El Dornier Do 31 es el Primer Avión de Transporte Vertical del Mundo

Video from the channel aTech ES about Dornier, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 8:30. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.

An educational piece about the Dornier Do 31, a German prototype jet-powered vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) transport aircraft, with a general introduction to this type of aircraft and a closing look at today's urban eVTOLs.

According to the video, in 1962 the West German federal government commissioned Dornier to build a troop transport aircraft for the Luftwaffe capable of operating without runways, at a time when vertical takeoff aircraft were generating great interest within NATO. The initial approach, with lift pods that harmed aerodynamics and increased the aircraft's cost, evolved into the Do 31 E. The Do 31 E1 prototype was unveiled in November 1965, made its first flight on 10 February 1967, and its first vertical climb on 20 November of that year, followed weeks later by the first transition to horizontal flight.

Horizontal propulsion was provided by two jet engines with around four tonnes of thrust each, and vertical lift by ten small jet engines of 1,200 kgf each. The Do 31 E1 set world records in its class for speed, ceiling, distance and takeoff weight. A 100-seat civilian version and NATO applications were studied, but the programmes were cancelled: the high fuel consumption during takeoff and landing and the limited payload and range reduced interest in the project.