By: Rénald Fortier
Ingenium – Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
“Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a Texan flying saucer!” Astro Kinetics Corporation of Houston, Texas, and its unique looking vertical take off landing aircraft
The prototype of the Astro Kinetics Aero Kinetic Lift, Houston, Texas. Anon., “Aircraft and Powerplants – Crane version of ‘flying saucer’ projected in U.S.A.” The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News, 7 March 1963, 24.
Yours truly will readily admit that I have had, have and will presumably continue to have a strong affinity toward the unusual, the strange, the odd looking, etc. To my great shame, in my teenage years, when I had hair (Sigh…), I was intrigued by the absurd / batty / outrageous / preposterous / ridiculous theories put forward from the 1960s onward by Swiss author Erich Anton Paul von Däniken. Chariots of the Gods? Return to the Stars??
If I may quote the 1980 aphorism by American astronomer / astrophysicist / author / science communicator / cosmologist Carl Sagan, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. As far as von Däniken’s many statements were / are concerned, that evidence simply does not exist, but I digress. Back to my affinity for the unusual, the strange, the odd looking, etc.
The topic of this week’s issue of our absolutely fabulous blog / bulletin / thingee certainly checks many of the boxes, would you not say? Even so, one should not dismiss it out of hand. After all, no less an authority on science and / or technology than the President of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, the Anglo Irish physicist / mathematician / engineer Lord / Baron Kelvin, born William Thomson, allegedly, I repeat allegedly, stated, in 1895, that heavier than air flying machines were impossible. Ow… And yes, the good lord lived long enough to read articles about the flights of the first aeroplanes.
Better yet, many / most people giggled when the Doggle hit the market in the United States, in 2002. These goggles for dogs proved surprisingly popular and useful, however, and… A poor example, you state, my reading friend? Err, you may well be right. Anyway, let us begin.
The year was 1962. The month was July. A small team of Astro Kinetics Corporation people arrived in Bryan-College Station, Texas, in order to test the prototype of a vertical take off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, the Astro Kinetics Aero Kinetic Lift.
The vehicle developed by the small firm, which was seemingly based in Houston, Texas, consisted of an umbrella / inverted saucer / inverted bowl shaped wing. A multiblade propeller-like device, or impeller, was mounted just below an opening at the centre of said wing. The pilot sat on a seat attached to a structure attached to the wing, below the impeller. The engine of the aircraft, a modified outboard motor loaned by the United States Navy (USN) from the looks of it, was seemingly attached to the structure.
The rapidly rotating impeller sucked air downward through the aforementioned opening and ejected it over the outer surface of the umbrella / saucer / bowl via a narrow circular slit. That ejected air provided the lift needed to, well, lift the Aero Kinetic Lift off the ground.
Another view of the Aero Kinetic Lift prototype which showed the opening at the centre of the inverted umbrella / saucer / bowl shaped wing. The function of the opening at the right of the photograph was / is unclear. Anon., “PS Picture News – Saucer-shaped helicopter gets lift from air pump.” Popular Science, July 1963, 45.
In theory, the production version of the Aero Kinetic Lift would be easier to maneuver forward or backward, left or right and up or down than a helicopter. Given the same engine power, the new vehicle would be able to lift at least as much as a helicopter.
Incidentally, the general shape of the wing of the Aero Kinetic Lift reminds me of an unbuilt pre-1914, I think, air cushion vehicle / hovercraft I saw in a small book eons ago. I cannot remember the name of its (British?) designer and that lapsus memoriae really annoys me. Anyway, let us move on.
The trials, which were to begin with the Aero Kinetic Lift safely tethered to the ground, were to take place at the Research and Development Annex of the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas, near Bryan-College Station. Indeed, Astro Kinetics was moving there under the auspices of the college and of Bryan Industrial Foundation Incorporated.
Astro Kinetics hoped to begin free flight trials between October 1962 and January 1963. The small firm hoped that the USN would order several additional prototypes. If all went well, series production of its revolutionary VTOL aircraft, in an as yet undetermined location, perhaps near Bryan-College Station, would begin during the summer of 1964. Whether or not the aircraft to be produced would a small, single-seat machine or something (much?) larger was unclear.
And yes, yours truly also wonders what a single-seater civilian vehicle of that type could be used for. Its owner could not even go for outings with her / his better half, but back to our story.
On a side note, Astro Kinetics was looking at the possibility of marketing a toy version of its VTOL aircraft, seemingly in time for the 1962 or 1963 Christmas season. At $ US 15 a pop, or approximately $ 200 in 2023 Canadian currency, the new toy would not be cheap. From the looks of it, that project did not see the light of day.
Indeed, things might not have been entirely rosy in Astro Kinetics’ main office. In October 1962, the firm returned the sums recently invested by a number of residents of Bryan-College Station. There had been legal problems of trusteeship, it was claimed.
Even so, Astro Kinetics invited members of the press to what it called a progress report in early November. Representatives of several Texas newspapers and television stations showed up to kick the tires of the Aero Kinetic Lift. Figuratively, of course. These gentlemen, and some local dignitaries, were wined and dined by the firm’s founding president, Fremont Worth “Fred” Burger.
Now referred to as a flying crane, a use which might well have been present from day 1, future versions of the Aero Kinetic Lift might well find its greatest applications as a civilian or military vehicle. Mind you, small versions could certainly be used for private commuting. Indeed, in July 1962, Burger had said that, once produced large numbers, a single seat machine might sell for as little as US $ 2 500, in other words slightly more than $ 33 000 in 2023 Canadian currency.
Incidentally, back in 1959, Burger was the (founding?) president of a small American firm, Transport Flight Systems Incorporated of Houston, whose product, known as the Vecto flight system, was a highly precise artificial horizon which provided a pilot with the speed, direction and flight angle of his aircraft, and that in any flight condition. Even though a few to several hundred Vectos were installed in private and corporate aircraft, Transport Flight Systems seemingly gave way to Vecto Instrument Corporation no later than June 1960. And yes, Burger continued as president of that aircraft instrument maker.
By then, the firm was pointing out that its prototype was a proof of concept machine which could give birth to flying cranes whose inverted umbrella / saucer / bowl shaped wing would have a diameter of about 30.5 metres (100 feet). Such giants would be able to lift a load weighing up to 45 350 kilogrammes (100 000 pounds) thanks to an octet of PRATT & WHITNEY JT3C jet engines with a total thrust in the vicinity of 43 500 to 49 000 KILOGRAMMES (96 000 to 108 000 POUNDS). WOW! Err, wow…
Astro Kinetics’ aerial giants might be used to unload ships. Smaller models might complement / replace road vehicles within or between cities.
As one might expect, such statements made quite a lot of noise. Sorry, sorry. More than 60 American newspapers published more or less the same brief article on Astro Kinetics and its Aero Kinetic Lift between January and June 1963.
And then there was silence. No pun intended. Well, maybe a tad.
Did the Aero Kinetic Lift actually lift off the ground in 1962-63, you ask, my reading friend? I wish I knew. I really do. Somehow, I doubt it.
In November 1964, the test pilot of Astro Kinetics completed the first tethered flight of a seriously modified version of its VTOL aircraft. In December, the firm invited members of the local, state and national press, as well as representatives of the American armed forces, to a demonstration of that vehicle, the Astro Kinetics Astro V Dyna-Fan, a few days later, at San Antonio International Airport, in… San Antonio, Texas.
By the way, the new machine had been put together in a small facility in that city. This being said (typed?), Astro Kinetics still had a foothold in Houston.
And here is that new machine…
The prototype of the Astro Kinetics Astro V Dyna-Fan, San Antonio International Airport, San Antonio, Texas. Anon., “New Craft Unveiled at Airport.” San Antonio Express, 17 December 1964, 11.
The Astro V Dyna-Fan was fitted with a propeller which sucked air downward, through an opening at the top of a shroud. Circulating around a central cone, that air then flowed over an annular wing. A pair of small control surfaces located at the front and rear of the central cone acted as the elevators of a conventional airplane. Another pair, located on the left and right, acted as the ailerons of a conventional airplane. A small rudder, at the rear of the vehicle, acted as, well, the rudder of a conventional airplane. All in all, the pilot of the production version of the Astro V Dyna-Fan would be able to move forward or backward, left or right and up or down, just like the pilot of a conventional helicopter.
Faced with winds which were a tad too strong, the management of Astro Kinetics and / or its test pilot chose to demonstrate their precious prototype in a hangar at San Antonio International Airport, quite possibly a hangar owned by Howard Aero Incorporated. Said pilot lifted off the ground 7 to 9 times but did not go very high. You see, my reading friend, the Astro V Dyna-Fan was tethered to the ground. Indeed, each of the hops lasted no more than 15 seconds. Two hundred or so people were on hand to witness the event.
Incidentally, the founding president of Howard Aero, one of the most successful American aircraft maintenance and modification firms of the post Second World War era, was none other than Durrell Unger “Dee” Howard. Would you believe that the full size mock-up of the aircraft which became the world famous Swiss American / Learjet / Gates Learjet / Learjet / Bombardier Aéronautique Learjet / Bombardier Learjet jet-powered business aircraft might, I repeat might, have been put together in a Howard Aero hangar in the early 1960s? Better yet, a company founded by Howard in 1964, Howard Company, developed the first thrust reversers used on business aircraft like the Learjet, but back to our story, and…
Let me guess, you have a question, do you not, my reading friend? What is a thrust reverser? Good question. It is a device which directs forward part or all of the thrust exerted by a jet engine in order to slow an aircraft and reduce its braking distance during landing, but back to our story.
Burger claimed that a few American automobile manufacturers had expressed an interest in Astro Kinetics’ prototype. One of them, General Motors Corporation (GM), a giant mentioned in several / many issues of our blog / bulletin / thingee since March 2018, had even provided assistance. Mind you, said assistance might perhaps have been limited to the sale / loan /donation of a Chevrolet Corvair engine, soon adapted / installed by Astro Kinetics’ staff.
In that regard, it was / is worth noting that the management of the firm stated that a 2-seat mass produced version of its VTOL aircraft would be no more expensive than an average automobile. It was still claiming that the production models of its relatively simple VTOL aircraft would sell for half the price of a rather more complex helicopter of similar power or lifting capability. Better yet, their maintenance costs would be 4 times smaller, and…
Yes, my reading friend, the Corvair was indeed the automobile assaulted by a famous American activist / attorney / author / lecturer, Ralph Nader, in an equally famous book published in 1965, Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile. Only 1 of the 8 chapters of that devastating work dealt with the Corvair, however.
And yes, GM, the aforementioned automotive giant whose Chevrolet Motor Division produced the Corvair, launched a campaign of harassment and intimidation against Nader. The latter sued the automotive giant and won, on appeal, in 1970. The moolah he received was used to create the Center for Auto Safety, a not for profit organisation based in Washington, District of Columbia.
It should be noted, however, that, in 1972, a United States Department of Transportation agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as an advisory panel of independent expert engineers, concluded that the handling and stability of the Corvair was as good as that of contemporary American and foreign automobiles, but back to our story.
Even though the prototype of the Astro V Dyna-Fan was a single-seat machine, the basic concept could of course be used to build very large machines. A 30.5 metre (100 feet) diameter version of the vehicle would be able to lift a load of up to 113 400 kilogrammes (250 000 pounds). WOW! Err, wow…
It was / is worth noting that an Astro Kinetics’ press release pointed out that the USAF had spent several million dollars on the development of a circular VTOL aircraft which was finally abandoned because it did not work. That vehicle was undoubtedly the Avro VZ-9AV Avrocar put forward by A.V. Roe Canada Limited (Avro Canada) of Malton, Ontario, a subsidiary of the British firm A.V. Roe & Company Limited (Avro), itself a subsidiary of British giant Hawker-Siddeley Group Limited. As you well know, Avro Canada, Avro and Hawker-Siddeley Aircraft were mentioned many times in our blog / bulletin / thingee since March, October and May 2018
The demonstration of the Astro V Dyna-Fan was followed by nothing but silence. Said silence was presumably a consequence of the death of Burger in June 1965, at age 49. Astro Kinetics seemingly went out of business shortly thereafter. Vecto Instrument and its Vecto Aircraft Engineering Division, on the other hand, were acquired by another Texan firm, Geronimo Conversions Corporation. The latter was acquired a few years later by yet another Texan firm, Seguin Aviation Corporation.
Incidentally, Seguin Aviation bore the name of the small city where it could be found, Seguin, Texas, a municipality named after an Hispanophone Texan by the name of Juan Seguín, and not a Francophone Canadian who had found his way down there, as I had initially thought, but I really digress.
Could the Astro V Dyna-Fan have led to some sort of usable flying machine? I wish I knew. I really do. Somehow, I doubt it.
Interestingly, a small English firm, GFS Projects Limited, began to work on a VTOL unpiloted aerial vehicle (UAV) / drone somewhat / quite similar in appearance and concept to the Astro V Dyna-Fan in 2002. Company president Geoffrey “Geoff” Hatton, a retired hovercraft engineer, might have been thinking about the idea since the early or mid 1980s. And yes, the letters GFS stood for Geoff’s Flying Saucer.
Hatton’s ideas seemed so promising that he got a prestigious SMART (Small Firms Merit Award for Research and Technology) award from the British Department of Trade and Industry in order to launch his firm.
The help seemingly provided at that time and, definitely, later by a senior lecturer / reader / professor in aerodynamics at the Department of Engineering of the University of Cambridge, in… Cambridge, England, Holger Babinsky, proved very useful indeed.
GFS Projects flight tested scale models of a battery-powered UAV no later than 2007. The United States Department of Defense provided the firm with some moolah that same year to see if its concept could be turned into a surveillance / observation UAV. Mind you, that concept could of course be put to use by civilian operators.
Lack of funding meant that GFS Projects had to put the key in the door in late 2008. Its assets were soon purchased by an English firm created in early 2009 for that very purpose. By mid 2009, Aesir Limited was working on at least 5 different types of VTOL UAVs, mainly for military use. The largest of these, the twin fan and multiengine Aesir Hoder, would be able to lift a 1 000 kilogramme (2 200 pounds) payload. A mock-up of that large machine was displayed at several British airshows and / or arms fairs, including the 2010 edition of the Farnborough Airshow, a world famous airshow if there was / is one.
Would you believe that a much smaller sibling of the Hoder, the Aesir Embla, was demonstrated at that same airshow?
From the looks of it, however, Aesir did not remain active very long. Unable to find a major politically connected British arms maker, it went under in the early 2010s, as early as 2011 perhaps. None of its UAVs were put in production.
And so ends this edition of our incomparable if, in this particular case, somewhat depressing blog / bulletin / thingee. Yours truly shall endeavour to be more cheerful next week and… Yes, yes, I will also be brief.
Rénald Fortier
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