Flettner airplane

Anton Flettner's rotor aircraft

A flettner airplane or rotor airplane is an aircraft on which wings are rotating cylinders using the Magnus effect to create lift.^[1] The concept has similarity to Flettner rotors used on a rotor ships. Such airplanes were first built by Anton Flettner. The Flettner airplane should not be confused with the cyclogyro, which uses a different aerodynamic effect, but has a similar configuration of rotors.

Although Flettner constructed at least one aircraft there is no record of successful use. A safety concern intrinsic to the concept is that if power to the rotating drums was lost —even if thrust was maintained— the aircraft would lose its ability to generate lift and remain in flight.^[2]

References

↑ "Whirling Spools Lift This Plane". Popular Science Monthly: 26. November 1930. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
↑ Ray, Keith (2015). The Strangest Aircraft Of All Time. Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 2QG: The History Press. p. 48. ISBN 9780750960977.

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Types of aircraft by methods of thrust and lift

	Aerostat	Aerodyne
	Lift: Lighter than air gas	Lift: Fixed wing	Lift: Unpowered rotor	Lift: Powered rotor
Unpowered free flight	(Free) balloon	Glider	Helicopter, etc. in autorotation	(None – see note 2)
Tethered (static or towed)	Tethered balloon	Kite	Rotor kite	(None – see note 2)
Powered	Airship	Airplane, ornithopter, etc.	Autogyro	Helicopter, gyrodyne

Note 1: A tiltwing or tiltrotor aircraft functions as an aeroplane during normal (horizontal) flight and as a helicopter during low-speed flight.

Note 2: For full-size aircraft with powered rotors the rotor is normally tilted to achieve thrust (e.g. in a helicopter). Some toys (e.g. balloon helicopter) do have a powered rotor with no means to tilt the rotor to produce horizontal thrust.

Note 3: Ground effect vehicles and hovercraft are not included in the table, nor are experimental aircraft with novel thrust / lift solutions (e.g. coleopter, Flying Bedstead, Avrocar and flettner airplane) or balloon-wing hybrids (e.g. kytoon and hybrid airship).

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Flettner airplane

See also

References