Tiltjet
A tiltjet is an aircraft propulsion configuration that was historically tested for proposed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)-capable fighters.[1]
The tiltjet arrangement is, in concept, broadly similar to that of the tiltrotor; whereas a tiltrotor utilises pivotable rotors, the tiltjet employs jet engines capable of moving to angle their thrust between downwards and rearwards positions. A typical arrangement has the engines mounted on the wingtips, in which the entire propulsion system is rotated from axial to dorsal in order to achieve the transition from hover or vertical flight to horizontal. Aircraft of such a configuration are fully capable of performing VTOL operations, akin to a helicopter, as well as conducting high speed flights.[2] However, the configuration has been restrained to experimental aircraft only, as other configurations for VTOL aircraft have been pursued instead.
History
During the 1950s, rapid advances in the field of jet propulsion, particularly in terms of increased thrust and compact engine units, had contributed to an increased belief in the technical viability of vertical takeoff/landing (VTOL) aircraft, particularly within Western Europe and the United States.[3] During 1950s and 1960s, multiple programmes in Britain, France, and the United States were initiated; likewise, aviation companies inside West Germany were keen not to be left out of this emerging technology. Shortly after 1957, the year in which the post-Second World War ban upon West Germany operating and developing combat aircraft was lifted, German aviation firms Dornier Flugzeugwerke, Heinkel, and Messerschmitt, having also been allowed to resume their own activities that same year, received an official request from the German Federal Government that urged them to perform investigative work on the topic of VTOL aircraft and to produce concept designs.[4]
Around the same period, the American aviation company
In West Germany, interest in developing a VTOL fighter aircraft had resulted in the development of the
Akin to the fortunes of the tiltjets, various other projects of the era to develop supersonic-capable VTOL fighter aircraft, including the Mirage IIIV and the Hawker Siddeley P.1154 (a supersonic parallel to what would become the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, a subsonic VTOL combat aircraft that reached operational service), ultimately met similar fates. The Harrier jump jet and, substantially later, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, has since demonstrated the potential of VTOL fighters.
See also
- Thrust vectoring
- Tiltrotor
- Tiltwing
- Tailsitter
- VTOL
References
Citations
- ^ "Tilt Jet". www.vstol.org. Archived from the original on 22 August 2003. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ISSN 0032-4558. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ Hirschel, Prem and Madelung 2012, pp. 451-454.
- ^ Hirschel, Prem and Madelung 2012, pp. 451-452.
- ^ "Fact Sheets Bell XF-109". Archived from the original on 31 May 2010.
- ^ "Bell 65 Air Test Vehicle (ATV)" Archived 20 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine V/STOL Wheel (2009) vstol.org
- ^ Bell ATV (Air Test Vehicle), 1954 the Aviation History Online Museum
- ^ Hirschel, Prem and Madelung 2012, pp. 452-453.
- ^ Hirschel, Prem and Madelung 2012, pp. 514-515.
- ^ Hirschel, Prem and Madelung 2012, p. 454.
- ^ Hirschel, Prem and Madelung 2012, p. 514.
Bibliography
- Hirschel, Ernst Heinrich., Horst Prem and Gero Madelung. Aeronautical Research in Germany: From Lilienthal until Today. Springer Science & Business Media, 2012. ISBN 3-642-18484-7.