Aviation geeks ... flight simulator fans ... look at this!
The Dornier Do 31 was a design from the 1960's for the German Air Force, the idea was that fixed runways were easy to destroy by enemy action and therefore the design demanded a Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft in the role of tactical support and transport. Dornier came up with the Do 31 and built 3 prototypes called the E1, E2 and E3.
The desing was equiped with 10 engines, 2 horizontal and 8 vertical ones. The E1 prototype was only fitted with the 2 horizontal engines for flight testing, the E2 was a non-flying testframe and the E3 was the one with all 10 engines fitted for full capability testing. The first flights were conducted in 1967, however the design never went beyond the testing phase and was eventually abandoned completely. The E1 eventually ended up at the Dornier Museum in Friedrichshafen where it is currently on display. The E2 might still be around somewhere but its location is unknown. The E3 is on display at the Deutsche's Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim.
In late 2023, JGADV was hired to photograph the Do 31 E3 in every detail in order to create a full 3D digital model for use in Microsoft Flight Simulator.
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