Focke-Achgelis Fa 269

The Focke‑Achgelis Fa 269 was an ambitious German VTOL aircraft conceived in the early 1940s and later built by the small workshop of Paul Klages. Intended as a hybrid between a conventional fixed‑wing airplane and a vertical‑take‑off rotorcraft, the Fa 269 featured a tilting‑wing concept: its wing could rotate ninety degrees, allowing the propellers mounted at the wingtips to act as lift fans for vertical flight and as conventional propellers for forward thrust. The prototype employed a lightweight steel‑tube frame, a compact Daimler‑Berger 12‑cylinder engine delivering 1 200 hp, and a sophisticated hydraulic system that synchronized wing rotation with throttle control. Although only one airframe reached the ground‑test stage before the war ended, the program demonstrated the feasibility of tilt‑wing technology and influenced post‑war designs such as the Bell XV‑3 and the Canadair CL‑84. The Fa 269’s significance lies in its pioneering approach to true vertical take‑off and landing, proving that a single airframe could transition seamlessly between hover and cruise, a concept that underpins modern tilt‑rotor aircraft. Today a scale replica of the Fa 269 is displayed at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, where it continues to inspire engineers studying hybrid propulsion and control algorithms for future electric VTOL platforms.

Paul Klages

Focke-Achgelis Fa 269

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Design & Classification