D-Dalus: new genre of aircraft. Too good to be true?

[PhillyPhil]

http://www.gizmag.com/d-dalus-uav-design/18972/
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/06/22/0118231/An-Entirely-New-Class-of-Aircraft-Arrives

Is this for real?

A new aircraft , that moves in a similar fashion to a helicopter(i.e. it flies and can hover), but isn't a rotary wing, it uses "four mechanically-linked, contra-rotating, cylindrical turbines for its propulsion, ..."

By altering the angle of the blades in the turbines, it can launch vertically, hover perfectly still, move in any direction, and thrust upwards and hence 'glue down' upon landing, which it can easily do on the deck of a ship, or even a moving vehicle. It's also almost silent, has the dynamic stability to enter buildings, handles rough weather with ease, flies very long distances very quickly and can lift very heavy loads. It accordingly holds immense promise as a platform for personal flight, for military usage, search and rescue, and much more.

It sounds so awesome, and looks so compact that I'm wondering if it isn't a hoax??? I can't find any videos for it.
Does anyone have anymore info on this?

[mips]

http://www.d-dalus.com/

[Paqman]

It sounds so awesome, and looks so compact that I'm wondering if it isn't a hoax???

It's compact because it's just the prototype for an engine. Notice the similarity to another VTOL propulsion prototype; the flying bedstead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Thrust_Measuring_Rig).

It's just a prototype, I wouldn't get too excited about it just yet. Wait and see if they manage to develop it into a practical powerplant for a real aircraft.

[SoFl W]

I think this is an old design revisited, here is one story from the archives of the modern mechanix (http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2011/03/08/airwheel-plane-paddle-wheel-boat/) website, I didn't look further to see if there were others.