("Colin W Kingsbury" wrote)
snips clipped
It seems to me that vectored-thrust aircraft face a couple of fundamental
challenges that will not be easily overcome.

First, you have the poor efficiency of turbines at low speed. The ducted
fan
approach will improve this somewhat but if you look at the V-22, it has
HUGE
propellers, more like mini chopper blades. The V-22 may be intended to
spend
more time in hover than a Mollermobile, but I'll side with the machine
that's being flown seriously over the eternal prototype.

Again, the V-22 is the best precedent we have to go on here, and the
evidence is pretty bad. Twenty-some billion spent as I recall and the
things
are still nowhere close to deployment.


The V-22 Osprey project drives me nuts. V-22 Billion!!
(Semper Fi Congressional Industrial Complex)

The 1950's Fairey Rotodyne worked. They even had orders.

It was flying around Europe, hauling people and freight, in the late 50's
and early 60's. This thing was designed over 50 years ago. Can you imagine
new engines, new composites, new engineering concepts, new rotors, new
electronics, etc?

I don't know exactly what the design/mission specs are (were) for the V-22,
but I suspect the Rotodyne came close to meeting some of them, while
outdoing others.

The Rotodyne was successfully flying. Tweak it, and you've got something.
Start fresh and you have $22 BBBBillion worth of nothing. What a sad joke.

Apparently, because of the way the jets on the rotor tips work, there is no
need for a tail rotor. Also, the rotor goes into autogyro mode when the
plane reaches a certain forward speed. The rotor-tip jets kick in for
take-off and landing only. Jet thrust is provided by bleed air from the
turboprop engines, located on the Rotodyne's stubby wings.

Reason I've read for its demise was fear of noise pollution (Right, like a
1st generation 707 wasn't loud? And what about those 2 Harrier jump-jet at
OSH last year?). Another reason I've read for the project's cancellation was
British Govt. inside politics - with Fairey being outside.

http://www.hofstra.edu/CampusL/Cultu...iro_movies.cfm
Fairey Rotodyne movie on bottom of page

http://www.dunnbypaul.net/aircraft/rotodyne/
Rotodyne info

http://avia.russian.ee/vertigo/fairey_rotodyne-r.html
Rotodyne page

http://www.hofstra.edu/CampusL/Cultu...llery20_22.cfm
X-game simulations are fun


Montblack