Vehicles known as "Flying Jeeps" were built and flown by the Piasecki Company and the U.S. Army and Navy in the early 60's. These Vertical Take-Off & Landing machines proved the basic viability of a ducted, dual-fan configuration. However they had limitations in controllability and payload capacity that had no technological solutions at the time.

Modern-day versions of the concept are being developed by Urban Aeronautics Ltd. (UrbanAero). Their designs include such improvements as computerized flight control (fly-by-wire) on-board computers. They simplify the complexity of piloting the aircraft, and they also reduce the weight of the machine by replacing heavy mechanics with electronic controls. Advanced composite materials also make the vehicle lighter and stronger. As well, Urban Aero uses modern turbine engines that are significantly lighter and more powerful than those available in the 60's.

Another feature of the Urban Aeronautics prototypes is a patented vane control system. This system consists of a cascade of vanes at the inlet of the duct and a cascade of vanes at the outlet to give the vehicle exceptional maneuverability. They generate pure lateral forces that allow the vehicle to move sideways without the need to roll the aircraft, clearly a novel and unique advancement.