Doak proposed a VTOL aircraft to the U.S. Armys Army Transportation and Research and Engineering Command at Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia, in 1950.
The aircraft, designated the Doak Model 16 by the Doak company and assigned the serial number 56-9642, was originally powered by an Lycoming YT53 turboprop engine mounted in the fuselage, later replaced by a Lycoming T53-L-1 turbine [REF].