Levitator 1.3
No wings, No Rotors,
Just A Pure VTOL aircraft -
My concept sketch, ProCreate on iPad
technical drawing concept, Adobe Illustrator
About
Levitator 1.3 is an experimental aircraft designed and developed by Win's Wings Inc. in New York, first flight on March 2nd, 2024. It uses ONLY Jet propulsion with VTOL nozzles and avoids using wings and stabilizers, which is the primary purpose of this experiment.
Hello, Test pilots; before you fly this, watch this video carefully to get an idea of controls. There are no wings/control surfaces as defined by the challenge. So, every move depends on the jets/VTOL nozzles.
How to fly: READ!
AG1, and throttle 100%.
Pitch down (nose down) a bit for the forward flight.
Pitching up (nose up) will reduce the speed. Holding down the pitch-up position will also reduce the altitude. You can also hover backward by pitching up.
Landing:
You will still land with the throttle 100%; hold down the PitchUP and keep the plane stable. This will reduce the forward airspeed and loss of altitude. Once you hit the ground, reduce the throttle to zero immediately.
In another way, you can switch on HOVER (AG7) reduce the engine power to 80% and defend slowly without the altitude dropping. Make sure you land slowly.
It will be easier if you are familiar with piloting a helicopter or a VTOL craft
WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL for reference
Yaw for yaw control (keep it gentle; if the aircraft spins, hit the yaw in the opposite direction of the spin; it will make the aircraft stable. (You may not use this often; use the ROLL to turn left and right. )Then, nose down again for the forward flight.
(A throttle under 80 percent may reduce the altitude quickly and result in a rough landing or crash. So be careful.)
Other tips:
- Hover over the ground surface using Throttle 70%
- The hover switch (AG7) will slow down your forward airspeed. Then, you can hover and reduce the throttle by 10-15%. And descend slowly. Watch out for the altitude.
Specifications
Spotlights
- This craft is curated
General Characteristics
- Successors 1 airplane(s)
- Created On iOS
- Wingspan 8.6ft (2.6m)
- Length 17.3ft (5.3m)
- Height 7.0ft (2.1m)
- Empty Weight 4,837lbs (2,194kg)
- Loaded Weight 18,131lbs (8,224kg)
Performance
- Power/Weight Ratio 1.375
- Wing Loading N/A
- Wing Area 0.0ft2 (0.0m2)
- Drag Points 2289
Parts
- Number of Parts 88
- Control Surfaces 0
- Performance Cost 458
Thanks @AndrewGarrison for your support
@WalrusAircraft This is the project that I am proud of. come up with my concept
@WinsWings Thx
Great! It reached 1000+ downloads in 3 days.
@Fancygun it is not an exciting one for me, but still acceptable for my theme. I will consider that.
@WinsWings If this help, i also founded what it looks like a good idea for a build. There is a EasyJet A319 wich got a totaly diferent livery from the others because it was the 100th plane to be delivered to EasyJet. After almost 1 week of search i founded his registration number. Its G-EZBR. If this idea help's you, i would be appreciated if you said that. By the way, after you finishing the other builds, this is my build request for you if you don't mind giving a look to the plane :D
@WinsWings No problem
@Fancygun thanks for your input. I have a handful of projects. And struggling to get time to evaluate the seaplane challenge. Which was a very tight competition
@WinsWings if you are boored and dont have any idea in what to build next, maybe this will help.
There was a modified P51 in the middle of the 50's in Australia by a random guy and at the end, he solded it to another guy which he sold it to an australian (i think it was australian) austronaut. The name of the converted plane was P-51 Dartstang. I hope you liked this idea :D
@Freerider2142 thanks, lol
@WinsWings I see spinning and sudden altitude loss as a good feature not a bad on..
I like the fact that this craft can kill you if you don't pay attention and manage it :)
@Freerider2142 Thanks for your input. Strictly not using any types of wings make it harder to avoid spinning. If you gets pinned, use the Yaw to correct it.
@WinsWings thanks for the compliment :)
I like this little thing, think it would fit great as a crop duster.
not a big fan of always flying with gyro on, but it's not that bad in this case.
using nozzles and Vtol engines needs the Gyro power.
loses altitude really quickly and gets into spins easily...
but those only mean you actually need to pay attention to it..
so yeah, it's a nice VTOL I like it :)
@Freerider2142 you are one of my respected VTOL makers, so I hope a feedback form you
@WinsWings, you have to make a quick sketch before making a quick build that has no wings/no structural wings. Got 'em?
@001 I have already build it for you - given a best shot. But it seems that you did not value it back then or given a wrong judgement. So I am sorry, I can’t build another.
@Brayden1981 thank you so much. Of course if you could do.
@WinsWings, can you join the challenge? But this time, you will build another aircraft for the challenge, I won't rate it again.
@WinsWings I’m insanely good at it
@WinsWings btw do ya want me to take the pictures of your builds in the future?
@WinsWings 😎
@WinsWings K but if you change your mind, the challenge will end on 15th April so you are welcome to join if you changed your mind ;)
@Fancygun Sorry buddy, I am not a big fan of egg planes or too cartoony ones. Maybe next time.
@WinsWings Wanna join my eggy challenge ?
@WinsWings Lol, thanks,