In the shadow of the Cold War, the imagination of military aviation soared to new heights with visions of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft that could ascend to the skies like something from a science fiction film. One such ambitious project was the VZ-9 Avrocar, a disc-shaped VTOL aircraft that promised to revolutionize military aviation. Despite the dazzling concept, control difficulties and mechanical inefficiencies ultimately led to its cancellation by the US military in 1961.
The Avrocar project, which began in the early 1950s, was a result of Canadian efforts to develop a supersonic fighter-bomber capable of being launched without a runway. A.V. Roe (Avro) Aircraft Limited designed the Avrocar based on using the exhaust from turbojet engines to drive a circular “turborotor” which produced thrust. This turborotor was meant to create a cushion of air upon which the aircraft could hover at low altitude. However, the Canadian government withdrew its funding due to the spiraling costs, and the project was then offered to the U.S. government. In 1958, the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force took over the Avrocar project with different visions for its utility.
Testing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio revealed early on that the Avrocar’s performance was not living up to its design aspirations. It could hover above the ground, but the control was problematic, and the dust it kicked up impaired the engines’ efficiency. One prototype displayed uncontrollable pitch and roll motions that engineers colloquially termed “hubcapping.”Finally, in 1961, the Avrocar project was scrapped completely.
The Avrocar saga did not conclude when the program was terminated. Following the production of only two Avrocars, they were returned to U.S. ownership as the U.S. military had funded the project. The second Avrocar, S/N 59-4975, which was used for flight testing, made a brief return to Canada for exhibition in Montreal at the Man and His World Exhibition in 1968. After being displayed outdoors for an extended period, it is currently undergoing restoration at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum in Fort Eustis, Virginia.
Despite its failure to meet the expectations, the Avrocar project was not in vain. The work contributed to the development of VTOL technology, which would later influence the creation of aircraft such as the AV-8B Harrier II, V-22 Osprey, and F-22 Raptor. These aircraft have realized the capabilities once only imagined for the Avrocar, providing the U.S. military with the versatility and technological edge that the Avrocar once promised.
The initial Avrocar, designated S/N 58-7055 (identified as AV-7055), was utilized as a “wind tunnel” test prototype at NASA Ames following tethered testing. It was stored there from 1961 to 1966 before being gifted to the National Air and Space Museum in Suitland, Maryland. The aircraft remained untouched for four decades until the museum decided to restore and exhibit it at the newly established Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. However, the Avrocar was eventually loaned to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, and arrived in November 2007.
After undergoing a complete restoration, which involved creating the missing plexiglass bubbles, it was unveiled in June 2008 at the museum’s Cold War Gallery. Subsequently, it was relocated to the Presidential Aircraft Gallery. In 2016, the Avrocar was transferred to the museum’s Research and Development Gallery in the newly constructed fourth hangar.
Relevant articles:
– The VZ 9 Avrocar: The US Military’s Failed Flying Saucer Project, Coffee or Die Magazine, Jul 25, 2023
– Avro Canada VZ-9AV Avrocar, National Museum of the USAF (.mil)
– The Pentagon’s Flying Saucer Problem, Smithsonian Magazine
– Avro Canada VZ-9AV Avrocar, National Museum of the USAF (.mil)