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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1347.PDF
FLIGHT International, 1 August 1963 171 such a device would appear vulnerable even to the personal arms of any front-line soldier. Nevertheless, the USMC, who spend their appropriations with care, are evaluating the Flex-Bee in a serious manner. Ryan set the ball rolling in 1961 by flying an early example by remote control after launching it from a moving vehicle at their Twenty-nine Palms, Calif, test base. Marine Corps observers were impressed, and in April this year Ryan received an Office of Naval Research contract for further flight testing. For several years the Marine Corps have sought a minimum- cost re-usable reconnaissance drone system capable of being used in all kinds of battle situations. The Flex-Bee appears to meet their requirements. The system comprises the Bee itself, a rail launcher (using "a cartridge-type propellant, actuated by a string lanyard") and a radio command unit. It is intended to make the complete system fold into a box which can be carried by two men, who can then operate it in the field without assistance. Powerplant of the Flex-Bee is a 9£ h.p. McCulloch MC-40, which drives the craft at 65 m.p.h. on the level. The flight limits have yet to be explored, but the Bee is expected to be controllable over a radius of several miles, and to be able to operate at up to 5,000ft while gathering information by photographic or TV camera(s). Ryan state, "Its small size would present difficulties to the enemy both in radar and visual identifications. Should the 'Flex-Bee' draw fire, the enemy would betray its position as readily as through photographic or television reconnaissance." Ryan are making eight Flex-Bees, and two sets of ground equip ment, and deliveries began late in May. Initial testing started last month at the Army test station at Yuma, Arizona, and further tests were due to begin last month at the USMC base at Quantico, Virginia. Delivery of the first Fleep has also been made (last month). This payload-carrier for the Army is flown by a pilot who rides with it, and Ryan are confident that personnel accustomed only to operating ground vehicles "could be quickly trained to fly and maintain the 'Fleep'." Ryan's initial Army contract amounted to 1700,000, and it provides for design, fabrication and test of two Fleeps able to operate from any fairly smooth run of 300ft and to carry a payload of 1,0001b up to 100 miles. Initial flights are now taking place at Yuma, the pilot being Lou Everett. Base manager in charge of the company crew is Duane Jensen, and also on hand is the project engineer Peter F. Girard, one of whose VTOL proposals was reported in this journal last November 1. The Yuma programme at present comprises two phases: a company evaluation requiring about 15 flights (some lOhr in the air), and a second phase in which Army troops will be trained in Fleep operation. Trials with ACD air-cargo vehicles have been in progress since April, again at the Yuma, Arizona, station. Simple Flexible Wings are being attached above aluminium cargo containers loaded with ballast and stabilized by multiple tail surfaces. The container has four wheels, and is towed off a runway by an Army Sikorsky H-34 helicopter making a rolling take-off. Once in the air the ACD glider rides steadily below and behind the tug on the end of a 400ft steel cable. The helicopter can release the cable from the load, enabling the latter to glide to any chosen area under the con trol of a radio command station in the air or on the ground; or it can home on to a radio beacon at the dropping site. This ACD programme is the largest of three contracts awarded Ryan by the US Army, with a total value of almost $2m, the other two being the Fleep and the PDG. The ACD specification for the Army TRECOM calls for a payload of 1,0001b. Ryan state that the ACD gliders so far tested have "achieved a gross weight of 1,1001b and will eventually reach an 1,8001b capacity." Ryan envisage further development to 8,0001b. Last of the three TRECOM programmes, the PDG is also making good progress at Yuma, and first details are now available for publication. In this concept the Flex-Wing is folded into a com pact package like a parachute pack and attached above a simple fibre-board box. Payload is 3001b in current experiments, but the system is ultimately to include loads up to 5,0001b. More than 130 drops have been made from aeroplanes and heli copters, at altitudes from 500ft to 9,000ft. As the container is ejected a static line initiates a sequence of operations to deploy the Flex-Wing and start guidance and control. Glide ratio is about 3:1, so that from 9,000ft the PDG can reach any point within a radius of about five miles. Again, the vehicle can home on a port able ground beacon or be guided by radio command from the dropping aircraft or elsewhere. The unloaded box may be em ployed as a troop shelter, and, like the Flex-Wing, may be used again; one of the Yuma PDGs and its control system flew 31 mis sions, and several others were used on over a dozen flights. Like all Flex-Wing applications, the PDG has been constructed entirely of standard off-the-shelf hardware and electronics sub assemblies. This has assisted greatly in minimizing cost, and is also partly responsible for the very high degree of reliability which is being achieved even at this early stage. Seen above being towed (by an H-34) on the end of a 400ft cable, the ACD glider is unusual among aircraft in that the wing is brought to the payload and attached to it frs A PDG in flight at Yuma. One of the standard types of carrier during trials is jta CV-2B Caribou, one of which is visible m the background
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