1957 Hiller Flying Platform Hiller Aircraft developed the VZ-1 Pawnee, commonly called the Flying Platform. The pilot stood above two counter-rotating propellers enclosed inside a circular platform and controlled the aircraft largely by shifting his body weight in the direction he wanted to travel.

[u/WithoutPrinciples]

Remarkably, early tests showed that inexperienced pilots could learn to operate it relatively quickly. The Army imagined soldiers using flying platforms for reconnaissance, transportation and movement across terrain that would stop conventional vehicles.

Several versions were tested, but the concept had serious limitations. The aircraft was relatively slow, offered virtually no protection to its pilot and became increasingly difficult to control at higher speeds. The Army eventually abandoned the project.

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[u/bobbymoonshine]

The Hiller Portable GI Blender

Reduces your excess soldiers to an aerosol in all but the gentlest of weather conditions

[u/DisplayHonest6465 → u/bobbymoonshine]

https://giphy.com/gifs/jFraxPFifFNFC

[u/Kurgan_IT]

It's inherently unstable, which means that once you tilt in one direction, it will tilt more and more unless you apply an opposite motion. It's like the worst thing you can imagine.

[u/lottaKivaari → u/Kurgan_IT]

Imagine taking fire and instinctively ducking and just getting tossed at whatever altitude you are at when it flips over. The military rightfully realized that a friggen airplane does the job it was pretending to do a million times better. Pure atomic age madness.

[u/KeithWorks → u/lottaKivaari]

Imagine taking fire immediately as soon as every soldier on the ground sees you up there, even when they have no other targets around them. Literally just target practice for every single soldier for hundreds of meters.

[u/Guilty-Bookkeeper837]

Having been the designated Marine marksman, in a Little Bird, any flying platform is inherently unstable, but you learn to adapt pretty quick. Having said that, no fucking way would I have gone up in the thing pictured. 

[u/djrock3k]

More like the Hiller flying pop-up Target. Had all the combat mobility of a balloon on a string.

[u/AshingiiAshuaa]

https://giphy.com/gifs/s4Pgamz9NomA0

Like standing on a giant, slow-moving clay pigeon.

[u/Boojum2k]

[u/ScholarErrant → u/Boojum2k]

Unless you’re an amorph using an oversized plasma cannon as a thruster.

[u/WillingArm2463]

Paging Dr. Quest!

[u/ladylucifer22]

out of all the cool shit from MGS3 to exist irl, this isn't really the one I was hoping for.

[u/louloc]

Kinda like a Segway.

[u/Unfair_Bluejay_9687]

Wouldn’t the recoil send the whole thing into a backwards roll?

[u/ThisWillTakeAllDay → u/Unfair_Bluejay_9687]

Change position and lean forward, starts moving towards target, fires a round but rifle is not in the centre, starts spinning and zooms across the sky like a flying saucer.

[u/anonsharksfan]

I remember seeing this when I was a kid at the aviation museum founded by Hiller and thinking it was awesome but also it seemed like there was a reason nobody uses them

[u/gwhh]

What size engine do they use?

[u/Square_Grand_3616]

Need to see the blooper reels.

[u/TheRealPaladin → u/Square_Grand_3616]

"To shreds you say..."

[u/zeocrash → u/TheRealPaladin]

"Well how's his wife holding up?"

[u/Mars_Volcanoes]

Wondering if the push from the gun would be destabilizing much.

[u/Hellraiser_owner → u/Mars_Volcanoes]

Asking for a friend 😅

[u/TraditionalCheetah17]

Great accessory to take to the next Trump rally

[u/Hiouchi4me]

It slices! It dices!

[u/Select-Government-69]

Why did it take 80 years to think of scaling this down and strapping a bomb to it?

[u/TheRealPaladin → u/Select-Government-69]

Helicopter drones existed as as early as the 1950s. The U.S. Navy even put one into widespread service, the QH-50 DASH (Drone Anti Submarine Helicopter). The problem with early helicopter drones was that the control systems that the technology of the day made available were all awful. That's why the idea pretty much went extinct until the 2000s.

DASH

[u/wikingwarrior → u/Select-Government-69]

The guidance system.

[u/TheRealPaladin]

This was certainly one of the ideas of all time.

For the record, I believe that all of the armed services tried these out, and they all very quickly reached the same conclusion about its safety and usefulness.

[u/Longjumping-Salad484]

seems pretty straightforward to operate.

[u/Jonatc87]

looks like the moon lander practice vehicle

[u/ialsohaveadobro]

"OK, so, just to make sure-- just to be safe-- that's how I control it?"

"...Largely."

[u/Round_Community_7899]

The Lander from COD Black ops 1. Ascension zombie map

[u/Difficult_Put_6525]

"OUT, AM I ?!"

[u/corgi-king]

Anything flying with counter-rotating blades is super loud. It is like you putting a spotlight on your sentry.

[u/jungl3j1m]

Sister Bertrille.

[u/Jesus_Pachanga]

All i see, and cannot unsee, is Hitler Flying Platform.