>
> I've been following with interest the latest accidents with the
> Osprey. As a young 2nd Lieutenant assigned to the Wright-
> Patterson AFB Wind Tunnel Branch, I conducted the first wind
> tunnel tests of Bell's entry in a USAF competition for advanced
> vertical lift machines. This was in 1952. There were also
> entries from McDonnell and Sikorsky. This Bell Convertiplane,
> designed by the late Bob Lichton, was the forerunner of the
> Osprey. The complexities of such an aircraft were seen early
> on, so it is no surprise to me that it took over half a century
> to get them into service. And the complexities still haunt them.
>
Some of the more interesting experiments with VTOL/STOL aircraft were the
Vought XF5U "Flying Flapjack"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_XF5U
the Ryan VZ-3 Vertiplane:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_VZ-3_Vertiplane
the Convair XFY1 "Flying Pogo Stick", which had three-bladed contra-rotating
propellers and small fixed wheels at the tips of four wings:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_XFY_Pogo
and finally the Ryan X-13 Vertijet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_X-13_Vertijet
which was "landed" by engaging a hook in the bottom of the aircraft to a cable
on a short tower. Uh-huh!
Chris
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