Originally Posted by T. A. Gardner

An interesting alternative possibility is the US XF5U "flying pancake." The original Zimmerman prototype proved to be a good flying machine on very limited horsepower. The production model was expected to hit 500+ mph (probably a highly optimistic figure) but even if it only did a bit over 400 it would still have made a powerful alternative to helicopters. The aircraft could take off using a very short run of just tens of yards and land nearly vertically.