Hiller Flying Platform

A stop on Hiller Aviation Museum: Unofficial Guide, a free self-guided tour.

The Hiller Flying Platform, officially the VZ-1 Pawnee, was developed by Hiller's company in the 1950s for the U.S. military. The pilot stood on a round platform above two counter-rotating propellers inside a duct, and steered simply by leaning, the way you balance on a bicycle.

The idea came from research suggesting that a person's natural sense of balance could control a small hovering craft. Test pilots found it easy to learn.

But the platform was slow, could not fly very high, and was hard to control in wind. The Army, which tested several versions, decided they were not practical for battlefield use, and the program ended.

The Flying Platform is a reminder of 1950s hopes that personal flying machines might one day be common.

More on Wikipedia: Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee

Stops on this tour

1. Boeing 747-100 Cockpit and Forward Fuselage
2. Hiller Flying Platform
3. Boeing Condor High-Altitude Reconnaissance UAV
4. NASA AD-1 Oblique Wing Research Aircraft
5. Wright Flyer Replica and Early Flight Exhibit
6. Black Diamond - 1910 California Pioneer Aircraft
7. Grumman HU-16 Albatross Amphibious Aircraft
8. Boeing 737-200 Cockpit
9. Flight Sim Zone
10. Women in Aviation Gallery
11. Aircraft Engine Collection
12. Lockheed YO-3 Quiet Star
13. San Francisco Airport Control Tower Beacon
14. Drone Plex and Future of Flight Exhibit
15. Michael King Smith Research Library and Museum Store