Hey that thing is right up the road from me. I go there all the time. I called a friend who's from the airport, been there for years, knows everyone etc.
Here's the deal according to him.
It never flew.
Engine hasn't run in about 20 years.
None of the talk of another one being sold or flown is true. (of the same design by that builder)
It's never even been taxied.
It did receive a bit of rash from getting loaded on a truck once.
No museum has wanted it.
It uses spoilers to turn and they are very small.
He thinks the value is near zero.
The guy I spoke with bought another of this builders projects called Cyclops. It did fly, but not really well.
I'd heard of this guy and the project but had never seen a picture.
I have a different friend who built a round wing design and took it to Oshkosh a few times. We always thought he'd die in it. He did land/mush/crash in my wheat a few times using my runway to take off. He finally gave it up about 4 years ago. We are all relieved.
I wish I had a picture of that one to show you. It's REALLY different, not that that is a bad thing, just unpredictable in flight. Imagine a small enclosed fuselage with a conventional tail, but the wing is an oval shape almost donut like, tipped back at about 50 degrees with an airfoil all the way around it.
When it was displayed at Oshkosh. He always got the same questions over and over and over. So he put a little sign on it that said.
Yes it does
Not very high
Tests are ongoing
