The disc-shaped Avrocar tried to turn a central turbo-rotor into both lift system and propulsion source. Ground effect helped it hover, but instability and inadequate thrust prevented the high-speed, high-altitude performance originally imagined. Its value lies in what its tests revealed about ambitious VTOL concepts.
INTERACTIVE MODEL LOADS WHEN NEARBY
2016 / ModernAirframe B
F-35A Lightning II
Lockheed Martin · Conventional multirole fighter
HISTORICAL FIELD NOTE
The conventional-runway F-35A combines low-observable shaping, sensor fusion, and internal weapons carriage with the lightest airframe and largest internal fuel load of the three F-35 variants. It entered U.S. Air Force operational service in 2016 and is designed for both air-to-air and precision-strike missions.
PERFORMANCE
SPECIFICATION BREAKDOWN
METRICAvro Canada VZ-9 AvrocarF-35A Lightning II
Top speed
35 mph demonstratedREFERENCE VALUE
Mach 1.6REFERENCE VALUE
Ceiling
3 ft demonstratedREFERENCE VALUE
50,000 ftREFERENCE VALUE
Range
Test programDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
1,200+ nmiAPPROXIMATE / PUBLISHED
Archive milestone
Service entry · 1959REFERENCE VALUE
Service entry · 2016REFERENCE VALUE
Nation
Canada / United StatesDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
United StatesDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
Primary role
VTOL research aircraftDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
Conventional multirole fighterDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
Values are concise archive references and can vary by variant, payload, configuration, altitude, operating conditions, and source. Range may describe different published measures where a directly comparable figure is unavailable.
