How do circular planes fly?

Question

I've been wondering, how do those cool circular planes that the air-force uses fly?

I've been seeing them a lot over here in Granite Peak (we've got an air base nearby, so I'm assuming they're prototype planes or something

I mean, they seem like they'd be very unstable with no wings, and I can never see an engines on them...I'm assuming that they must be some sort of helicopter, but they're too fast and silent for helicopters...

I tried looking it up on Google, but the links all went to this really old, crappy plane

can anyone enlighten me? I'm very confused

Answer 1

As you might have guessed, the control surfaces require thousands of corrections per minute to maintain level flight.  Beyond human capability, but piece of cake for a computer.

ok, computer has no use for cake, but you know what I mean.

far as frisbee goes, it's the same principle as the bicycle.  gyroscopic, which I don't really understand the physics

Answer 2

lol omg dood it's a UFO!

Answer 3

I've only seen what you describe in small scale UAV's.  One example is here, http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?i... .  If it were some experimental military prototype it wouldn't be operating in a populated area.

Answer 4

Thanks for the chuckle. Keep them coming.

Answer 5

How do Frisbees fly?

Answer 6

You see Scotty is tending to the warp core and engineering while Spock is in command trying to find Kirk after a mission.

Answer 7

think about a Frisbee,  with thrust, and at the proper angle of attack it  will sustain flight. How it stays stable  with out spinning around is another matter.

edit: found this pic of a round plane in flight

http://www.auf.asn.au/students/ufo.jpg

Answer 8

Convention has it that they use anti-gravity lift and ring laser stabilization with some sort of anti-matter system for propulsion.  Their pilots are genetic aberants who can tolerate 25-30 Gs (both positive and negative).  Saaaay, is this a trick question?

Answer 9

Flight occurs by way of lift.  If the circle is acting as a wing by giving air moving over it a longer path than air moving under it then you have lift.  Stability isn't as much an issue these days thanks to computers.  Check into the stealth bombers and fighters.  Neither of them would be able to fly without computers.