Aérospatiale Ludion
| Aérospatiale SA-610 Ludion | |
|---|---|
 The Ludion in the Musée du Bourget |
|
| Type: | Experimental aircraft for vertical takeoff and landing |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
1967 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Aérospatiale SA-610 Ludion (Ludion = cadet) is a single-seat test aircraft for vertical take-offs and landings from France .
history
The Ludion was a tiny, unorthodox whiz kid that was demonstrated at the 1967 Paris Air Show. The Ludion consisted of little more than a chair behind which two downward-pointing rocket engines with vector thrust controls and the fuel tanks were mounted. The Ludion could carry a pilot and 30 kg payload up to 700 m and at a height of up to 200 m. The extraordinary engine consisted of a monovalent combustion chamber, which was fed isopropyl nitrate (AVPIN) under pressure , which was ignited by means of a catalyst. The gases generated in the combustion chamber were expelled at high pressure through two booster tubes designed by Jean Bertin on both sides of the pilot's seat at a slight angle downwards. The gas in the thrust amplifier tubes, which was introduced through rocket nozzles, had a suction effect in the upper opening of the tubes, so that on the inside of the air flow as an aerothermodynamic channel, the thrust amplifier tubes were protected from the heat and kinetic energy of the flow.
The Ludion is on display in the Musee d'L'Air, in Le Bourget, Paris.
Technical specifications
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: load 30 kg
- Length: 1.95 m
- Width: 1.485 m
- Height: 1.6 m
- Empty weight: 90 kg
- Gross weight: 170 kg
- Powerplant: 1 × SEPR S178 isopropyl nitrate (AVPIN) decomposition gas generator with thrust amplifier tubes
Web links
credentials
- ↑ AEROSPATIAL LUDION SPECIFICATIONS . Thunderman.net. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
- Michael JH Taylor: Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation . Studio Editions, London 1989, p. 38.