FanWing aircraft are a little different. They have a powered horizontal rotary fan along the leading edge of their single wing, which serves to pull air over it, creating lift without the need for speed. Britain's FanWing company has been developing the technology since 1999, and has already had success with radio-controlled proof-of-concept models. This month, however, the company announced that it plans to debut a two-seater piloted FanWing aircraft at the 2013 EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh,

First of all, why would anyone want to build an airplane this way?

According to the company, due to the fact that little in the way of speed is required to achieve lift, FanWings can take off and land on very short runways. They are also said to be inexpensive and simple to build, maintain and control; are stable and resistant to turbulence; they won't stall at low speeds; and, they're quiet. Should their engine conk out, their glide ratio is reportedly rather low, although they are still capable of performing an auto-rotational landing.

Wisconsin.