Aircraft Quiz #61

[Doug Robertson]

What exceedingly unusual human-piloted aircraft was the very FIRST of its type to fly, takeoff and land successfully, and in a flight demonstration flew across a river, destroyed a rose garden with its thrust and landed successfully in a net. The pilot survived without injury. Your answers must meet all the specific questions.

1. Manufacturer?

2, Aircraft nomenclature?

3. Year of first successful flight?

4a. What engine make powered the aircraft?, 4b.engine nomenclature?

5. Why was it discontinued in development? Be specific.

[Helicopterfriend]

1. Ryan

2. Only successful US Jet tail-sitter, X-13 Vertijet (company designation Model 69) was an experimental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) ). 23 ft 5 in (7.14 m) long, The high mounted delta wing of the aircraft had a wingspan of only 21 ft (6.4 m) and was capped with flat endplates. The nose of the aircraft had a hook on the underside and a short pole for gauging distance from the trailer. The hook was used to hang the Vertijet from the vertical trailer bed landing platform. After the aircraft was secured vertically, the trailer was lowered to horizontal and then used to transport the aircraft on the ground. Roll control was provided by "puffer" jets (also known as "jet reaction control") mounted outboard of the wingtip endplates.

3. The first prototype (#54-1619) was fitted with temporary landing gear and made its first horizontal flight on December 10, 1955

4. Rolls-Royce Avon RA.28 turbojet, 10,000 lbf,

4a. axial flow jet engine designed and produced by Rolls-Royce. Intended as a jet successor to the Merlin, introduced in 1950 it went on to become one of their most successful post-World War II engine designs.

5. The Air Force chose not to continue development of the Ryan X-13 Vertijet because of the lack of an operational requirement.

On July 28-July 29, 1957, the X-13 was demonstrated in Washington, D.C. It crossed the Potomac River and landed at the Pentagon.

Flight tests were performed by two test pilots: Ryan's Chief Test Pilot Peter F. "Pete" Girard, and Ryan Test Pilot W. L. "Lou" Everett.

[Doug Robertson]

Walt,

I congratulate you on all right answers and your most timely reply with welcome photos. You may have set a correct response time Quiz record. BRAVO ZULU to you!

In the early 1950s military aircraft manufacturers were able to spend company money bringing out new designs without any specific production contract. No
longer is that the case with military aircraft costs/defense budgets. The Ryan X-13 VERTIJET failed in small payload and short range, together with NO APPARENT military requirement. Of interest, the X-13 had a 1:1 thrust to weight ratio, necessary for vertical, accelerated flight.

Similar thing happened with the plethora of would-be commercial airliner manufacturers after Lindbergh's successful non-stop trans-Atlantic flight in 1927 from New York to Paris excited aviation world-wide. Some designs succeeded, some failed, while rapid technology such as the all-metal Douglas DC-2, a direct development of the sole DC-1, then the incredibly successful DC-3 blew away the contemporary competition. (Some 24 versions of the DC-3 were built, even in Russia as the Li-2).

Now, airlines customize specific requirements for the aircraft within weight and balance limits, for things like how many sections, such as First, Business and Coach or all Coach, etc, for passenger capacity via seat pitch, number of aisles, even makes/models of jet engines, as well as external paint color schemes, etc.

Same thing with military aircraft contracts. That is why we have three different F-35 LIGHTNING IIs- one version USAF, one version USN and a third STOVL version for the USMC.