VTOL

Page issues

The Harrier Jump Jet, one of the most famous and

successful fixed-wing single-engine VTOL aircraft
A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)
aircraft is one that can hover, take off,
and land vertically. This classification
can include a variety of types of aircraft
including fixed-wing aircraft as well as
helicopters and other aircraft with
powered rotors, such as
cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors.[1]
Some VTOL aircraft can operate in other
modes as well, such as CTOL
(conventional take-off and landing), STOL
(short take-off and landing), and/or
STOVL (short take-off and vertical
landing). Others, such as some
helicopters, can only operate by VTOL,
due to the aircraft lacking landing gear
that can handle horizontal motion. VTOL
is a subset of V/STOL (vertical and/or
short take-off and landing).

Besides the ubiquitous helicopter, there

are currently two types of VTOL aircraft
in military service: craft using a tiltrotor,
such as the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, and
another using directed jet thrust, such as
the Harrier family and new F-35B
Lightning II Joint strike Fighter (JSF). In
the civilian sector currently only
helicopters are in general use (some
other types of commercial VTOL aircraft
have been proposed and are under
development as of 2017). Generally
speaking, VTOL aircraft capable of
STOVL use it wherever possible, since it
typically significantly increases takeoff
weight, range or payload compared to
pure VTOL.[2]

History
Props, proprotors and
advanced rotorcraft

The idea of vertical flight has been

around for thousands of years and
sketches for a VTOL (helicopter) shows
up in Leonardo da Vinci's sketch book.
Manned VTOL aircraft, in the form of
primitive helicopters, first flew in 1907
but would take until after World War Two
to perfect.[3][4]
In addition to helicopter development,
many approaches have been tried to
develop practical aircraft with vertical
take-off and landing capabilities
including Henry Berliner's 1922–1925
experimental horizontal rotor fixed wing
aircraft, and Nikola Tesla's 1928 patent
and George Lehberger's 1930 patent for
relatively impractical VTOL fixed wing
airplanes with a tilting engines.[5][6][7] In
the late 1930s British aircraft designer
Leslie Everett Baynes was issued a
patent for the Baynes Heliplane, another
tilt rotor aircraft. In 1941 German
designer Heinrich Focke's began work on
the Focke-Achgelis Fa 269, which had
two rotors that tilted downward for
vertical takeoff, but wartime bombing
halted development.[7]

Convair XFY-1 Pogo in flight

In May 1951, both Lockheed and Convair

were awarded contracts in the attempt to
design, construct, and test two
experimental VTOL fighters. Lockheed
produced the XFV, and Convair producing
the Convair XFY Pogo. Both experimental
programs proceeded to flight status and
completed test flights 1954–1955, when
the contracts were cancelled.[8] Similarly,
the X-13 flew a series of test flights
between 1955 and 1957, but also
suffered the same fate.[9]

The use of vertical fans driven by engines

was investigated in the 1950s. The US
built an aircraft where the jet exhaust
drove the fans, while British projects not
built included fans driven by mechanical
drives from the jet engines.

Bell XV-15
NASA has flown other VTOL craft such
as the Bell XV-15 research craft (1977),
as have the Soviet Navy and Luftwaffe.
Sikorsky tested an aircraft dubbed the X-
Wing, which took off in the manner of a
helicopter. The rotors would become
stationary in mid-flight, and function as
wings, providing lift in addition to the
static wings. Boeing X-50 is a Canard
Rotor/Wing prototype that utilizes a
similar concept.[10]

Fairey Jet Gyrodyne

A different British VTOL project was the
gyrodyne, where a rotor is powered
during take-off and landing but which
then freewheels during flight, with
separate propulsion engines providing
forward thrust. Starting with the Fairey
Gyrodyne, this type of aircraft later
evolved into the much larger twin-
engined Fairey Rotodyne, that used
tipjets to power the rotor on take-off and
landing but which then used two Napier
Eland turboprops driving conventional
propellers mounted on substantial wings
to provide propulsion, the wings serving
to unload the rotor during horizontal
flight. The Rotodyne was developed to
combine the efficiency of a fixed-wing
aircraft at cruise with the VTOL capability
of a helicopter to provide short haul
airliner service from city centres to
airports.

U.S. Marines jump from a V-22 Osprey, the first

production tiltrotor aircraft

CL-84-1 (CX8402) on display at the Canada Aviation

and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario

The CL-84 was a Canadian V/STOL

turbine tilt-wing monoplane designed and
manufactured by Canadair between 1964
and 1972. The Canadian government
ordered three updated CL-84s for military
evaluation in 1968, designated the CL-84-
1. From 1972 to 1974, this version was
demonstrated and evaluated in the
United States aboard the aircraft carriers
USS Guam and USS Guadalcanal, and at
various other centres. These trials
involved military pilots from the United
States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
During testing, two of the CL-84s crashed
due to mechanical failures, but no loss of
life occurred as a result of these
accidents. No production contracts
resulted.[11]

Although tiltrotors such as the Focke-

Achgelis Fa 269 of the mid-1940s and
the Centro Técnico Aeroespacial
"Convertiplano" of the 1950s reached
testing or mock-up stages, the V-22
Osprey is considered the world's first
production tiltrotor aircraft. It has one
three-bladed proprotor, turboprop engine,
and transmission nacelle mounted on
each wingtip. The Osprey is a multi-
mission aircraft with both a vertical
takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short
takeoff and landing capability (STOL). It
is designed to perform missions like a
conventional helicopter with the long-
range, high-speed cruise performance of
a turboprop aircraft. The FAA classifies
the Osprey as a model of powered lift
aircraft.[12]

Attempts were made in the 1960s to

develop a commercial passenger aircraft
with VTOL capability. The Hawker
Siddeley Inter-City Vertical-Lift proposal
had two rows of lifting fans on either
side. However, none of these aircraft
made it to production after they were
dismissed as too heavy and expensive to
operate.[13][14]
Jet lift

The Ryan X-13

In 1947, Ryan X-13 Vertijet, a tailsitter

design, was ordered by the US Navy, who
then further issued a proposal in 1948 for
an aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and
landing (VTOL) aboard platforms
mounted on the afterdecks of
conventional ships. Both Convair and
Lockheed competed for the contract but
in 1950, the requirement was revised,
with a call for a research aircraft capable
of eventually evolving into a VTOL ship-
based convoy escort fighter.

"Flying Bedstead"- Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig

Another more influential early functional

contribution to VTOL was Rolls-Royce's
Thrust Measuring Rig ("flying bedstead")
of 1953. This led to the first VTOL
engines as used in the first British VTOL
aircraft, the Short SC.1 (1957), Short
Brothers and Harland, Belfast which used
four vertical lift engines with a horizontal
one for forward thrust.

The Short SC.1 a VTOL delta aircraft

The Short SC.1 was the first British fixed-

wing VTOL aircraft. The SC.1 was
designed to study the problems with
VTOL flight and the transition to and from
forward flight. The SC.1 was designed to
meet a Ministry of Supply (MoS) request
for tender (ER.143T) for a vertical take-
off research aircraft issued in September
1953. The design was accepted by the
ministry and a contract was placed for
two aircraft (XG900 and XG905) to meet
Specification ER.143D dated 15 October
1954. The SC.1 was also equipped with
the first "fly-by-wire" control system for a
VTOL aircraft. This permitted three
modes of control of the aerodynamic
surfaces and/or the nozzle controls.

The Soviet Union's VTOL aircraft, the Yakovlev Yak-

38
The Yakovlev Yak-38 was a Soviet Navy
VTOL aircraft intended for use aboard
their light carriers, cargoships, and
capital ships. It was developed from the
Yakovlev Yak-36 experimental aircraft in
the 1970s. Before the Soviet Union broke
up, a supersonic VTOL aircraft was
developed as the Yak-38's successor, the
Yak-141, which never went into
production.[15]

A German V/STOL VJ101 on display at the

Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany
Do 31 E3 on display at the Deutsches Museum,
Germany

In the 1960s and early 1970s, Germany

planned three different VTOL aircraft.
One used the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
as a basis for research for a V/STOL
aircraft. Although two models (X1 and
X2) were built, the project was canceled
due to high costs and political problems
as well as changed needs in the German
Air Force and NATO. The EWR VJ 101C
did perform free VTOL take-offs and
landings, as well as test flights beyond
mach 1 in the mid- and late 60s. One of
the test-aircraft is preserved in the
Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany.
The others were the VFW-Fokker VAK
191B light fighter and reconnaissance
aircraft, and the Dornier Do 31E-3 (troop)
transport.[16]

The LLRV was a spacecraft simulator for

the Apollo lunar lander.[17] It was
designed to mimic the flight
characteristics of the lunar module
(LEM), which had to rely on a reaction
engine to land on the Moon.

The idea of using the same engine for

vertical and horizontal flight by altering
the path of the thrust led to the Bristol
Siddeley Pegasus engine which used
four rotating nozzles to direct thrust over
a range of angles.[18] This was developed
side by side with an airframe, the Hawker
P.1127, which became subsequently the
Kestrel and then entered production as
the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, though the
supersonic Hawker Siddeley P.1154 was
canceled in 1965. The French in
competition with the P.1154 had
developed a version of the Dassault
Mirage III capable of attaining Mach 1.
The Dassault Mirage IIIV achieved
transition from vertical to horizontal
flight in March 1966, reaching Mach 1.3
in level flight a short time later.

V/STOL
The Harrier is usually flown in STOVL
mode, which enables it to carry a higher
fuel or weapon load over a given
distance.[2] In V/STOL the VTOL aircraft
moves horizontally along the runway
before taking off using vertical thrust.
This gives aerodynamic lift as well as
thrust lift and permits taking off with
heavier loads and is more efficient. When
landing the aircraft is much lighter due to
the loss of propellant weight and a
controlled vertical landing is possible.

Now retired from British Royal Navy

service, the Indian Navy operates Sea
Harriers mainly from its aircraft carrier
INS Viraat. The latest version of the
Harrier, the BAE Harrier II has also been
retired in December 2010, after being
operated by the British Royal Air Force
and Royal Navy. The United States
Marine Corps, and the Italian and
Spanish Navies use the AV-8B Harrier II,
an equivalent derivative of the Harrier II.
The Harrier II/AV-8 will be replaced in the
air arms of the US and UK by a STOVL
variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35
Lightning II. An important aspect of
Harrier STOL operations aboard Naval
carriers was the "ski jump" raised forward
deck, which gave the craft additional
vertical momentum at takeoff.

Modern drones
A Schiebel Camcopter S-100, a modern VTOL
unmanned aerial vehicle

In the 21st century, unmanned drones are

becoming increasingly commonplace.
Many of these have VTOL capability,
especially the quadcopter type. Others,
such as the Schiebel Camcopter S-100
are more conventional.

Rockets
Grasshopper was a VTVL first-stage
booster test vehicle SpaceX developed to
validate various low-altitude, low-velocity
engineering aspects of its large-vehicle
reusable rocket technology.[19] The test
vehicle made eight successful test[20]
flights in 2012–2013. Grasshopper v1.0
made its eighth, and final, test flight on
October 7, 2013, flying to an altitude of
744 metres (2,441 ft) (0.46 miles) before
making its eighth successful VTVL
landing.[21]

On November 23, 2015, Blue Origin's New

Shepard booster rocket made the first
successful vertical landing following an
unmanned suborbital test flight that
reached space.[22] On December 21,
2015, SpaceX's 20th Falcon 9 first stage
made a successful landing after boosting
11 commercial satellites to low earth
orbit on Falcon 9 Flight 20.[23] These
demonstrations potentially open the way
for substantial reductions in space flight
costs.[24]

Rotorcraft
Helicopter

The helicopter's form of VTOL allows it to

take off and land vertically, to hover, and
to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally.
These attributes allow helicopters to be
used in congested or isolated areas
where fixed-wing aircraft would usually
not be able to take off or land. The
capability to efficiently hover for
extended periods of time is due to the
helicopter's relatively long, and hence
efficient rotor blades, and allows a
helicopter to accomplish tasks that fixed-
wing aircraft and other forms of vertical
takeoff and landing aircraft could not
perform at least as well until 2011.

On the other hand, the long rotor blades

restrict the maximum speed to about 250
miles per hour (400 km/h) of at least
conventional helicopters, as retreating
blade stall causes lateral instability.
Autogyro

Autogyros are also known as gyroplanes

or gyrocopters. The rotor is unpowered
and rotates freely in the airflow as the
craft travels forward, so the craft needs a
conventional powerplant to provide
thrust. An autogyro is not intrinsically
capable of VTOL: for VTO the rotor must
be spun up to speed by an auxiliary drive,
and vertical landing requires precise
control of rotor momentum and pitch.

Gyrodyne

Gyrodynes are also known as compound

helicopters or compound gyroplanes. A
gyrodyne has the powered rotor of a
helicopter with a separate forward thrust
system of an autogyro. Apart from take-
off and landing the rotor may be
unpowered and autorotate. Designs may
also include stub wings for added lift.

Cyclogyro

A cyclogyro or cyclocopter has a rotary

wing whose axis and surfaces remain
sideways across the airflow, as with a
conventional wing.

Powered lift
Convertiplane
A convertiplane takes off under rotor lift
like a helicopter, then transitions to fixed-
wing lift in forward flight.

Tiltrotor

A tiltrotor or proprotor tilts its propellers

or rotors vertically for VTOL and then tilts
them forwards for horizontal wing-borne
flight, while the main wing remains fixed
in place.

Tiltjet

Similar to tiltrotor concept, but with

turbojet or turbofan engines instead of
ones with propellers.
Tiltwing

A tiltwing has its propellers or rotors

fixed to a conventional wing and tilts the
whole assembly to transition between
vertical and horizontal flight.

Tail-sitter

A tail-sitter sits vertically on its tail for

takeoff and landing, then tilts the whole
aircraft forward for horizontal flight.

Vectored thrust

Thrust vectoring is a technique used for

jet and rocket engines, where the
direction of the engine exhaust is varied.
In VTOL, the exhaust can be varied
between vertical and horizontal thrust.

Lift jets

A lift jet is an auxiliary jet engine used to

provide lift for VTOL operation, but may
be shut down for normal wing-borne
flight.

Lift fans

Lift fan is an aircraft configuration in

which lifting fans are located in large
holes in an otherwise conventional fixed
wing or fuselage. It is used for V/STOL
operation.
The aircraft takes off using the fans to
provide lift, then transitions to fixed-wing
lift in forward flight. Several experimental
craft have been flown, but only the F-35
Lightning II entered into production.

Lift via Coandă effect

Aircraft in which VTOL is achieved by

exploiting the Coandă effect are capable
of redirecting air much like thrust
vectoring, but rather than routing airflow
through a duct, the airflow is simply
routed along an existing surface, which is
usually the body of the craft allowing less
material and weight. The Avro Canada
VZ-9 Avrocar, or simply the VZ-9, was a
Canadian VTOL aircraft developed by
Avro Aircraft Ltd. which utilizes this
phenomenon by blowing air into a central
area, then it is directed down over the top
surface, which is parabolic and
resembles a bowed flying saucer. Due to
the Coandă effect, the airflow is attracted
to the nearest surface and continues to
move along that surface despite the
change in the surface's direction away
from the airflow. The craft is designed to
direct the airflow downward to provide
lift.

Gallery
 Play media

F-35 flight, transition to STOVL

configuration, vertical take off, inflight re-
fueling, vertical hover and landing

Play media

F-35 vertical landing

See also
Circular wing
List of Nikola Tesla patents
List of VTOL aircraft
McDonnell Douglas DC-X
Mono tiltrotor
Peter Bielkowicz
Proprotor
PTOL
Quad (rocket)
Reusable Vehicle Testing project of the
Japanese Space Agency JAXA
Rotor wing
Thrust reversal
 Thrust vectoring

References
Notes

1. Laskowitz, I.B. "Vertical Take-Off and

Landing (VTOL) Aircraft." Annals of the
New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 107,
Art.1, 25 March 1963.
2. Khurana KC (2009). Aviation
Management: Global Perspectives .
p. 133. ISBN 9789380228396.
3. Yefim Gordon, The History of VTOL,
page 28
4. John Whiteclay Chambers, The Oxford
Companion to American Military History,
Oxford University Press, USA, 1999, page
748
5. "U.S. Patent 1,655,113." US Patent
Office. Retrieved; 10 July 2011.
6. By A.J.S. RAYL, Nikola Tesla's Curious
Contrivance, Air & Space Magazine,
September 2006 – online
7. globalsecurity.org, Military Aircraft,
Rotary, Tiltrotor
8. Allen 2007, pp. 13–20.
9. "The new Vertijet's straight-up flight: X-
13 takes off like a rocket, lands tailfirst."
Life, 20 May 1957, pp. 136–140, 142.
10. Simonsen, Erik. "Another one for the X
files: The Boeing Canard Rotor/Wing
demonstrator officially becomes X-50A."
Boeing.com. Retrieved: May 24, 2015.
11. Boniface 2000, p. 74.
12. Norton 2004, pp. 6–9, 95–96.
13. "BAE animates mothballed Intercity
Vertical-Lift Aircraft." Aerospace-
technology.com. Retrieved: 24 May 2015.
14. "Forgotten 1960s ‘Thunderbirds’
projects brought to life." BAE Systems.
Retrieved: 24 May 2015.
15. "Vertical take-off/landing aircraft: Yak-
38." Yakovlev Design Bureau, 16 July
2008. Retrieved: 10 July 2011.
16. Jackson 1976, p. 143.
17. "Lunar Landing Research Vehicle."
Dryden Flight Research Center. Retrieved:
10 July 2011.
18. "Airfoil". Basics of Aeronautics.
Retrieved: 24 May 2015.
19. "Reusable rocket prototype almost
ready for first liftoff" . Spaceflight Now.
2012-07-09. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
“SpaceX has constructed a half-acre
concrete launch facility in McGregor, and
the Grasshopper rocket is already
standing on the pad, outfitted with four
insect-like silver landing legs.”
20. "Grasshopper Completes Highest
Leap to Date" . SpaceX.com. 10 March
2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
21. The Grasshopper prototype test
vehicle has been retired. "Grasshopper
flies to its highest height to date" . Social
media information release. SpaceX. 12
October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
“WATCH: Grasshopper flies to its highest
height to date – 744 m (2441 ft) into the
Texas sky. http://youtu.be/9ZDkItO-0a4
This was the last scheduled test for the
Grasshopper rig; next up will be low
altitude tests of the Falcon 9 Reusable
(F9R) development vehicle in Texas
followed by high altitude testing in New
Mexico.”
22. "Blue Origin make historic rocket
landing." Blue Origin, November 24, 2015.
Retrieved: November 24, 2015.
23. [1]
24. "Reusable rockets cheaper." ZME
Science, August 20, 2015. Retrieved:
November 24, 2015.

Bibliography

Allen, Francis J. "Bolt upright: Convair's

and Lockheed's VTOL fighters". Air
Enthusiast (Key Publishing), Volume
127, January/February 2007.
ISSN 0143-5450 .
Boniface, Patrick. "Tilt-wing Testing".
Aeroplane, Vol. 28, no. 3, March 2000,
pp. 72–78.
Campbell, John P. Vertical Takeoff &
Landing Aircraft. New York: The
MacMillan Company, 1962.
Harding, Stephen. "Flying Jeeps: The
US Army's Search for the Ultimate
'Vehicle'". Air Enthusiast, No. 73,
January/February 1998, pp. 10–12.
Stamford, Lincs, UK: Key Publishing.
ISSN 0143-5450 .
Jackson, Paul A. German Military
Aviation 1956–1976. Hinckley,
Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties
Publications, 1976. ISBN 0-904597-03-
2.
Khurana, K. C. Aviation Management:
Global Perspectives. Singapore: Global
India Publications, 2009. ISBN 978-9-
3802-2839-6.
 Markman, Steve and Bill Holder.
Straight Up: A History of Vertical Flight.
Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer
Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7643-1204-9.
Norton, Bill. Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey,
Tiltrotor Tactical Transport. Earl Shilton,
Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing,
2004. ISBN 1-85780-165-2.
Rogers, Mike. VTOL: Military Research
Aircraft. New York: Orion Books, 1989.
ISBN 0-517-57684-8.
Büchi, Roland. Fascination
Quadrocopter. Norderstedt, BoD,
English Version, 2011. ISBN 978-3-
8423-6731-9

External links
 Look up VTOL in Wiktionary, the free
dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related

to VTOL aircraft.

Doak VZ-4 image

V/STOL Wheel of Misfortune –
Timeline of V/STOL aircraft , page 5
Tiltplane VTOL Aircraft

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=VTOL&oldid=846043921"

Last edited 9 days ago by Moheen …

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless
otherwise noted.