First came the rough sketch of DARPA’s DiscRotor, a helicopter whose blades retract into a disc once the craft hits a certain speed. Now we’ve got the concept video. Which hopefully means we’re that much closer to the real thing.
https://gizmodo.com/darpa-developing-a-helicopter-with-a-spinning-disc-inst-5046020
It’s an idea that seems too far out there to come true, but clearly progress has been made towards realizing DARPA and Boeing’s DiscRotor dreams. What’s gained by using a spinning disk instead of rotors? More mobile, faster hover vehicles that can get troops in and out of critical situations in a hurray. Not to mention it looks, you know, incredible. [Aviation Week via Core77]
