefulNotes/NewAge concepts, and so on. [[Literature/FlyingSaucersHaveLanded George Adamski]] is discussed and there are detailed visits with [[WebVideo/UnariusTheArrival Ruth Norman]], the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aetherius_Society Aetherius Society]], and many lesser-known examples. It was made into a film by Dan Curtis in 1993.

* Uryuoms were once shown in one of these in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', while showing how TheMasquerade there worked. The solution? A banner saying 'We are not aliens!'. [[spoiler:For most, it's ''true''.]]

* Surprisingly, some speculative designs for advanced shuttles resemble this. One face of the disc receives energy beamed from the ground or from a satellite, so it doesn't need to carry fuel, and, to save even more weight, instead of a physical cone for streamlining it just pushes the air out of its way with [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]] .

** Early attempts at a disc-shaped aircraft with a fan for lift had difficulty getting more than a few feet off the ground. The design eventually morphed into the first hovercraft. See Wiki/TheOtherWiki for details on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_VZ-9_Avrocar the Canadian-US Avrocar]], a secret project for US military from 1950s.

* A more down-to-earth example: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_disc Frisbee flying discs]].

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2683 NGC 2683]], a spiral galaxy seen almost edge-on, that has been nicknamed the UFO galaxy because of its aspect seen through a telescope.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_flying_saucer The British Rail Flying Saucer]], patented in TheSeventies, a nuclear-fusion powered interplanetary transporter. The design is utterly impractical, however cool the idea might be. The patent officer remarked that half of its components have yet to be invented in the first place.

[[folder:Pinballs]]