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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1892.PDF
FLIGHT International, 24 October 1963 699 VJ 101C Transition THE first full flight demonstration of the West German EWR Siid VJ 101C XI supersonic vertical take-off aircraft was given at Manching Airfield, near Munich, on October 16. The VJ 101 took off vertically 20yd in front of its audience, immediately rotated its wing-tip engines and accelerated into forward flight. After completing a conventional circuit, it landed vertically again immediately in front of the onlookers. The first such transition was made less than six months after the aircraft made its first hovering flight on April 9, and after a total flight and hovering time of only 3ihr. The VJ 101C is the second VTOL aircraft—both powered by Rolls-Royce lift engines—to reach this stage in its flight trials in less than six months. The first was the Dassault Balzac, forerunner of the Mirage III-V supersonic VTOL strike aircraft which is on order for the French Air Force and will make its first flight early in 1964. The VJ 101C is powered by six Rolls-Royce RB.145 turbojets each rated at 2,7501b thrust. Two are mounted vertically in the fuselage as lift jets and the others are paired in swivelling wing-tip pods. For VTOL these pods are turned vertically so that all engines provide jet lift, but for conventional forward flight they are swivelled to the horizontal position to provide propulsive thrust. Rolls-Royce designed and developed the complete wing-tip pod swivelling instal lation. The second machine, the VJ 101C X2, has RB.145 engines with reheat, which boosts thrust to 3,6501b. This aircraft is fast approaching completion.
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