D-Dalus aircraft lacks fixed-wing or rotor, looks like flying steamroller

By Zach Honig

Every other year, aviation fanatics gather in the city of baguettes and burlesque to order airplanes, gawk at concept vehicles, and dream about a better future. The D-Dalus, one of the more bizarre concepts at this year's Paris Air Show, from Austrian research company IAT21, stays aloft using quad contra-rotating cylindrical turbines -- and perhaps a touch of magic. Theoretically creating a completely new category of aircraft, the carbon fiber D-Dalus maneuvers by altering the angle of its blades, giving it virtually limitless abilities to launch, hover, and turn in any direction. An aircraft with this level of flexibility is more suited for military use than consumer applications (you won't be flying home from Paris in a freakish black tube), but could become a key asset for everything from freight transport to search and rescue operations -- on land, at sea, or even in a burning building. We haven't come across any proof that the Dalus can actually fly, but hit up the source link to see the craft suspended from the show floor ceiling in Paris.

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