Some people are never satisfied. You give them a plane, and they say it can't hover. You give them a helicopter, and they say it can't fly very high or fast. Looking to combine the advantages of both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, Elytron Aircraft LLC of Mountain View, California is developing the Elytron 2S, a small tiltrotor aircraft that uses a box wing configuration and is aimed at the civilian market.

Airplanes and helicopters do well in their respective aeronautical niches. Airplanes can fly high, fast, far, and carry heavy loads, while helicopters can hover, fly backwards, land and take off vertically, and maneuver in very tight spaces. The tricky thing is when jobs arise where requirements overlap; like an airplane that can land vertically, or a helicopter than can fly at high altitude.