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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1838.PDF
928 FLIGHT, 13 December 1957 The Vertiplane with flaps fully retracted. It is seen, as in the other views, in a nearly completed state, and should fly in a few weeks. Maj.-Gen. F. Yount, U.S. Army Chief of Transportation, congratulates Bruce Smith, Ryan's vice-president engineering, on the roll-out at the San Diego plant. Ryan's Turboprop- powered Vertiplane /CONCURRENTLY with the development of their^ tail-sitter X-13 Vertijet, the Ryan Aeronautical Co. of San Diego, Calif., have been working on a propeller-driven VTOL aircraft, and photographs of the proto- type have lately been released.As will be seen from the reproductions on this page, vertical lift is obtained on the deflected-slipstream prin-ciple. Two large three-bladed wooden propellers, shaft- driven from a Lycoming T53 turboprop powerplantlocated within the fuselage, are mounted in front of, and slighdy below, a high wing of low aspect-ratio. At thetrailing edge, and extending over the whole of the short span, are double retractable flaps which, when fullyextended, present a large downward-deflecting surface to the slipstream. Fore-and-aft surfaces depending fromthe wing-tips both act as flap-guides (there are also guides at the wing roots) and serve to confine the slip-stream to the flap area. In addition to the conventional stick and rudder pedals for forward flight "special pro-visions" of an unspecified nature have been made to ensure full control in hovering flight (close examinationof the photographs suggests the presence of some form of jet-deflection device at the extreme tail end of thefuselage). Transition from vertical or hovering flight is made by progressive retraction of the flaps. On landing,the pilot makes his approach with power on and some flap deflection. Then he extends the flaps fully andincreases power until the desired slow rate of descent is reached, ending in a touch-down at no forward speed.Flap drag helps to accomplish a smooth landing tran- sition at almost constant attitude. The Vertiplane has been built by Ryan for the U.S.Army under the technical direction of the Office of Naval Research, and is visualized as performingmedium-speed liaison, reconnaissance or utility duties. It should also have applications, say Ryan, for anti-submarine work or, in civil service, as an executive transport or feederliner. All-up weight of the two-seat prototype is approxi-mately 2,600 1b. Overall length is 27ft 8in, height 10ft 8in and span 23ft Sin. The T53 is rated at about900 sJi.p. A stilty undercarriage provides ground clearance tor the vast flaps in their fully extended position for VTOL slip- stream deflection. This prototype has seating for two.
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