D-Dalus is an aerial vehicle which combines the advantages of helicopters with those of fixed-wing aircraft. It remains stable in the air, rotates up to 360 degrees about all three axes and has the ability to land on moving platforms, such as boats in rough seas, because of its three-dimensional synchronisation and ‘glue-down’ by reversed thrust. D-Dalus requires in forward flight 30 per cent to 60 per cent less power compared to helicopters because its vertical thrust is created by its high lift and low drag from the winged body design.

At the heart of the D-Dalus aircraft propulsion system lays a cyclogyro rotor assembly that converts power from a conventional motor into a forced airflow across aerodynamic blades.

The propulsion consists of four sets of contra-rotating disks, each set driven at the same rpm by a conventional aero-engine. The disks are surrounded by blades whose angle of attack can be altered by moving an offset point located inside the hollow axis of the rotating disks. As each blade can be given a different angle of attack, the resulting main thrust can be in any required direction in 360 degrees around any axis. This allows the aircraft to launch vertically, remain in a fixed position in the air, fly in any direction, rotate in any direction like a football, and thrust upwards thereby ‘gluing down’ on landing.

The idea behind the development of this aircraft is that it combines the positive flight characteristics of both rotorcraft and fixed-wing air vehicles and has the potential to operate in environments denied to conventional air platforms.