Avrocar Progress Report Film, 1958-1959
Official footage documents construction, wind tunnel tests, and hovering trials of experimental VTOL disc aircraft.
Pending
Pending
National Archives UAP Bulk Downloads
AI Disclosure Brief
AI assistedReported Object Read
Color motion picture footage shows construction and testing of Avrocar, a disc-shaped VTOL aircraft, including full-scale mockups, scale models in wind tunnels, peripheral nozzle segments, and a skeleton model hovering in a room.
Notable Characteristics
- Size: 20-foot segment; 1/5 scale model
- Sound: Sound
- Environment: ground
Reported Motion
- wind tunnel testing; hovering
Evidence Notes
- NARA shot list describes mockups, wind tunnel tests, hovering model
- Subject heading: Avrocar (VTOL airplane)
NARA-preserved USAF film documents prosaic experimental VTOL disc craft development by Avro, often misidentified in UFO lore, with clear footage of construction and tethered hovering tests.
Disc
visual
90%
Prosaic Leads
- Avrocar VTOL project (USAF Project 1794)
- Wind tunnel and indoor model testing
- Known 1950s-1960s aeronautical research
Anomalous Indicators
- Disc shape and hovering capability resemble some UAP reports
- Peripheral nozzle propulsion system
Evidence Gaps
- Exact test dates within period
- Untethered flight performance
- Project cancellation reasons
Evidence Quotes // source statements
Open archive"MS of man operating a skeleton hovering Avrocar model in room."
Unknown speaker / NARA Catalog
Shot list summary
"Series of shots of full scale Avrocar mockup being constructed of wood."
Unknown speaker / NARA Catalog
Shot list summary
Pattern Mesh // linked sightings
Kronkite and Cooper on UFOs Audio
NASA archival audio tape features Walter Cronkite and astronaut Gordon Cooper discussing UFOs.
Same source archive
Shared tags: item, json, moving
Fort Belvoir Saucer Lab, 1952
Army physicist crafts flying saucers to order in Virginia laboratory.
Same source archive
Shared tags: item, json, moving
Flying Saucer Wreck in Tobacco Shed, 1949
Air Force discovers novel round-wing craft in Maryland shed amid saucer stir.
Same source archive
Shared tags: item, json, moving
UFOs Fact or Fiction Broadcast, 1974
WWDC radio documentary probes Project Blue Book and UFO debates with military, scientists, aviators.
Same source archive
Shared tags: item, json, moving
CIA UFO Film from Montana and Utah, 1956
Silent footage of unidentified flying objects analyzed by Air Force and Navy labs, unidentifiable.
Same source archive
Shared tags: item, json, moving
NARA Catalog Export: Unidentified Flying Objects
National Archives metadata compilation on UFO records from moving images and sound.
Same source archive
Shared tags: item, json, moving
Chronology Trace // before & after
Official Files // source material
1 linkedDFD Avrocar I Progress Report
[ { "levelOfDescription": "item", "recordType": "description", "shotList": "Summary: 1) AV & MLS of Avro Facility at Malton, Ontario. 2) Series of shots of full scale Avrocar mockup being constructed of wood. 3) Shows < scale model of Avrocar being built and tested in Avro wind tunnel. 4) Scenes of 1/5 scale model of Avrocar being tested in wind tunnel at WADC. 5) Series of shots of full scale 20-foot segment of the peripheral nozzle and outer portion of wing being constructed and tested for propulsion and control - includes control room scenes and automatic recording equipment. 6) MS of man operating a skeleton hovering Avrocar model in room. 7) MLS of analog computer and oscillograph. 8) Several shots of men working at drawing boards. 9) Series of shots showing manufacture