Garrett STAMP


The Garrett STAMP was a two-person aircraft prototype made by a division of AiResearch Manufacturing Co. of Phoenix, Arizona, for the United States Marine Corps STAMP program, in the early 1970s.
The prototype took off and manoeuvred by means of a ducted turbine, much like the Harrier. Unlike the Harrier it had no wings and had to depend on the fan's thrust for lift at all times. This gave it an expected range of 30 miles at a speed of 75 mph. The power came from a Garrett TSE-231 turbine normally used to power helicopters. The turbine gave 1050 pounds of thrust by running at 6000 rpm. Two persons sat in a closed cockpit adapted from a small helicopter.
The prototype was successfully tested in tethered flight on December 21, 1973 inside a hangar at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in California. Its competitor in the STAMP program was a one-person open-cockpit craft called the Williams Aerial Systems Platform, made by Williams International.