Spindles for Wings?

This Week’s Hints to help you along:

  • Its wings are circular spindles that spin to create lift.
  • A 1930s era experimental plane that didn’t work so well.
  • A motorcycle engine on each side spun the spindles.
  • The Magnus Effect, invented by physicist Heinrich Gustav Magnus (1802-70).
  • But did it ever fly?  That is a good question for the history books!

So do you know what this aircraft is?

 

 

 

Post a REPLY below with your best guess!

Click here to check out the previous What’s That?

 

3 thoughts on “Spindles for Wings?

  1. Otha H Vaughan says:

    This aircraft is a Union Aircraft Co, Long Island, New York. It was built in 1931. The rotors were driven by two 28 HP Indian motorcycle engines. There is no record of flight.

    Reply
  2. Urquiola says:

    The concept of Magnus/ Coanda effect wings and lift generating devices had a recent remake, you can look at it, with references, in the Wikipedia article: ‘Fanwing’, from the company that got an EU grant to study the concept of Flettner rotor wing. J Seifert published: ‘A review of the Magnus effect in Aeronautics’

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Stephen Rocketto Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.