Joint U.S.-Canadian Aviation Projects and UFO Sighting Reports, 1954-1955

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further possibility and danger that a foreign power not entirely friendly to the U.S. might achieve the desired results sooner, the USAF has made an agreement with the Canadian government and A.V. Roe Company to take over the complete development effort. The prime contract appears to be with the A.V. Roe Canada, Limited and upon my last visit to the factory, they were well along the way in the preparation of drawings and possibly at this time are starting fabrication of parts. As of the last report known to us, it was expected that the Flight test of the first model would take place in the Spring of 1956. By this time some of you would like to see a picture of this aircraft. I have two artist conceptions (Slide 1). This slide is to depict landings and take-offs from other than established airfields. (Slide 2). This slide is for the purpose of showing a naval or marine use by launching from a submarine. An earlier model called Project "Y" or Project "OMEGA" which would have used the same engine (Slide 3) but would have been flat on the aft end similar in shape to the letter Omega. Two versions of small research type Vertical Take-Off aircraft, identified as Project "Y" and Project "Y2" have now been designed. Each project is essentially a simple proposal for the construction of a very large radial flow gas turbine engine, suitably shaped and covered to form a flying wing which is said to be the minimum aircraft that can be designed around a turbo-jet engine.

The engines are designed to fly "edge-on" to the wind instead of axially, as in the case of the more conventional types. Each engine is basically a large diameter airborne rotor disc, supported by an air bearing which employs compressor bleed air as its only form of lubrication. Stability and control, will be dominated by the gyroscopic reactions of the rotor.

Such an aircraft would have some very fundamental advantages; such as:

a. The manufacturing simplicity that results.

b. The much greater than one thrust/weight ratio.

c. The very high thrust/frontal area ratio.

d. The gyroscopic stability.

e. The ability to operate without prepared landing fields; this being the most important consequence of the thrust/weight ratio being much greater than one.

The Project "Y" design which utilized the same engine, but had a slightly different configuration was designed to take off and land with its longitudinal axis at an angle of approximately 60 degrees with the ground and was supported by a landing gear which gave it the appearance of a "Praying Mantis". The Project "Y2", unlike the earlier model, is designed to take off and land with its longitudinal axis parallel to the ground and has no landing gear whatsoever. One other great difference between the two designs is that the first design required surface controls or elevons while the latter design has no surface controls at all. The "flat vertical take-off" technique, in the Project "Y2" version, has a further fundamental advantage of great significance in that the peripheral jet using the Coanda Effect produces a powerful cushion of air between the

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