DARPA DiscRotor might just be UFO that fooled everyone all the while

I came across this article today that proposes the possibility that hovering craft might actually be the DARPA/Boeing DiscRotor:

You can bet your bottom hard-earned dollar that DARPA has a bunch of devices, gizmos and vehicles that we have yet to lay eyes upon as the US strives to maintain their military might worldwide. Recently spotted was the DiscRotor, a vehicle that seems to be a rather strange amalgamation of a helicopter and airplane which can hide its rotors in a spinning disc to get around. Currently in the planning phases (who are we to argue?), why not check out the video in the extended post to see just how the DiscRotor will zip about in real life? It supposedly is meant to be a whole lot more mobile, and can get troops in and out of critical situations in a jiffy.
Source

The video is obviously CGI and the YouTube description states:

Boeing is studying the feasibility of the DiscRotor high-speed verticla-take-off and landing aircraft for DARPA. The aircraft takes off vertically like a helicopter, with telescoping rotor blades extended, then converts to fixed-wing forward flight by retrating the blades into the disc, which is then stopped. The aircraft the flies on its swept wing and dual ducted propellers. A 20%-scale model of the rotor will be windtunnel-tested in 2011.

My question is this: Has the MIC already developed this craft and are they now using a soft launch to announce it? If so, could this explain some of the weird maneuvers of lights in the sky by amateur You Tube posters? I wish the video included the placement of lights on the craft. What are your thoughts on this?

Regardless, an Aircraft like this is still going to make A LOT of noise....

The amateur videos I am referring to are the small lights in the distance. I can't hear most planes until they pass overhead.

reply to post by SunshineLaws


Quite possibly.

reply to post by SunshineLaws


No tail rotor? I wonder how that device handles the torque from the spinning blades. Maybe it uses NOTAR technology?

looks prity cool if its real ? but it would be great to be able to travell fast an then be able to hover, great for rescue

I wonder if the flipped up tips on the wings act as dual rudders? The CGI of the concept does not include any strobe lights either. I think that this machine has already been built and tested. Wonder why the artist renderings aren't black?

good post! I've also wondered if any of those unmanned drones are mistaken for UFOs. Im sure there has been test flights for these drones and some misidentification occurred. There is still that 5% of sightings we cant figure out.

Thanks Ziggy. I am trying to add to the discussion about misidentification of flying objects. They absolutely can not all be balloons (with or without LED lights), chinese lanterns or birds. A lot of what I have seen posted on the web, as to be experimental craft of human origin.

Maybe this new design can be added to list of possibilities? When faced with the abundance of sightings and the proliferation of hoaxers and charlatans within the community, we need every tool available to whittle the data down to the 5% that is truly unexplainable..

reply to post by SunshineLaws


Exactly. I recently just made a thread about misidentification of a lot of different objects as well. Feel free to take a look. www.abovetopsecret.com...

why dont they replace that rotor with a huge dyson bladeless fan.... come on darpa, if dyson can do it so can you

Originally posted by 0ne10
reply to post by SunshineLaws

 

No tail rotor? I wonder how that device handles the torque from the spinning blades. Maybe it uses NOTAR technology?

From the video I'd assume that the big animated jet engines on the wings would take care of the work that the rotors do.

But that's just me.

I seem to recall seeing an RC toy which looked like it functioned much like this device, except it looked more like a helicopter, and instead of jets, it had 2 small propellers pointed backwards (or, if not both backwards, one forwards, one backwards)

Can't for the life of me remember what model it was, though.

reply to post by 0ne10
The engine on the wing,one side or the other,could be used as a counter force to the torque generated by the spinning rotor.

The counter force does not have to be on the tail.