Peter glanced at his watch and realized that he needed to hurry - there was only half an hour left before the meeting. He quickly finished his coffee, grabbed his briefcase and, kissing his wife goodbye, jumped out onto the fenced concrete area of the penthouse. How he loved those crisp morning minutes. When your heart beats with anticipation of flight, with the knowledge that interesting work and success await you ahead.
Fantasy novel
Jumping boyishly onto the platform, he tossed the briefcase between the padded leather seat and nickel-plated railings and quickly tapped the console keys. A few seconds later, the flying platform, swaying slightly, like a boat on a ripple of lake, rose above the launch pad. For a moment, she froze in the air, and then smoothly, but with increasing speed, rushed towards the skyscrapers of the Moscow City visible in the distance.
So, perhaps, a novel about a hero of our days, a successful young entrepreneur of the capital of the Sobyanin era, could begin if attention was really paid to innovations and ingenious inventions in our economy. But, alas, so far this is only possible in science fiction novels. And how are things with them in the West?
Flying boots
The dream of mankind about levitation (from Latin levitas - "lightness", "lightness") seemed to have been successfully embodied long ago and successfully in flying vehicles - airships, airplanes, helicopters … satellites and space stations hovered on the planet. But so far not a single individual aircraft has received serial production. The parachute does not count.
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Although there are such developments, and attempts have been made - and more than once. For example, the American engineer Charles Horton Zimmerman, working in the 30s of the last century at the aeronautics laboratory in Hampton, Virginia, created the theory of kinesthetic control, according to which a person could use his body to control small aircraft.
The American not only developed the basic principles of such control, but also built a device that was humorously named "Flying shoes". Moreover, he received a patent in 1947. Of course, the car had nothing to do with the boots. But the idea itself was surprisingly simple - as if he put on his shoes and went, that is, flew. And the trick is that the propellers were not attached above the apparatus, like a helicopter, but under it. So that the car did not just hover above the ground, but flew, Zimmerman provided two pairs of wings that were attached to the pilot's suit, making it look like a giant bat. The enthusiast assembled the device in his own garage, spending more than a thousand dollars on the purchase of materials and parts from his personal savings.
The last of the peacocks
Improving the apparatus required investment, but, alas, the inventor ran out of money. And here, as often happens, chance helped. Charles met a young Californian businessman Stanley Hillier. He was just traveling the East Coast in search of suitable ideas when he was told that some crazy engineer was building a fantastic car. The 21-year-old Californian raved about helicopters, and the word "propeller" had an effect on him like a red rag on a bull. He met with the inventor, examined the apparatus, and Zimmermann's idea seemed interesting to him. However, during tests at the Hiller Helicopters plant, the car did not want to rise more than a meter above the ground, and the annoyed businessman returned it to the author.
Nevertheless, the fame of Zimmerman had already gone far beyond the state, and soon the talented scientist was able to continue testing with funds from NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics). A few years later, the US Navy Research Department ordered Hiller a batch of flying platforms according to Zimmerman's drawings. The work was carried out in the strictest secrecy. Of the 900 people who participated in the project, only 15 knew exactly what they were building. Finally, on January 27, 1955, the brainchild of Zimmermann and Hiller, the VZ-1 flying platform, took off. The apparatus was affectionately named "Pawnee", after one of the tribes of the North American Indians. It was a real success!
The first military pilots did not have tracking devices, and they constantly had to twist their heads in search of
Big problems of a little miracle
Stanley Hillier experienced a feeling similar to dizziness. Still, within the walls of his plant, a flying machine was created, which mankind has dreamed of since the time of Leonardo da Vinci - miniature, easy to control, simple in design, and therefore inexpensive. The greedy businessman immediately calculated that the cost of a household "flying carpet" would not exceed $ 500 - an amount even at that time quite affordable for an American family.
Here Hiller was no longer up to military orders. After all, if you launch the device into mass production, then the profits will be fabulous. To begin with, he published an article in the influential industry magazine Flight. By that time, the author of the project, Charles Zimmerman, had somehow faded into the background. Then the businessman showed the device to the journalists, and they were delighted. And then they burst out with laudatory articles, because, in their opinion, even a "trained bear" could control the apparatus.
But experts did not share the enthusiasm of the journalistic fraternity. When Hillier put before his engineers the task of bringing the flying platform to perfection as soon as possible, they scratched their heads in thought. And it was from what. The device had to be safe. But what if one of the two engines fails in flight? After all, the platform will not be able to glide onto the lawn like a small plane and will simply collapse. In addition, the experimental sample lasted only three minutes, and this is clearly not enough to interest ordinary people.
Dashing "Aerocycle"
Hiller did not refuse to cooperate with the military, because they were always ready to shell out a tidy sum for testing. In 1956, the US Navy ordered him three more VZ-1 flying platforms. True, the military asked to modify the device to reduce the risks of a fall. The third, additional engine seems to have solved this problem, but added a new one. The apparatus became too heavy and lost its ease of use. The pilot could no longer turn the car by simply leaning in the right direction. The kinesthetic principle of management, as they say, ordered to live long.
We installed two pairs of stabilizers under the propeller blades - it didn't help, the pilot couldn't reach them. They slipped the springs under the pilot's feet - again, not that. We connected the guide wings to the gyro-stabilization sensor - again by. In the end, the military lost patience and closed the program, leaving Hiller without funding. But the businessman did not give up trying to squeeze the golden shower out of the flying platform and even managed to patent its improved model in 1960.
In total, the Californian made six devices. But the competitors did not sleep either. Almost simultaneously with Hiller Helicopters, another American company, De Lackner Helicopters, decided to enter the private helicopter market. Her engineer Lewis McCarthy designed and built a flying platform very similar to the Californian's brainchild, calling it the HZ-1 Aerocycle. This machine had one significant difference - the propeller blades were not protected by a casing. From this it seemed that the pilot was taking great risks during the flight and if, God forbid, he lost his balance, he would immediately lose his legs. This device also used the principle of kinesthetic dynamics, could reach speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour, rise to a height of up to six meters above the ground and fly almost 300 kilometers at one gas station.
Hiller Aviation Museum
The Delakner Helicopters platform made its first flight in 1956, and was piloted by US Air Force Captain Selmer Sundby. The device stayed in the air for about 20 minutes, but the air turbulence completely exhausted the pilot. His conclusions were disappointing: flying like that, of course, is possible, but it is very exhausting. Nevertheless, the military became interested in the car and conducted their own tests, this time the role of the pilot was performed by a soldier armed to the teeth. The restless Sandby also continued flying and a couple of times was on the verge of death when the platform suddenly broke. The reason was that the propeller blades were too close to each other and, under certain conditions, bend and collide. As a result, the blades are in the trash, and the pilot is in a hospital bed. The military did not puzzle over how to eliminate this defect, but simply closed the program,as is the case with the VZ-1.
And what is the result? Hero Sandby received the Cross "For flight combat merit", and the programs were canceled. Why? It was already the 1960s, and the world powers began a race for dominance in space. There was no time for individual helicopters. The missiles captured the minds of designers and generals. Today one of Hiller's platforms can be seen in the aviation museum that bears his name. The fate of his other vehicles, as well as the Delakner Helicopters platforms, is unknown. What a pity - what idea was buried!
But after all, the principles of kinesthetics used by Zimmermann have not been canceled. Maybe there will be those who want to continue research? What if the wizards of nanotechnology have nowhere to put the budget money? And here - almost ready-made technologies with an unlimited horizon of application. In my opinion, it is worth considering.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №47. Author: Sergey Sukhanov