Unique Aircraft: The duPont DP-2, a Futuristic VTOL Boondoggle

Resembling a composite, modernized version of the 1950s-era Bell X-14, the duPont Aerospace DP-2 failed to deliver on lofty promises.

Jason McDowell

Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 11:28 AM ET

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Resembling a composite, modernized version of the 1950s-era Bell X-14, the duPont Aerospace DP-1, the prototype for the DP-2 concept, is now displayed at the Classic Rotors Museum in Ramona, California. [Credit: Jason McDowell]

Key Takeaways:

DuPont Aerospace attempted to develop a VTOL jet for military transport and civilian airliner use, starting with the conceptual DP-2, despite initial rejections from U.S. military branches.
The company built the 53-percent-scale DP-1 demonstrator, featuring an innovative and simpler control system using belly-mounted carbon fiber vanes to vector engine exhaust.
The DP-1 successfully completed autonomous, tethered hover tests, meeting the Navy's requirements for controlled hover.
Ultimately, the program was defunded by Congress in 2007 due to cost overruns and criticism, preventing the DP-1 from achieving untethered or forward flight.

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Since the dawn of the jet age, the aviation industry has pursued the holy grail of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability—an aircraft that can take off and land vertically, but also cruise at jet speeds. A few fighter/attack aircraft like the Harrier, Yak-38, and F-35B—as well as a number of similar experimental jets—have successfully achieved the goal. In the 1960s, Dornier even built two experimental VTOL cargo jets that successfully flew.

Beyond heavily-funded government/military programs, however, VTOL jets have eluded civil aviation. But as demonstrated by the duPont Aerospace DP-1, it hasn’t been for a lack of trying.