

Darpa Experimental Program to Develop the Next Generation of Vertical Flight - lispython
http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2013/02/25.aspx

======
stephengillie
_"Strapping rockets onto the back of a helicopter is not the type of approach
we're looking for. The engineering community is familiar with the numerous
attempts in the past that have not worked. This time, rather than tweaking
past designs, we are looking for true cross-pollinations of designs and
technologies from the fixed-wing and rotary-wing worlds. The elegant
confluence of these engineering design paradigms is where this program should
find some interesting results."_

------
totalforge
A modern refactoring of certain old projects, like the Hiller Flying Platform,
could yield some excellent results.

------
graycat
So, DARPA is ready to write checks for just technical plans just as
engineering presented just on paper for very challenging problems. And they
intend to evaluate the plans, just from what is on paper. So, the check comes
before any prototype, alpha, beta, users, revenue, traction, proof of
product/market fit, etc. And the DARPA batting average is not awful. The VC
industry might see from this DARPA practice that such things are possible.

