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rear. Little lift would be generated by conventional means; the engine thus would instead be used to build an "artificial wing" by directing the airflow around the craft. He offered a number of increasingly dramatic performance estimates, generally claiming Mach 4 performance at 24,000 m (79,000 ft), at which point the USAF took over funding under
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In 1943, Boeing
Aircraft built 3 scale model aircraft whose designs had saucer-shaped wings with a propeller in the front, and a rudder in the back. The cockpit was to be in front of the wings. There was no actual fuselage in the center. The aircraft model numbers were 390, 391, and 396. They were
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to produce lift, eventually designing a disc-shape in which the thrust was directed downward around the entire disc by a flap ringing the aircraft, allowing it to take off and land vertically. Once in flight, the flap would be angled slightly, producing a small thrust while being directed to the
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to be powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-4360-3 Wasp Major radial engine and capable of reaching speeds of 414 mph. They were intended to be fighter planes, armed with 4 20mm cannons and underwing
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Testing soon revealed that the entire concept was unworkable; the craft would be highly unstable at supersonic speed. Avro nevertheless continued work on the project as a subsonic design known as
195:(STOL) characteristics, that is preferred for fixed-wing aircraft carrier planes. The Navy rejected the Boeing designs in favor of the similar-shaped Chance-Vought V-173/XF5U-1 aircraft.
163:, the Flapjack's counter-rotating propellers were located at the ends of the wings to help counteract the drag-inducing vortices that would normally result from a wing of such a low
254:, who was looking into solutions for battlefield transport and support, and they took over most of the project funding. The final outcome of Silver Bug was the
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that could carry 1,134 kg (2,500 lb) bombs or external fuel tanks. Boeing submitted the proposals to the US Navy. The wing design had excellent
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117:, an experimental light plane with a round-winged planform that first flew in 1944. The aircraft proved unsuccessful, and was scrapped in early 1945.
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525:, October 12, 1950, "Military secret of the United States of America Air Forces", (flying saucers are US Air Force experimental aircraft).
147:, one of the first aircraft explicitly designed as a disc for aerodynamic reasons. The Flapjack had a large wing and very low
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From the late 1950s the USA studied lenticular-shaped unmanned vehicles. These included the
Lenticular Defense Missile (LDM)
517:, April 7, 1950; article on experimental US disc-shaped aircraft that can hover like a helicopter and speed up like a jet.
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J.Miranda/P.Mercado: Flugzeug
Profile 23 - Deutsche Kreisflügelflugzeuge, Flugzeug Publikations GmbH, Illertissen 1995
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to hover up to 10 feet (3 m) above the ground. Volantor is a term coined by Moller meaning "a
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60:. A number of disc-shaped aircraft have been proposed over the years, and a few have been built.
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of circular form above a conventional fuselage and tail, and it was powered by propeller in a
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Proceedings of the Royal
Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences,
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533:, January 1995; "Flying Saucers Are Real", (real aircraft from the planet Earth).
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has no fuselage or tail the disc-shaped craft is sometimes described as a
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1955 declassified technical report on
Project Y2 for Project Silver Bug
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A disc wing is a circular wing that spins. It is mostly used for
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that created a series of designs that eventually resulted in the
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The Sack AS-6, a circular experimental aircraft from WW2 Germany
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316:. The M200G Volantor uses a system of eight computer-controlled
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magazine, July 2002, Volume 32, No. 4 pages 42 through 47.
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rather than an aircraft, which was made public in 1961.
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Disc-shaped aircraft development dates back to before
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Link to article on Boeing 390/391/396 with photograph
394:Vol. 268, No. 1334 (Jul. 24, 1962), pp. 390-404.
262:, effectively (and unintentionally) a prototype
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578:Flying Saucer May Yet Take Flight-- the EKIP
226:company developed a saucer-shaped aircraft.
49:. If the entire disc rotates it is called a
466:"Flying Jetsons come of age with hover pod"
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171:had rendered the design obsolete and the
388:"The Circular Wing and Related Problems"
538:Secret Projects: Flying Saucer Aircraft
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38:having the outer planform of a circle.
199:Circular flying wings (flying saucers)
7:
558:List of disc-shaped aircraft patents
250:. Silver Bug was of interest to the
312:, designed by aeronautics engineer
304:The M200G Volantor is a prototype
77:(of Ohio), an aircraft called the
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499:, University of Manchester, 2005.
464:Beveridge, John (2007-08-08).
386:H. C. Levey and P. E. Wynter;
278:and the nuclear bomb delivery
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81:(aka Roundwing) was tested. (
540:, Midland Publishing, 2004
514:U.S. News & World Report
322:vertical takeoff and landing
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536:Rose, Bill; Tony Buttler.
332:For Disc-winged bats, see
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280:Lenticular Reentry Vehicle
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294:The Moller M200G Volantor
230:became interested in the
193:short takeoff and landing
210:Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar
89:.) This aircraft had a
18:Military flying saucers
497:Disc-wing aerodynamics
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219:
218:The Avrocar under test
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159:. As with the earlier
145:Vought Flying Flapjack
121:Vought Flying Flapjack
64:Circular wing aircraft
300:Moller M200G Volantor
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286:Moller M200G Volantor
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95:tractor configuration
85:is sometimes spelled
79:Nemeth Umbrella Plane
69:Nemeth Umbrella Plane
137:Charles H. Zimmerman
598:Wing configurations
270:Lenticular missiles
222:After the war, the
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248:Project Silver Bug
237:Weapon System 606A
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546:978-1-85780-233-7
530:Popular Mechanics
454:www.aerofiles.com
418:www.aerofiles.com
406:www.aerofiles.com
157:aircraft carriers
151:, allowing it to
34:is a disc-shaped
16:(Redirected from
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522:My Weekly Reader
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161:Vought V-173
155:easily from
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107:World War II
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91:parasol wing
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73:In 1934, at
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58:World War II
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341:flying disc
324:aircraft".
318:ducted fans
314:Paul Moller
224:Avro Canada
169:jet engines
127:Vought XF5U
587:Categories
482:2007-08-30
471:Herald Sun
416:photograph
369:References
310:hovercraft
276:Pye Wacket
264:hovercraft
241:Project Y2
228:John Frost
189:hardpoints
374:Citations
358:Ring wing
353:Aeroshell
328:Disc wing
115:Sack AS-6
101:Sack AS.6
51:disc wing
440:Airpower
347:See also
153:take off
43:aircraft
568:Avrocar
363:Ufology
308:-style
256:Avrocar
252:US Army
204:Avrocar
173:US Navy
131:During
111:Germany
105:During
41:If the
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343:toys.
260:VZ-9AV
87:Nuneth
83:Nemeth
542:ISBN
133:WWII
36:wing
258:or
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432:^
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30:A
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20:)
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