U.S. Patent Specifications

An aircraft of generally circular configuration in plan and constructed for vertical, horizontal and hovering flight, comprises; a saucer‐shaped fuselage having a cabin spaced between the periphery and centre thereof and a rigid ring‐shaped cambered aerofoil providing the peripheral portion of the fuselage and interrupted by the cabin. A compressor substantially enclosed by the fuselage at the centre comprises a pair of flared and vertically spaced plates and a plurality of generally vertical and radially extending vanes between the plates, the upper ends of the plates providing a plurality of circumferentially spaced air intake openings and the lower ends a plurality of circumferentially spaced air discharge openings whereby the path of air flow is first vertical and then radial. A stator assembly entirely surrounds the compressor and is also enclosed by the fuselage. The stator assembly comprises a pair of vertically spaced plates mounted closely adjacent to the lower ends of the compressor plates to receive air from the compressor discharge openings and direct that air over the upper surface only of the aerofoil. The stator assembly further includes a plurality of arcuately swept vanes mounted for horizontally swingable movement by the stator plates and being of a length such that when a pair of the vanes are pivoted to a sufficient degree the ends thereof overlap and the compressed air flow over a particular portion of the aerofoil is closed off, and means for rotating the compressor to take air from the atmosphere into the intake openings and between the compressor plates first in a generally vertical direction and then radially in compressed condition through the discharge openings and through the stator assembly over the upper surface of the aerofoil to cause the aircraft to ascend and hover, whereupon when horizontal flight is desired the stator vanes are adjusted to direct the air over only particular portions of the upper surface of the aerofoil.