Wingless VTOL flying land vehicle

A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicle comprising:

• a main body including airfoil sections on either side of a central module;
• said central module being positioned laterally centrally in the main body, for holding a load;
• a pair of propellers mounted on respective nacelles extending forward of a leading edge of the main body;
• lateral members located on either side of the main body outboard of the airfoil sections and forming winglets;
• steerable wheels mounted substantially within respective recesses forming wheel wells in the lateral members, whereby the vehicle may be steered when operating as a land vehicle;
• said propellers being articulated so as to be able to transition between a vertical flight configuration and a horizontal flight configuration, such that, in the a vertical flight configuration, thrust from the propellers is directed primarily downward and, in the horizontal flight configuration, the vehicle is configured to operate at an altitude above ground effect and thrust from the propellers is directed primarily horizontally both over and under the airfoil-shaped main body, backwash from the propellers being directed over substantially the entire width of the airfoil sections;
• said lateral members extending longitudinally forward of the leading edge of the main body, over the length of the airfoil sections and above and below the respective airfoil section, thereby being configured as both vortex-damping members and also to channel backwash from the propellers over the airfoil formed by the main body;
• and
• said airfoil sections having a substantially continuous, uninterrupted surface longitudinally from the leading edge to a trailing edge of the main body;
• in which:
• a total width of the vehicle is at most 8 feet and the width of the airfoil sections is a minimum of 2 feet each, and
• when the propellers are in the horizontal flight configuration, the propellers have ground clearance, whereby the propellers can provide forward thrust when the vehicle is operating as a land vehicle.