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A piloted vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft that doesn't take off vertically. Congratulations on this significant first UK.
by bigtones 1y ago
A piloted vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft that doesn't take off vertically. Congratulations on this significant first UK.
- bigyabai 1y agoEven the F-35B isn't a VTOL when it has a serious payload. The years (and many airframe losses) have emphasized that "true VTOL" is a pyrrhic victory over physics. Regardless, any real VTOL enthusiast knows that the UK has a history with this stuff and deserves their respect.
- nopelynopington 1y agoThe legacy of the harrier lives on. It took almost forty years to come up with a viable replacement for the harrier in the f35, and even then despite being faster and more modern it doesn't have the range or ceiling that the harrier did
- leoedin 1y agoJudging by their website, it does take off vertically, but just didn’t in this flight. Which makes sense if this was the first flight away from the airport. They need to do things in small steps and validate each one.