Other short and vertical take-off aircraft

As with high-lift devices, there have been very many ideas for vertical or short take-off aircraft. Ignoring the untried or less promising examples, we are left with three main approaches to the problem. These are –

(a) Tilting the whole aircraft, as shown in Fig. 6E (overleaf). A small number of successful experimental aircraft were built, but the practical problems (such as seeing where you are going on landing) remained too daunting for further development.

(b) Tilting the engines and wings for take-off and landing, whilst leaving the main body of the aircraft horizontal. Several experimental aircraft have been flown, but no production types have been forthcoming.

(c) Tilting the rotors/propellers or the engines and rotors/propellers. Again, many experimental aircraft of this type have been flown, but it was only after much political indecision and a number of serious technical set-backs that the go-ahead was finally given for series production of the Boeing-Bell V 22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft (Fig. 6F, overleaf). This aircraft combines the features of conventional aircraft and helicopters. In high speed flight, the rotors are tilted forward and become large diameter propellers, so the aircraft does not suffer the same speed limitations as a conventional heli­copter. The cost and complexity are however high. Another aircraft using this principle is the smaller Bell/Augusta BA609.