The GBA-DARPA Heliplane was a proof-of-concept, long-range,
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 ...
aircraft intended to cruise at twice the speed of conventional helicopters. It was funded by the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
Originally known as the Adv ...
(DARPA) and designed by
Groen Brothers Aviation
Skyworks Global, formerly Groen Brothers Aviation, Inc. and then Groen Aeronautics Corporation, is an American autogyro research and development company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company was founded in 1986 by David Groen and his lat ...
(GBA), which has since been re-branded as Skyworks Global.
Development
DARPA's objective was to achieve performance with a rotary-wing aircraft comparable to that of a fixed-wing plane. The concept combined technical aspects of a gyroplane, which GBA had been working on since the late 1980s, with a fixed-wing business jet.
The work was part of a potential multi-year, US$40-million, four-phase program. GBA, along with
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
, Adams Aircraft Industries, and
Williams International
Williams International is an American manufacturer of small gas turbine engines based in Pontiac, Michigan, United States. It produces jet engines for cruise missiles and small jet aircraft.
History
Dr. Sam B. Williams worked at Chrysler on th ...
, worked on Phase 1 of that program, a 15-month effort funded at $6.4 million. Phase 1B of the program was managed by Georgia Tech, using GBA as a subcontractor. Phase 2 development was to include a "subscale wind tunnel demonstration in the high-speed, high-altitude wind tunnel at NASA Langley and the building of a full-scale tipjet nozzle. Phase 2 anticipated to be a substantially bigger undertaking (valued at $24-28 million)."
Due to issues with noise generated by the tipjets, the program was terminated by DARPA in 2008.
In 2012, Groen Brothers Aviation was acquired by investor Steve Stevanovich as it was collapsing and nearly bankrupt, and was renamed Skyworks Global in 2017. In July 2019, Skyworks partnered with
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...
-owned
Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develo ...
to develop a VertiJet gyrocopter prototype, aiming for a 348kn (644 km/h) cruise and a 1,000nmi (1,850 km) range; it was projected that the aircraft would fly within 18–24 months. Intended to fulfil the
US Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
’ armed escort requirements disclosed in April 2019 for a rotorcraft that could match the performance of the
Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a convention ...
; it was also projected that a commercial gyrocopter carrying four passengers could be built for less than $10 million.