NACA & NASA Langley Flight Experience with VTOL Aircraft 1944-1979 NASA Langley Research Center

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• published: 15 Feb 2015
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more at http://scitech.quickfound.net/aviation_news_and_search.html Compilation of flight test footage of many vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOL) over 35 years, often at the Wallops Flight Test Center, from NASA Langley Research Center. Video quality improves in the second half, beginning with the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 (Harrier precursor). Silent. Public domain film from the NASA, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_R-4 The Sikorsky R-4 was a two-place helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky with a single, three-bladed main rotor and powered by a radial engine. The R-4 was the world's first large-scale mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter used by the United States Army Air Forces, Navy, Coast Guard, and the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Siddeley_P.1127 The Hawker P.1127 and the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 were the experimental and development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) jet fighter-bomber. Kestrel development began in 1957, taking advantage of the Bristol Engine Company's choice to invest in the creation of the Pegasus vectored-thrust engine. Testing began in July 1960 and by the end of the year the aircraft had achieved both vertical take-off and horizontal flight. The test program also explored the possibility of use upon aircraft carriers, landing on HMS Ark Royal in 1963. The first three aircraft crashed during testing, one at the 1963 Paris Air Show. Improvements to future development aircraft, such as swept wings and more powerful Pegasus engines, led to the development of the Kestrel. The Kestrel was evaluated by the Tri-partite Evaluation Squadron, made up of military pilots from Britain, the United States, and West Germany. Later flights were conducted by the U.S. military and NASA. Related work on a supersonic aircraft, the Hawker Siddeley P.1154, was cancelled in 1965. As a result, the P.1127 (RAF), a variant more closely based on the Kestrel, was ordered into production that year, and named Harrier in 1967. The Harrier would go on to serve with the UK and several nations, often as a carrier-based aircraft... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_XV-3 The Bell XV-3 (Bell 200) was a tiltrotor aircraft developed by Bell Helicopter for a joint research program between the United States Air Force and the United States Army in order to explore convertiplane technologies. The XV-3 featured an engine mounted in the fuselage with drive shafts transferring power to two-bladed rotor assemblies mounted on the wingtips. The wingtip rotor assemblies were mounted to tilt 90 degrees from vertical to horizontal, which was designed to allow the XV-3 to take off and land like a helicopter but fly at faster airspeeds, similar to a conventional fixed-wing aircraft. The XV-3 was first flown on 11 August 1955. Although it was limited in performance, the aircraft successfully demonstrated the tiltrotor concept, accomplishing 110 transitions from helicopter to airplane mode between December 1958 and July 1962. The XV-3 program ended when the remaining aircraft was severely damaged in a wind tunnel accident on 20 May 1966. The data and experience from the XV-3 program were key elements used to successfully develop the Bell XV-15, which later paved the way for the V-22 Osprey... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_XH-51 The Lockheed XH-51 (Model 186) was a three-bladed, single-engine experimental helicopter designed by Lockheed-California, a division of Lockheed Aircraft, utilizing a rigid rotor and retractable skid landing gear . The XH-51 was selected as the test vehicle for a joint research program conducted by the United States Army and United States Navy to explore rigid rotor technology...