Would this mechanical apparatus be a new means of creating aerodynamic lift?
Yes, this device would produce some thrust. If oriented properly, this thrust could be used to lift a weight. But it would be extremely inefficient when compared to a standard airfoil, such as a wing or helicopter blade.
What you've basically created is a centrifugal pump without a case. Air would enter the &quot;front&quot; of the device (assuming the motor is the &quot;back&quot;) just like a regular centrifugal pump, but without a case, it would be sprayed in all directions, including at an angle out of the &quot;front&quot;. The curved panel would partially block the radial flow of air upward, creating a net upward force. But the fact that air exits at all angles, not just straight down, means that the various flows would partially cancel each other. What's worse, a lot of the air mass that emerges from the &quot;front&quot; would be drawn back into the incoming air stream, which would consume some of the motor's power but wouldn't contribute to the net thrust at all.
In short, I would be very surprised if this device could match even 1% of the performance of a simple ducted fan of the same power rating.
It's kind of hard to explain what I mean in words, so, here, have some bad, hastily-created images instead: