Good question — and one that gets at the heart of Cold War “saucer” research.Short answer:
No, nothing based directly on U.S. Patent 3,103,324 A ever flew.
Lockheed never built it, and its aerodynamic concept turned out to be impractical with 1950s–1960s technology.Here’s the context:
1. What Nathan C. Price actually proposed
Price (a respected engineer who had earlier worked on Lockheed’s L-133 and P-38 turbo-supercharger systems) imagined a circular, biconvex aircraft that could:
- take off vertically using downward-directed exhaust through peripheral ducts,
- then transition to forward flight at supersonic to hypersonic speeds (Mach 4, ~100,000 ft),
- while cooling itself with cryogenic fuel circulated through the structure.
2. Why it looked tempting
The disk shape promised:
- even stress distribution at high speed,
- built-in directional symmetry for vertical lift,
- internal volume for concentric compressors/turbines. But it was an engineering fantasy more than a buildable machine.
3. What actually got built instead
A few broadly similar “flying saucer” or circular VTOL projects did reach prototype stage:
| Project | Country | Period | Status / outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avro Canada VZ-9 “Avrocar” | Canada (for U.S. Air Force & Army) | 1958–1961 | Two prototypes flew; unstable above ~35 mph; cancelled. |
| U.S. Navy “Project Silver Bug” | U.S./Canada | 1950s | Paper study based on Avro concepts; never built. |
| Lockheed & Convair VTOL studies | U.S. | 1950s | Paper concepts; none disk-shaped reached flight stage. |
Lockheed itself focused instead on conventional high-speed aircraft (U-2, SR-71) that achieved the performance goals of altitude and speed without the radical geometry.
4. Why it wasn’t viable
- Aerodynamic instability: circular planforms produce severe pitch/yaw coupling.
- Lift inefficiency: disks generate huge drag at any significant angle of attack.
- Heat management: Mach 4 at 100 000 ft requires exotic materials and cooling far beyond 1950s metallurgy.
- Complex propulsion transition: switching from vertical jet thrust to horizontal flight smoothly proved nearly impossible even for the Avrocar.