Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Home | Dictionary | Timeline | New

X-Control Janus-1 A Suitcase Aircraft

The amazing X-Control Janus-1 aircraft has many different capabilities - and it's an aircraft that fits in a suitcase.

The Janus-I aircraft is small, lightweight and reconfigurable, supporting manned and unmanned operation to perform a variety of missions. With a turbo-shaft engine, the core module weighs only 70kg, yet its maximum payload is 200kg with the endurance ranging from 40 minutes to 8 hours. The aircraft's maximum takeoff weight is 270kg, it has a maximum airspeed of 160km/h and a service ceiling of over 6000m.

The Janus-I reconfigurable aircraft offers unparalleled modularity. It can be outfitted with a single cockpit, a casualty transfer compartment, a cargo hold, and more. Each types of payload can seamlessly connect to the core module, enabling a wide range of mission functions such as 1-2 people manned flight, rescue operations, and aerial reconnaissance.

(Via x-controlsystem.)

(X-Control Janus-1 suitcase aircraft)

Predicted by science fiction? Absolutely. Behold the - a suitcase airplane from a (prophetic!) story by ED Skinner, published in Air Wonder Stories in 1929.

Placing the ornate suitcase he had brought with him in the middle of the floor, he opened it and took out a compact mass of glistening steel....

This is a two-passenger plane... You will notice that it is folded and telescoped into a compact mass which fits the suitcase nicely...

(Suitcase airplane)

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/15/2025)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")

When Colds Threaten You Can't Do This - Or Can You?
'...a hemispherical force field enclosing his head.' - FL Wallace, 1955.

MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.' - Nat Schachner, 1937.

Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.' - Paul Ernst, 1936.

US Army IBEX Exoskeleton Walks Troops Out Of Danger
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.' - Iain Banks, 1987.

 

	Web TechNovelgy.com

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Satyress Centaur Robot Horror Reminds Everyone Of Something
'Fess was very dutiful'

When Colds Threaten You Can't Do This - Or Can You?
'...a hemispherical force field enclosing his head.'

Beautiful Visualization of Dawn Spacecraft
'Then he became aware of a gentle pressure pushing him away from the ship.'

Biological War: A Scenario
'And now they wre busily transforming all their companions, and so on, and so on...'

Pole-Dancing Stripperbot Robot
'Why, a clockwork dancer, or, better still, one that would go by electricity and never run down...'

Collective Superintelligence Is At Hand!
'Maybe the individual intelligence of each Cubic pools into a group intelligence...'

Instant Journalists: Ordinary People With Cell Phones
'We'll show them whose planet this is!'

Health Kiosk Has No Human Doctor
'The electronic body analyzer had been developed...'

Meta's Horizon Studio's Unique Avatars From Text Prompts
'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'

VaMEx Biomimetic Mars Robot Inspired By Skink
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'

NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
'The remains of the lace took on the rough shape of a brain...'

Did Frank Herbert Predict Bistable Displays Like E-Ink?
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'

Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'

'Mooncrete' Lunar Regolith Concrete (LRC)
'And here they began to build...'

China's 'Magpie Drone' Ornithopter
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'

MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories