@DeadWriter: Hahahaha, with ionization power too no doubt.

5cents

@aeroworks: induced drag is a function of the airfoil, forward speed, vortices and so on. Therefore simply being a fanwing doesnt mean induced drag is greater, indeed, it may be lesser. Regular drag, however, is certainly greater. Also free-spin of the rotor does not reduce drag.

5cents

Am I the only one who read 'fanwang' at first?

CarrerCrytharis

2kg capacity? Stuff the nose of that thing with some light, highly explosive material or some good ol' napalm,and you have a nice little manually guided bomb. It might just be my un-informed ignorance talking, but that thing looks pretty cheap to make, so no big deal if a bunch go kamikaze right? =D

Duckspwn

THAT's where my hotel's A/C unit went! The bastards!

Griffehpoo

Gizomodo covered a very similar technology already called the Cyclogyro.

Here's the vid:

+ Watch video

Very cool stuff indeed.

-Scott

Netscott

damn.
caught me singing the Halo theme.

tehdahl

Click the [Flight Global] link below the gallery for a working video. I think Gizmodo messed up the embedding linkage.

KenK

What kind of embedded player is this? The vid clip won't play in Firefox.

Open_universe

This is what happens when the engineers of The Sharper Image are unemployed.

DeadWriter

@totoro: I'm sorry, but that title has been taken already.

ripfire

If the engine failed on this the induced drag would be much greater then a normal aircraft wing. unless maybe there's a way to disconnect the fan from the motor and allow it to free spin. which would help reduce some drag...

aeroworks

Also, unlike helicopters which can auto-rotate and aircraft which can glide, I'm unsure what happens to a fan-wing in case of engine failure.

5cents

Worked with a fan-wing project in university that failed miserably. Nevertheless, the concept is sound. The plane itself has a virtually unlimited angle-of-attack. The rotors (yes, it does use rotors) don't however and work on the same principle as an ordinary wing or rotor.

The closest equivalent is the VS propeller system oft used in tugboats. Wiki here:
[en.wikipedia.org]

5cents

How long until someone has modded this to fly upside down and mow the lawn? And, is this rig pre-pimped because they spin?

Xavoc

You always expect new aircraft to be faster/sleeker/more futuristic looking... this defies all of those. I wanna meet the guy who said "I'm going to invent an aircraft that can fly slower than any other!"

Genius.

Shub-Niggurath

I think this one gets 25 points for being the most fugly aircraft to be "invented" in the last decade or two. All the same I wanna know how it works. Or....err.....does the earth just repel it's ugliness?

whiteknight

It's a flying bird blender.

shawn_dude

As a fan of model airplanes I remember seeing this concept on a model about 7 ~ 8 years ago.
It operates on the concept of cross-flow fans (widely use in HVAC systems because of the high static pressure they can create).
The model was extremely low speed flying.

I'm glass to see the idea taking off (no pun intended)...

aec007

I dub thee "SkyMower"

totoro

@PridgNYC: That's incredibly neat. Gold star for you post.

-AP-

Hey, this is a perfect fit for Gizmodo!

"Why is that, ps61318?" you might ask.

Because the lift created by this device might be called...

Fanbuoyancy!

ps61318

Tom Swift Jr. wins again...

[www.tomswift.info]

cirby

I think it is safe to say that yes, this thing will indeed blend.

Xavoc

@frigg: So, it isn't very eco-friendly then as it releases insane amounts of Ozone during flight?

Xavoc

ohhh poor birds...

ddink

@redman042:
For those geese, we'll need a catch bag (or will it mulch?)

Slartibartfast

I love it when somebody finally innovates.

Now, how about a hovercar?

GeekyNerdGuy

@LiquidGravity: I second the screwy video... or non-video as I see it.

Either way, this plane reminds me a lot of this '70s Braun desk fan.

LastVigilante

As a side benefit, this new plane design can shred an entire flock of migrating geese in one pass!

redman042

Made entirely out of Air Purifiers and nick nacks purchased at the Sharper Image Fire Sale.

frigg

@LiquidGravity: Wouldn't work with a direct connection to your tires, (weight issues notwithstanding) the direction of rotation with respect to motion would create the opposite of lift. You can see what I mean with a business card. Hold a business card horizontally with your fingertips on the long side. flick the card forward and with a backspin and it will float down to the ground. Do it with a top spin and it will go forward a little bit then reverse direction and come back to you. In effect, reverting to the backspinning blade with forward motion.

PridgNYC

Wow. This happened faster than I expected: [gizmodo.com]

Bos'un's Mate

@Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!: Those are two distinct statements. They both happen to be true.

ps61318

@Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!: at first I thought you were deranged. But then it all made sense.

J. Nadeau

Something is screwy with the video.

It does look interesting. I wonder if I could add these to the side of my car tires. Flying cars of the future anyone?

LiquidGravity

It looks more like a flying space heater with a hard on.

But maybe I'm just deranged.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

This is amazing really

Digitallysick

Flying dildo TO THE RESCUE!

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

I believe this concept is being confused with a cyclogyro. Although I can't be certain, based on the video, it appears to work on a completely different concept. In a cyclogyro, as in some wind turbines, the blades themselves are airfoils, and their spinning creates lift all by themselves. The fan wing, on the other hand, seems to be just a long cross-flow fan that blows accelerated flow over the upper surface of the wing. With any airfoil, faster airflow causes greater lift. The fact that this accelerated flow is only on the upper surface of the wing would further increase this lift. However, don't confuse it with the cyclogyros; it's just like having a bunch of tiny fans blow air along the top of the wing.

FairfaxKristi

I think the only draw back of this design is the loss of power.
It will glide like a rock. (since it does not have a normal airfoil, I bet it will just drop)
For a UAV it will be OK. For people... better have a backup power system to at least do a safe landing.

aec007

Using it on a UAV is fine. For manned vehecle, it is just too easy to be jammed by a bird.

pri_them2

Why stopped at just one blender fan? Can they make a flying saucer with its upper side entirely covered with rows and rows of fans? Or simply add these to the roof of a blimp to increase lift.

pri_them2