The Dornier Aerodyne (also referred to as "Lippisch-Dornier Aerodyne"KRISTINA KIRKLIAUSKAITE,
Lippisch-Dornier Aerodyne: Wingless and tailless aircraft
, ''Aerotime,'' retrieved 19 March 2021.) was a wingless

VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...

unmanned aircraft An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

. Conceived by

Alexander Lippisch Alexander Martin Lippisch (November 2, 1894 – February 11, 1976) was a German aeronautical engineer, a pioneer of aerodynamics who made important contributions to the understanding of tailless aircraft, delta wings and the ground effect, and a ...

, it was developed and built by Dornier on behalf of the Federal German Ministry of Defence (BMVg). Lippisch was part of the team. The first flight took place on 18 September 1972. The development ended on 30 November 1972 after successful hovering-flight testing with the aircraft. Experimentation did not continue due to lack of interest by the ''

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

'' (German Armed Forces).

Description

The principle behind the Aerodyne is the combination of lift and thrust production in a single construction unit and flow channel, i.e. a

ducted fan In aeronautics, a ducted fan is a thrust-generating mechanical fan or propeller mounted within a cylindrical duct or shroud. Other terms include ducted propeller or shrouded propeller. When used in vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) applicatio ...

. Flaps at the end of the fan divert the outflowing air to produce lift, thrust, or a combination of both. As a result, the Aerodyne could be steered and flown in the entire range between hovering and full-forward flight. For forward flight, the Aerodyne had a conventional tail unit at the rear, which allowed for pitch and yaw control. The equipment was unmanned and operated by remote control. It was intended to be a land- or ship-supported drone (

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...

) for

aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of ima ...

Specifications

*Length: *Width: *Fan Diameter: *Engine: 1 MTU 6022 A-3, *Total Weight:

References

"Eine Dokumentation zur Geschichte des Hauses Dornier", Ed. Dornier GmbH, 1983, bound, 214 pp. *Patents US2918230; US2918233. {{Dornier aircraft 1970s German experimental aircraft Tailsitter aircraft Aerodyne Aircraft first flown in 1972 Ducted fan-powered aircraft