Dassault Balzac V
| Dassault Balzac V | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Experimental airplane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
October 12, 1962 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 prototype |
The Dassault Balzac V (V for vertical) was an experimental aircraft from the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation that could take off and land vertically ( VTOL ). It was designed as a supersonic aircraft with a lift and thrust engine configuration (lift + cruise).
history
The Balzac wanted to check the vertical take-off concept. To do this, Dassault modified the first prototype of the Mirage III . Eight Rolls-Royce RB.108 lift engines - each with a thrust of 9.6 kN (2,160 lb ) - were attached to the fuselage for vertical take-off and landing . The Bristol-Siddeley Orpheus with 4,850 lb was used as the cruise engine.
The aircraft performed its first tethered hover on October 12, 1962; The first free hover flight took place on October 18, 1962, and the first conventionally conducted flight on March 1, 1963. The first transition from vertical to horizontal flight took place in the same month.
The name of the aircraft was not chosen in honor of the French writer Honoré de Balzac , but because of an advertisement for a film advertising agency that published its telephone number: "BALZAC 0-0-1".
The plane crashed on January 27, 1964, killing the pilot. Although the machine could be repaired, it crashed again on September 8, 1965, again with the death of the pilot, this time with complete destruction of the machine. The main reason for the two crashes was the loss of thrust due to the engine inlets and outlets during the transition to hover flight.
The findings of the Balzac V program were incorporated into the much larger Mirage IIIV .
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 13.10 m |
| span | 7.32 m |
| height | 4.6 m |
| Wing area | 27.2 m² |
| Empty mass | 6,124 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 7,000 kg |
| Top speed | 1,104 km / h |
| Flight time | 15 minutes |
| Engines | 1 × Turbofan Bristol Orpheus , 21.6 kN (4,850 lb) 8 × Turbojets Rolls-Royce RB.108 , each 9.6 kN (2,160 lb) |
See also
literature
- Dominique Breffort, Andre Jouineau: The Mirage III, 5, 50 and derivatives from 1955 to 2000. In: Planes and Pilots 6. , Histoire et Collections, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-913903-92-4 .
- Paul Jackson: Modern Combat Aircraft 23 - Mirage. Guild Publishing, London 1985, ISBN 0-7110-1512-0 .
- San Emeterio Carlos Pérez: Mirage: Espejismo de la técnica y de la política. Armas 30. Editorial San Martin, Madrid 1978, ISBN 84-7140-158-4 .
