Combined flying machine

A flying machine, comprising:

• a fuselage having an aerodynamic cross-sectional shape in the form of a thick, central wing having a convex, upper surface and a flattened lower surface, said fuselage having a vertical tunnel extending therethrough with open inlet and outlet openings respectively at said upper and lower surfaces,
• a lifting rotor mounted in said tunnel for rotation about a vertical axis, said lifting rotor being confined between said upper and lower surfaces of said fuselage, said lifting rotor including rotor blades disposed in said tunnel,
• outboard wings extending laterally from said fuselage,
• two propulsion propellers supported from said fuselage for propelling the flying machine in level flight,
• a landing device including an air cushion at said lower surface of the fuselage surrounding said outlet opening,
• means for varying pitch of the rotor blades in common and individually,
• said tunnel having a cross-sectional area in a plane of rotation of the lifting rotor which is equal to 0.3 to 0.8 of the area of the air cushion of the landing device,
• said inlet opening of said tunnel being bounded by a smooth, toroidal surface which merges with the upper surface of said central wing,
• a power plant for driving said lifting rotor and said propulsion propellers, said power plant including two engine modules disposed on opposite sides of said tunnel, said lifting rotor being connected to both engine modules, each of said propulsion propellers being connected to a respective one of said engine modules, and
• means for mounting said propulsion propellers at a level above said upper surface of the fuselage at a stern portion of said fuselage rearwardly of a line of maximum thickness of the aerodynamic shape of the fuselage.