History Main / FutureCopter

[[folder:Comic books]]

[[folder: Web comics]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: RealLife]]

The probable TropeMaker, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_X-22 Bell X-22]], was a purely experimental aircraft not intended for mass production. More are being developed, however, with [[http://mashable.com/2017/10/05/airbus-cityairbus-electric-flying-taxi-2018/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-tech-link%23sd613jsnjlqd#JpvXohn3Cqqn many]] [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4291672/Airbus-capsule-taxi-picked-drone-fly.html of]] [[http://www.impactlab.net/2016/05/09/taxi-drones-take-flight them]] approaching production status, which could potentially make this TruthInTelevision in the near future. One might also, with some imagination, consider existing tilt-rotor aircraft like the V-22 Osprey to be a very primitive version of this idea, although its rotors/propellers are firmly locked together and very much not ducted, and it has big, conventional wings. Some of the contenders for the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US Army's]] Future Vertical Lift program have taken [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piasecki_X-49 tentative]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_V-280_Valor steps]] [[http://www.shephardmedia.com/news/rotorhub/quada2012-avx-team-moves-towards-flight-tests/ toward]] the idea.

* ''Film/{{Oblivion 2013}}'' : The V/TOL craft that Jack flies around, the "[[http://radicalpublishing.com/2013/04/oblivion-and-tom-cruise-a-closer-look-at-the-bubble-ship-design/ Bubble Ship]]". With guns (which can fire in any direction, even straight backwards), autopilot (and remote piloting), ejecting cockpit, voice-recognition lock, remotely-accessible surveillance cameras, storage space for a CoolBike, [[spoiler: and the capacity to fly up to space]].

These aircraft aren't always a major element of the stories they appear in--they're just as likely to be background details, put in to add a "futuristic" atmosphere. Just as airships [[ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld are often used as a shorthand for alternate-history settings]], ducted fan aircraft often serve as a visual cue for a setting that's futuristic, but not entirely far removed from our own. In a way, this is the successor trope to the FlyingCar in the sense that it is the current stereotypical "futuristic aircraft."

* ''[[Videogame/MechWarrior MechWarrior Living Legends]]'' has two DummiedOut transport [=VTOLs=], the Karnov and Anhur, both of which are massive tiltrotor craft that were originally planned to carry battlearmor and small vehicles - problems with the vehicles bouncing around in the back, [[TeleFrag crushing all the other riders then exploding the craft]], along with a aircraft physics change caused both to be put on the development backburner.

[[folder:Comic books]]

* Several different versions (from supersonic gunships to massive transports) are seen in ''Literature/TheWarAgainstTheChtorr'' series, often piloted by the protagonist's LoveInterest, ColonelBadass Lizard Tirelli.

* The 1930's sci-fi musical ''Film/JustImagine'', everyone has a personal airplane with vertical rotor ducts in the wings enabling them to hover while they talk to other drivers or burst into song. Interestingly, it predates the Trope Maker (or indeed, most other examples of the trope) by a good three decades.

* About halfway through ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'', Serpentine pilots a large, vaguely military-looking helicopter as a boss battle. The chopper can deployan unlimited number of Shade Troopers.

What you need is a futurecopter. These machines come in a variety of sizes, ranging from dinky sized models about the size of an RC toy, a one-man unit (with optional handholds on the sides for external passengers), through unmanned autonomous versions (best steer well clear of these) the size of a Hummer, right up to beasts the size of a civil cruiser capable of transporting dozens of fully armed troops complete with an airlifted AwesomePersonnelCarrier or a CoolTank. Size and operation aside, what they almost invariably have is ducted fans or tilting jet engines (one on each side of the fuselage, and usually independently tiltable) for lift and thrust, twin tail fins, and stubby, vestigial wings with an assortment of guns, missiles and bombs, if there were any wings at all. And, in compliance to the all-powerful RuleOfCool, you can expect the aircraft to be as fast as a jet, as agile as a helicopter and as armed as a fighter-bomber. The pilot, if present, is invariably right up front in what looks like a conventional helicopter gunship cockpit.

** Banshee tactical strike aircraft uses ducted fans and, for some reason, a tail rotor.
** Medivac and Dropship use twin jet engines.

The probable TropeMaker, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_X-22 Bell X-22]], was a purely experimental aircraft not intended for mass production. More are being developed, however, with [[http://mashable.com/2017/10/05/airbus-cityairbus-electric-flying-taxi-2018/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-tech-link%23sd613jsnjlqd#JpvXohn3Cqqn a]] [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4291672/Airbus-capsule-taxi-picked-drone-fly.html number]] [[http://www.impactlab.net/2016/05/09/taxi-drones-take-flight of them]] approaching production status, which could potentially make this TruthInTelevision in the near future. One might also, with some imagination, consider existing tilt-rotor aircraft like the V-22 Osprey to be a very primitive version of this idea, although its rotors/propellers are firmly locked together and very much not ducted, and it has big, conventional wings. Some of the contenders for the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US Army's]] Future Vertical Lift program have taken [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piasecki_X-49 tentative]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_V-280_Valor steps]] [[http://www.shephardmedia.com/news/rotorhub/quada2012-avx-team-moves-towards-flight-tests/ toward]] the idea.

* ''Literature/KnownSpace'' stories frequently mention similar craft as "cars", but their descriptions tend to be sketchy. ''A Gift from Earth'' mentions that Plateau cars have four fans and only the upper caste is allowed to drive cars. To add some confusion, stories set later (e.g ''Literature/{{Ringworld}}'') use the word "car" for anti-gravity craft.

The probable TropeMaker, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_X-22 Bell X-22]], was a purely experimental aircraft not intended for mass production. More are being developed, however, with [[http://mashable.com/2017/10/05/airbus-cityairbus-electric-flying-taxi-2018/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-tech-link%23sd613jsnjlqd#JpvXohn3Cqqn a]] [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4291672/Airbus-capsule-taxi-picked-drone-fly.html number]] [[ http://www.impactlab.net/2016/05/09/taxi-drones-take-flight/ of them]] approaching production status, which could potentially make this TruthInTelevision in the near future. One might also, with some imagination, consider existing tilt-rotor aircraft like the V-22 Osprey to be a very primitive version of this idea, although its rotors/propellers are firmly locked together and very much not ducted, and it has big, conventional wings. Some of the contenders for the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US Army's]] Future Vertical Lift program have taken [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piasecki_X-49 tentative]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_V-280_Valor steps]] [[http://www.shephardmedia.com/news/rotorhub/quada2012-avx-team-moves-towards-flight-tests/ toward]] the idea.

The probable TropeMaker, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_X-22 Bell X-22]], was a purely experimental aircraft not intended for mass production. More are being developed, however, with [[a http://mashable.com/2017/10/05/airbus-cityairbus-electric-flying-taxi-2018/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-tech-link%23sd613jsnjlqd#JpvXohn3Cqqn]] [[number http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4291672/Airbus-capsule-taxi-picked-drone-fly.html]] [[of them http://www.impactlab.net/2016/05/09/taxi-drones-take-flight/]] approaching production status, which could potentially make this TruthInTelevision in the near future. One might also, with some imagination, consider existing tilt-rotor aircraft like the V-22 Osprey to be a very primitive version of this idea, although its rotors/propellers are firmly locked together and very much not ducted, and it has big, conventional wings. Some of the contenders for the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US Army's]] Future Vertical Lift program have taken [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piasecki_X-49 tentative]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_V-280_Valor steps]] [[http://www.shephardmedia.com/news/rotorhub/quada2012-avx-team-moves-towards-flight-tests/ toward]] the idea.

* With the various proposals for "drone taxi" services, often using scaled-up versions of quadcopter ducted-fan drones such as [[this one http://mashable.com/2017/10/05/airbus-cityairbus-electric-flying-taxi-2018/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-tech-link%23sd613jsnjlqd#JpvXohn3Cqqn]], this trope is likely to become Truth in Television very soon.

What you need is a futurecopter. These machines come in a variety of sizes, ranging from dinky sized models about the size of an RC toy, a one-man unit (with optional handholds on the sides for external passengers), through unmanned autonomous versions (best steer well clear of these) the size of a Hummer, right up to beasts the size of a civil cruiser capable of transporting dozens of fully armed troops complete with an airlifted AwesomePersonnelCarrier or a CoolTank. Size and operation aside, what they almost invariably have is ducted fans (one on each side of the fuselage, and usually independently tiltable) for lift and thrust, a V-tail and stubby, vestigial wings with an assortment of guns, missiles and bombs, if there were any wings at all. And, in compliance to the all-powerful RuleOfCool, you can expect the aircraft to be as fast as a jet, as slick as a helicopter and as armed as a fighter-bomber. The pilot, if present, is invariably right up front in what looks like a conventional helicopter gunship cockpit.

There are currently no production manned aircraft that look anything like this. The probable TropeMaker, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_X-22 Bell X-22]], was a purely experimental aircraft not intended for mass production. More are being developed, however, and at the time of writing (2017) probably the nearest to production is the Urban Aeronautics Airmule. One might, with some imagination, consider existing tilt-rotor aircraft like the V-22 Osprey to be a very primitive version of this idea, although its rotors/propellers are firmly locked together and very much not ducted, and it has big, conventional wings. Some of the contenders for the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US Army's]] Future Vertical Lift program have taken [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piasecki_X-49 tentative]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_V-280_Valor steps]] [[http://www.shephardmedia.com/news/rotorhub/quada2012-avx-team-moves-towards-flight-tests/ toward]] the idea.

* The 1930's sci-fi musical ''Film/JustImagine'', everyone has a personal airplane with vertical rotor ducts in the wings enabling them to hover while they talk to other drivers or burst into song.

* Alongside real-world V-22's, ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' sees a fictional "quad tiltrotor" that seems to function as a heavy transport aircraft. A Chinook to the Osprey's Blackhawk, so to speak.
** Maybe not so [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quad_Tilt_Rotor fictional]].

* The X-22, one of the first experimental VTOL designs, featured four large duct-ed rotating propellers for flight. Since the X-22 pre-dates most of the film and TV examples mentioned above, it may well be the TropeMaker. Oddly though the aircraft was just suppose to test VTOL flight characteristics, the military never expected to use the ducted fans on operational vehicles.

* With the various proposals for "drone taxi" services, often using scaled-up versions of quadcopter ducted-fan drones such as [[this one http://mashable.com/2017/10/05/airbus-cityairbus-electric-flying-taxi-2018/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-tech-link%23sd613jsnjlqd#JpvXohn3Cqqn]], this trope is fast becoming Truth in Television.

* Nurglite blight drones from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', and Imperial Stormtalons.

There are currently no production manned aircraft that look anything like this. The probable TropeMaker, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_X-22 Bell X-22]], was a purely experimental aircraft not intended for mass production. More are being developed, however, and at the time of writing (2017) probably the nearest to production is the Urban Aeronautics Airmule. One might, with some imagination, consider existing tilt-rotor aircraft like the V-22 Osprey to be a very primitive version of this idea, although its rotors/propellers are firmly locked together and very much not ducted, and it has big, conventional wings. Some of the contenders for the [[YanksWithTanks US Army's]] Future Vertical Lift program have taken [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piasecki_X-49 tentative]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_V-280_Valor steps]] [[http://www.shephardmedia.com/news/rotorhub/quada2012-avx-team-moves-towards-flight-tests/ toward]] the idea.

What you need is a futurecopter. These machines come in a variety of sizes, ranging from dinky sized models about the size of an RC toy, a one-man unit (with optional handholds on the sides for external passengers), through unmanned autonomous versions (best steer well clear of these) the size of a Hummer, right up to beasts the size of a civil cruiser capable of transporting dozens of fully armed troops complete with an airlifted AwesomePersonnelCarrier or a CoolTank. Size and operation aside, what they almost invariably have is ducted fans (one each side of the fuselage, and usually independently tiltable) for lift and thrust, a V-tail and stubby, vestigial wings with an assortment of guns, missiles and bombs, if there were any wings at all. And, in compliance to the all-powerful RuleOfCool, you can expect the aircraft to be as fast as a jet, as slick as a helicopter and as armed as a fighter-bomber. The pilot, if present, is invariably right up front in what looks like a conventional helicopter gunship cockpit.

You're in an unspecified future, and you need an aircraft capable of short or vertical takeoffs. Helicopters are ''so'' 20th century: they can't do all that fancy supercruising and barrel rolls that jets can do and they (probably) can't survive being dropped from orbit because well, hey, you might just need to be dropped from orbit. So you don't want a helicopter, but you also don't want anything as conventional looking as a jump-jet, either.

[[folder:Literature]]
* Several different versions (from supersonic gunships to massive transports) are seen in ''Literature/TheWarAgainstTheChtorr'' series, often piloted by the protagonist's LoveInterest, ColonelBadass Lizard Tirelli.
* The ''Literature/FormicWars'' novels feature a mix between this and a HoverTank. The new vehicles developed by [[MegaCorp Jukes, Ltd.]], use ArtificialGravity as their primary means of propulsion (by projecting a "gravity lens" above the craft, thus keeping it aloft). However, as backup, they include deployable rotors. Two of these are developed for and purchased by the New Zealand SAS. A certain Lieutenant [[FutureBadass Mazer Rackham]] pilots one of them. He mentions that the rotors are useless for the craft's primary purpose -- extraction under fire. The craft is supposed to fly in low, almost grazing treetops, in order to minimize its radar signature, extend an arm, grab the ground vehicle in need of extraction, fly away, and transfer the crew and/or passengers aboard, all without getting shot down. However, given how low the craft is flying, the rotors would simply not have enough time to deploy in case of "gravity lens" failure. [[spoiler:This is proven true during the [[InsectoidAliens Formic]] invasion, resulting in Mazer being the only survivor of the crew]].
[[/folder]]