An Inventor Has Completed a Real-World Magnus Effect Plane. Can It Fly?

You might have seen the Magnus effect in action, but chances are, you've probably never had the explanation for it. It's actually a widely seen phenomenon that occurs when a spinning item moves through a fluid. When the item is spinning, the route is deflected differently than when it is not. Because of the Magnus effect, soccer players can bend a soccer ball into a goal around a five-person wall, or baseball pitchers can deliver a breaking ball pitch.

In this video, inventor James Whomsley builds a remote-controlled Magnus effect plane with a cylindrical rotor driven by an electric motor. The interesting thing about it is that such Magnus effect aircraft use a "strange" aerodynamic effect to create lift. After realizing there is a lack of knowledge available on a plane like this, he decided to learn how to do it himself and share it with the world. Check out the video attached above to see how it all turned out. And, as usual, have fun!