Alexander Lippisch was born in Munich, Germany in 1894. Developing an affinity for delta-winged aircraft, he designed a series of innoative gliders during the 1930s, his concepts ultimately resulting in World War II's rocket-powered ME163 "Komet" interceptor. In 1950, Lippisch joined the American Collins Radio Co. where he investigated the feasibility of building a high-performance Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft. The "Aerodyne" was the most interesting of his concepts: Theoretically, it would be able to outpace most conventional aircraft with the same weight/power ratio, it would be able to achieve super-sonic speed, and it didn't have the operational disadvantages of such "tail-sitters" as the Convair XFY-1 "Pogo," Lockheed's XFV-1 "Salmon," or the Ryan X-13 "Vertijet."
The Aerodyne's lift and propulsion were to be generated by two co-axial shrouded propellers, the slipstream from which would be deflected downward by "flaps" for vertical take-off and landing. Control was to be achieved by deflecting part of the slipstream emerging from the end of the tail boom, and by flaps in the propeller slipstream.