The Fairey Rotodyne is an autogyro that looked like it could do what helicopters could not: transport passengers between cities quickly and cost efficiently.
In the 1950s some French and American aerospace companies flirted with tail sitting vertical take off and landing airplanes. They presented some unexpected aerodynamic challenges.
Aircraft using the ground effect, even over water, fly close to the ground compressing the air below it to create lift. In 1961 the Soviets began development of a submarine hunter using a design by Robert Ludvigovich Bartini.
After decades without building a true fighter plane the challenges of Vietnam and the release of the Soviet's MiG-25 Foxbat lead to the development of the exceptional F-15 Eagle which in 50 years has never lost a dogfight..
