The US Army Flew The eVTOL Mission Profile In 1958, Then Quietly Walked Away

In 1958, a US Army development competition produced a machine that had no wings, no exposed blades, and a top speed slower than a family car. It could lift a pilot and passenger vertically off the ground, skim below treetop height quickly enough to avoid radar, and demonstrated in live-fire testing that it was stable enough to fire a recoilless rifle accurately.