Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Ohio Dayton The Avrocar

The Avrocar

A real flying saucer, contracted by the U.S. Air Force.

Dayton, Ohio

Added By
Jo
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_V...
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_V...
  shaunk82 / Atlas Obscura User
On Display in the R&D Gallery   Ahuntley / Atlas Obscura User
  shaunk82 / Atlas Obscura User
  michaelnhartman / Atlas Obscura User
On display at the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.   ickaimp / Atlas Obscura User
  michaelnhartman / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The year was 1952 and the Cold War was in full chill. The House Un-American Activities Committee was looking for "reds under beds," while teenage boys read science fiction comics and watched movies like "The Day The Earth Stood Still."

As both communist paranoia and the sci-fi craze swept the nation, UFO sightings were spreading like an epidemic across the United States. Even Air Force pilots reported being pursued by flying saucers. They may not all have been so crazy after all.

Enter the Avro Canada VZ-9. The Avrocar was a VTOL -- vertical take off and landing -- aircraft developed in Canada by Avro Aircraft Ltd. as part of a secret U.S. military project carried out in the early years of the Cold War.

The Avrocar intended to exploit the Coandă effect -- "the tendency of a fluid jet to be attracted to a nearby surface" -- to provide lift and thrust in the form of a single "turbo rotor" blowing exhaust out the rim of the disk-shaped aircraft, sort of like a hovercraft on speed. The vehicle was meant to manned by a crew of two, in separate cockpits, and the army planned on utilizing the craft as a sort of "flying jeep."

In the air, the Avrocar distinctly resembled a flying saucer. Two prototypes were built as "proof-of-concept" test vehicles, before building a more advanced USAF fighter. However, In flight-testing, the Avrocar proved to have unresolved thrust and stability problems. The saucer proved immensely difficult to fly with very sensitive controls, and one pilot likened flying it to "balancing on a beach ball." Though the Avrocar was made to fly up to 190 km/h and it was believed with some modifications the project was salvageable, funding ran out and the project was canceled in September 1961.

The first Avrocar eventually became a "wind tunnel" test model at NASA until 1966, when it was donated to the National Air and Space Museum, in Suitland, Maryland where it mostly gathered dust and began to fall apart.

Scheduled for restoration and display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center the Avrocar has been loaned to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

If you can't get down to Ohio to see the real deal you can see a full-scale replica of the Avrocar at the Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The reproduction was prepared for the 2002 TV production, Avrocar: Saucer Secrets from the Past. It now resides in the museum as an exhibit.

Related Tags

Inventions Retro Tech

Know Before You Go

National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, or Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Community Contributors

Added By

canuck

Edited By

ickaimp, shaunk82, Ahuntley, michaelnhartman

  • ickaimp
  • shaunk82
  • Ahuntley
  • michaelnhartman

Published

July 1, 2010

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_VZ-9_Avrocar
The Avrocar
1100 Spaatz Street
Wright-Patterson AFB
Dayton, Ohio, 45431
United States
39.782249, -84.107673
Get Directions

Nearby Places

SAM 26000

Dayton, Ohio

miles away

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Riverside, Ohio

miles away

"Stumpy" John Silver

Dayton, Ohio

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dayton

Dayton

Ohio

Places 5

Nearby Places

SAM 26000

Dayton, Ohio

miles away

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Riverside, Ohio

miles away

"Stumpy" John Silver

Dayton, Ohio

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dayton

Dayton

Ohio

Places 5

Related Places

  • le téléscaphe in the 60s

    Marseille, France

    Le Téléscaphe

    For a brief time in 1960s France, families could climb into a tiny submarine and be pulled along an underwater journey.

  • Dearborn, Michigan

    Edison's Last Breath

    A sealed test tube said to hold Thomas Edison's dying breath was given to the inventor's friend and mentee, Henry Ford.

  • The swing at the end of the world

    Banos, Ecuador

    Swing at the End of the World

    A swing to dangle you off the very edge.

  • Birmingham, Alabama

    Sloss Furnaces

    Once one of the largest producers of pig iron in the world.

  • All of the restored planes are kept in pristine condition.

    Polk City, Florida

    Fantasy of Flight

    The world's largest private aircraft collection.

  • Jantar Mantar

    Jaipur, India

    Jantar Mantar

    The world's second-largest sundial, made entirely out of stone.

  • Heraklion, Greece

    Phaistos Disc

    This famous archeological mystery may be an ancient example of movable type.

  • Korolyov, Russia

    RKK Energiya Museum

    This iconic Russian space museum sits on a landmark space production facility and houses the Vostok 1, the first manned spacecraft, that was also built here.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.