ON FLYING SAUCERS BOUGHT BY THE US ARMY

ONCE UPON A TIME...

Great geek fairy tale come true, via the UK's Daily Mail:

"The age of the British amateur inventor toiling away in his humble garden shed lives on - and Geoff Hatton is proof of it.

The former hovercraft engineer has designed and patented a flying saucer from his workshop in Peterborough that has grabbed the imagination of the American military establishment..."

"The 68-year-old has won a contract with the US government for his 3ft-wide contraption, a cross between a hovercraft and a helicopter. It is being considered for surveillance sorties..."

""Unlike a helicopter, though, this is aerodynamically neutral and you can bump into walls and not smash the rotor,' said the inventor.

"And, unlike a hovercraft, you can fly it as high as you want."

What makes the story even more of a satisfying fairy tale for geeks is that the contraption was apparently turned down by the UK's Ministry of Defence.

So this gizmo now joins the array of drones and other flying contraptions that promise interesting military and hopefully, non-military, commercial applications (see earlier posts here and here).

Here's to more happy endings for flying drones of all shapes and sizes.