It has, just in the form of Helicopters. Its been known for a while that moving a lot of air slowly with a bigger blade is more efficient than moving less air f

It has, just in the form of Helicopters. Its been known for a while that moving a lot of air slowly with a bigger blade is more efficient than moving less air faster with 4 props. The issue is that stability and control is easier to do with 4 blades rather than with one that has a swash plate.