Posted on 07/14/2010 10:37:51 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Just after the new year, DARPA put out a broad agency announcement requesting a flying car, specifically a one-to four-person, vertical takeoff and landing-capable vehicle that can negotiate off-road conditions as well as take to the skies. Today, Fort Worth-based AVX Aircraft has responded with a proposal, releasing some mock-ups of a dual-rotor, ducted-fan driven aircraft thats also road-ready.
AVX says the four-seater will be able to carry a 1,040-lb. payload 250 miles on a single tank of fuel, peaking at 80 miles per hour over land and 140 miles per hour in the air. Its coaxial rotor design would certainly satisfy the vertical take-off and landing requirement, and at least the sketches make it look off-road rugged. Unfolding the rotor blades for flight should convert the vehicle from road warrior to aircraft in just one minute.
Of course, sketches are only sketches and it will be interesting to see if AVX can flesh this design out into a practical battlefield vehicle that reliably complies with the written laws of physics and the unwritten practicalities of combat. But as concepts go this one is pretty cool. Feel free to pull the pic above into Photoshop and add the air-to-surface armaments of your choice
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
It looks like one of those contraptions that is mediocre at best at either of it’s dual uses. Fancy spork.
I would like one
Ping
Fancy spork is a good one. Rotors sure aren’t protected.
Ditto. I definitely want one.
Well, of all the flying car designs I’ve seen since the 1950s(and they had one or two back then)this is the most unique.
I’d say they need something more in line with a harrier instead of a helicopter. Those blades would take a beating during combat or a rollover.
Nothing new here. This thing is nothing more than a fancy autogyro.
THIS IS REAL, and AFFORDABLE.
A carlicopter.
A fan-and-sailmobile?
Actually, it's not. It actually resembles the designs from the 50's and 60's, and was originally done by the Germans back in the 40's.
Here's my favorite flying car.
Ping
I’ll have to restate that as I was first only looking at the style, and not the drivetrain. Other than being butt ugly, you are correct, it is rather unique.
The parked blades are in the open in this demo model, but there’s no particular reason they can’t retract into a protective shroud.
Yeah, vertical engines might be difficult to both place and make work without adding wings. And if one could make it float...
Low floating might be achievable by having a set of fans beneath. Then the unit would be able to skim over fairly flat terrain, or calm water, without the need to take to the air with its blades.
What's even more available, and much cheaper, is the same thing without the car.
POWERED PARASAILS
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