First, the ducted fan design allows the car to achieve the speed and maneuverability of a helicopter -- 155 mph, 12, 000-foot altitude, two hours of flight time, vertical take off and landing -- but removes the dangers of exposed rotors, allowing the "car" to sidle up to buildings for rescue missions, or coexist in close quarters with other vehicles.

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While it's still not possible to walk into your local Chevy dealer and fly out with a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) Camaro that drives through all three dimensions, there are engineers across the world dedicating their lives to making the dream possible.

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An early version of a flexible Air Force plane with vertical take-off and landing capabilities.

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He also wants to build a vertical take-off and landing commercial jet.

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They would carry short-take-off and vertical-landing versions of the Joint Strike Fighter, stealthy planes that are being developed jointly with America to replace the Harrier jump-jets.

ECONOMIST: Defence procurement

The previous Labour government had placed orders for two new aircraft carriers to be equipped with the F-35B variant of the American-built joint strike fighter (JSF), which is capable of short take-off and vertical landing.

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The Marine Corps variant (F-35B), a short take-off and vertical landing variant (STOVL), was grounded for nearly a month after a manufacturing defect caused a fuel line to detach just before a training flight in January.

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Several factors have combined to today's decision to buy a short take-off and vertical landing version of the plane (the F-35B) rather than the more capable F-35C variant that would have required catapults to hurl it skywards.

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