4 ms·
It’s definitely been done before. The closest to this design off the top of my head would be the Lockhead XFV (1954): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_XF
by Ancapistani 4y ago
It’s definitely been done before.
The closest to this design off the top of my head would be the Lockhead XFV (1954): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_XFV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_XFV
The idea of a VTOL tailsitter, but without the single primary planar wing surface, goes much further back. The Nazis were in the process of building the Triebflügel at the end of WW2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Triebflügel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Triebflügel
- rikeanimer 4y agoyeah there were a handful of tailsitter designs that era. Cool concepts but pretty much all had an achille's heel or two.
- yencabulator 4y agoHaving a human in the controls, trying to land it without seeing the ground, was a major hindrance. Drones don't really care about that.