HILLER 'Flying Jeep' / 'Aerial Sedan'

Status: projected military flying jeep and civil development

Powerplant: unknown

Significant date: 1957

After Hiller Helicopters' failure to attract any military contracts for the VZ-1 'Pawnee' and the VXT-8 'Coleopter', the company made its last attempt to exploit the merits of the ducted fan when he proposed one of its designs for the Army "flying jeep" competition. The Hiller 'Flying Jeep' proposal consisted of four ducted fans powered by a gas turbine attached to a simple frame. Though an attractive design, turbine helicopters such as Bell's new HU-1 'Iroquois' were beginning to revolutionize helicopter operations and the Army soon abandoned the flying jeep contest.

Hiller briefly envisaged developing a civil version of the 'Flying Jeep' for the civil market as the 'Aerial Sedan' but this never materialized, either.

Population: not built

Specs: unknown

Crew/passengers: 4