By Frank Tinsley

OMORROW’S magic carpet may be a compact flying platform that operates on

cheap low-octane fuel, requires neither drive shaft nor gears, and whose
structure, mechanisms and controls are as simple as those of the old Tin Lizzie.
T
It is a VTOL aircraft small enough to fit into the average two-car garage. It can
take off from any lawn or driveway and fly in any direction—forward, backward or
sideways—and can set down on any clear patch of ground, water, marsh or
snow.
This wonder craft is still a long way from the dealer’s showroom but considering
the fantastic speed of today’s technological progress and the rapid developments in the
turbine field, the family-size flying compact may not be

AERIAL COMPACT lets down over a vacation site. It can also land on water or snow.
ABOVE, cutaway shows general configuration of the aerial
compact This version seats two passengers in rear com-
partment with pilot up front. Other versions range from
one-man jobs to four-seaters. LEFT, cross-section of the
dueled fan assembly. Air is drawn in through top grille,
compressed and driven downward by fan past vanes which
control direction of craft. BELOW, plan view showing the
tubular structure in blade, Styrofoam “life-ring” body.
In grey and powerplant and operating ducts in yellow.

KEY: 1. gas turbine in in-

clined position; 2. air
inlet; 3. turbine plenum
chamber distributes
pressurized gas to fans;
4. exhaust vents gas
overflow; 5. operating
ducts carry gas to the
fans; 6. buckets on fans;
7. duct nozzles exhaust
aft to provide more
thrust; 8. protective
grilles screen air flow; 9.
control vanes below
fans act as ailerons and
as rudders; 10. tanks for
fuel; 11. rear compart-
ment for two has a slid-
ing canopy for access;
12. pilot’s compartment
up front; 13. hinged run-
ning boards over lug-
gage bins; 14. moulded
Styrofoam body pro-
vides flotation and acts
as craft’s landing gear.
too far off as practical transportation.
While there is nothing particularly
new about dueted-fan flying platforms,
to date all have relied on con-ventional
belts, shafting or gear trains to transmit
torque to their lifting fans
Recently, however, an entirely new
concept has appeared—the idea of fit-
ting the fan-blade tips with “buck-ets”
and turning the whole lifting unit into
a king-size gas turbine that is an inte-
gral part of the jet engine powerplant.
Hence, at a single stroke, the old
torque-transmitting hardware is re-
placed with a simplegas duct that is
light and vibration free. There is noth-
ing to get out of order and nothing to
wear out. The only thing that spins is a
balanced fan with bucket-tipped blades.
General Electric engineers are es-
pecially interested in the possibilities of
this system. The company has devel-
oped a number of turbine lift-fan mod-
els and now has a working proto-type
that has passed its static tests and is
now undergoing wind tunnel tryouts.
According to the engineers working on
this project, the system shows great
promise.
Incorporating jet power and a varia-
tion of this GE fan with the advantages
of a compact car, MI has designed a fam-
ily-size flying compact. The vehicle is
basically simple, consisting of a small
centrally located engine that feeds its
powerful exhaust to three ducted fans
grouped in an enclosing triangle. This
airplane-like configuration provides
maximum stability on all flight axes
and permits the use of a vertical version
of stand-ard airplane controls. Pressur-
ized gas collected in a plenum chamber
at the lower end of the vertically
mounted jet engine is distributed
equally to all the fans. By means of a
diverter valve this gas flow to the fans
can be regulated or cut off entirely.
Thus the engine can be switched on and
run independently of the lift system.
In this “neutral” setting the gas is
exhausted through a bottom, nozzle.
For take-off, the valve is gradually
opened and an increasing portion of the
gas flow is diverted into the ple-num
chamber and thence to the fans.
As the latter rev up, the craft eases off
the ground and begins its climb. At the
desired altitude the valve is set at Cruise
and the control vanes moved to the “full
ahead” position.
Recently, however, an entirely new
concept has appeared—the idea of fit-
ting the fan-blade tips with “buckets”
and turning the whole lifting unit into a
king-size gas turbine that is an integral
part of the jet engine powerplant.
Hence, at a single stroke the old torque-
Two of these vane units are mounted
below the fans in the lower end of each
fan duct. One unit is set in a fore-and-
aft line and the other laterally. In oper-
ation, air is sucked into the upper inlet
of the duct, compressed by the fans and
discharged in a high-speed, downward
stream. As the stream passes the vanes
they function as vertical rudders and di-
vert the airflow in the desired .direction.
The resulting pressures drive the ma-
chine on its course. By setting the lat-
eral vanes at a rearward angle, the car
is driven forward; by tilting the longi-
tudinal units the craft moves to one side
or the other. A combination of the two
positions can propel the
machine toward any point of the com-
pass.
The structure consists of a cruci-
form frame of welded steel tubing.
The cabin sits at the forward end of
the frame’s longitudinal member
with the engine and “tail” fan-duct
assembly behind it. The two “wing”
ducts are mounted in the ends of the
crosspiece. Enclosing the fan ducts
and structural elements is a stream-
lined “life-ring” of molded Styrofoam
which acts as flotation gear and a
landing pad. At low power the ma-
chine skims over the ground on a
cushion of compressed air, so no
wheels are necessary.
The craft has a full-visibility, glass-
enclosed cabin, bucket seats, ample
leg room and capacious luggage com-
partments. A pair of powerful head-
lights can be tilted downward for
night landings, and combination navi-
gation lights on the “wing-tips” auto-
matically signal stops and turns.
Packed in a quick-opening casing at
the rear end of the cabin enclosure
is a parachute capable of lowering the
vehicle in event of engine failure.
The savings achieved by eliminat-
ing transmission, springs, running
gear, etc., from these craft may soon
put flying compacts within the reach
of the average American family.