Amphibious Heli-Vector in flight with inventor McCarty. Flying Platforms The first Thrust-Vector flight was made by aeronautical engineer Charles Horton Zimmerman on a manned air vehicle designed for travel through the air where flight results from the simple interplay of two forces: the pilot's weight and an equivalent amount of thrust under his feet. Simply put, the pilot leans in the direction he wants to go. Holding this inclined position, he flies in a state of suspended toppling that is neutralized by the thrust carrying him forward. He sets his speed by his angle of incline, matching it with enough thrust to support him and meet air resistance. An alternate platform design similar to that of the Thrust-Vector is the HeliVector. This technology uses collective pitch movement similar to an ordinary helicopter to establish controlled flight, except the rotor and collective head are mounted upside-down underneeth the pilot's feet. Amazingly, the inventor was not injured during test flights and hovered successfully on both land and water.