Ryan VZ-3
| Ryan VZ-3 | |
|---|---|
|
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| Type: | V / STOL - experimental aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
7th February 1959 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Ryan VZ-3RY Vertiplane (factory designation Model 92) was an experimental V / STOL aircraft made by the US manufacturer Ryan Aeronautical Company in the late 1950s. The technical principle used to generate lift is known as the deflected slipstream . Only one example was built with the USAF / Army serial number 56-6941 and operated from 1959 to 1961.
history
The development of the VZ-3 began in 1956 as a Model 92 on a "private venture" basis, but in the same year the US Army took part in further research with a contract worth 700,000 US dollars. The contract was part of an Army-VTOL research program, in which Vertol also received a development contract for the VTOL experimental aircraft VZ-2 . Another contractual partner in both cases was the Office of Naval Research .
According to the Ryan officials, the planned machine was best suited for army liaison duties, as well as a light passenger and cargo transport aircraft. Ryan's interest in VTOL developments can be seen very broadly at this time, as the company also developed the X-13 at the same time .
The first taxi attempts were made in 1958, the subsequent maiden flight took place in January 1959 at Moffett Field in California. The flight tests showed that hovering in vertical flight was only possible if the aircraft could turn into a stronger headwind. After the first test, the machine was handed over to NASA , where another 21 flights took place. In an accident in which the pilot was able to get off safely, however, the aircraft suffered severe damage. The VZ-3 was rebuilt with a few modifications, so an open cockpit and a fabric-covered bow section were now provided. The program continued until 1961.
construction
The VZ-3 used with a conventional design as a high-wing aircraft relatively simple construction principles. Unconventional, however, were the double retractable wing flaps that were used, and when extended, they reached far back and just above the ground. There were large end caps on the wing to prevent the flow from migrating out of the area below the wing. The two propellers for generating the propeller jet were located on vertical arms under the wing. Because of this buoyancy principle and their appearance, this type of aircraft was also known as a Bucket-VTOL-Craft (literally: bucket-shaped VTOL vehicle).
Control during the vertical ascent, in which the propellers carried the entire weight of the aircraft, was done in two ways. Differential adjustment of the angle of attack of the propellers provided control around the roll axis , while a change in the direction of the engine exhaust gases was used for the vertical and transverse axes . The two Hartzell three-blade wooden propellers were driven by a Lycoming T53 -L1 shaft turbine . During the ascent, the flaps were extended so far that the propeller jet was diverted practically vertically downwards. For the transition to forward flight (transition), the flaps were slowly retracted in conjunction with the effect of the aerodynamic wing lift.
The fuselage, clad with light metal plates, was 7.93 m long, with a T-tail unit at the end . The fixed, braced chassis was designed to be particularly robust due to the expected stress during the test. The tail wheel landing gear originally used had to be replaced by a fixed nose wheel landing gear after detailed wind tunnel investigations in the NASA Ames Center .
Whereabouts
The VZ-3 is owned by the Army Aviation Museum in Fort Rucker.
literature
- Steve Markman, Bill Holder: Straight Up - A History of Vertical Flight , A Schiffer Military History Book, 2000, ISBN 0-7643-1204-9 , pp. 117 ff.
- John M. Andrade: US Military Aircraft Designations and Serials , Midland Counties Publ., 1979, p. 176
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Army Aviation Museum's holdings of VTOL experimental aircraft ( memento from June 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on November 20, 2012)