Piasecki PA-59 Airgeep and derived projects

JC Carbonel · 14 February 2007

I know two pix of this design : both show the right side . Is there any picture of the left side ?

JCC

Antonio · 14 February 2007

US Army Aircraft since 1947
Stephen Harding
Airlife
ISBN 1-85310-102-8

Piasecki (Model 59) VZ-8P Airgeep Vehicle Number 1 sn 58-5510

Pic number one shows the exhaust shroud for the Turbomeca Artouste IIB turbine.

The man in photo 2 is Frank Piasecki

I hope this could help you JC

JC Carbonel · 14 February 2007

Thank you .

my question refers specifically to the non-flying mock-up as kitted by ITC and now Glencoe :

I am especially wondering about the left-side "bulge" presumably accomodating the engine which is depicted on the model kit (invisible on either photograph I know or on John Amendola's boxart pictured above) . I also need info on the rear wheel which was moved from under the pilot compartment in the mock-up to the extreme rear of the machine on the flying versions. I have no good view of this wheel on the mock-up.
Actually I think that even better than a picture of the mock-up would be engineering sketches/cutaway. I presume there must be a patent for this machine but I never found it .

sincerely

JCC

Jemiba · 10 February 2012

A picture of an armed Piasecki flying jeep can be found in Aviation Week August 1957,
but the vehicle seems to be much larger, than the VZ-8P.

toura · 10 February 2012

Bonjour à tous.
2 photos

jstar · 10 February 2012

Do you have these:

http://aerofiles.com/pia-PA59.jpg

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/piasecki_airjeep.php

http://www.anigrand.com/AA2019_VZ-8.htm

JC Carbonel · 10 February 2012

Thank you all . Yes Anigrand has a new picture of the mock-up (left picture). It suggests there are probably more lurking around, waiting to be found.

JCC

Stargazer · 10 February 2012

I don't understand the topic's title... The Piasecki PA-59 Airgeep (mind the spelling!) was much more than a mock-up! Developed by Piasecki under his new company (which means no involvement of Vertol at all), there were two distinct prototypes constructed and test-flown over a period of five years. Three variants existed:

PA-59K ....... US Army VZ-8P AIRGEEP (initially called the SKY CAR) (1958)
PA-59N ....... US Navy 'PA-59' SEAGEEP (1961)
PA-59H ....... US Army VZ-8P AIRGEEP II "bent" in the middle so that the rotors were tilted fore and aft (1962)

First two pictures below show the mock-up, which was much more basic than the finished product.

Stargazer · 10 February 2012

The U.S. Army acquired a prototype registered as 58-5510 and designated VZ-8P (the Army's designations had constructor prefixes directly stuck to the numeral).

Stargazer · 10 February 2012

The pictures below show the airframe with alternate bumper-types and with none:

Stargazer · 10 February 2012

The U.S. Navy also showed interest in the PA-59, and evaluated a float version of it, PA-59N Seageep. They simply designated it the "PA-59". This is one version I'd love to find more pictures of. Please note that this is simply the Army's 58-5510 with the mention "Army-Navy" added on the sides.

Stargazer · 10 February 2012

A second vehicle, which received the serial 58-5511, was built with a canted airframe. In this configuration, the type was now designated PA-59H Airgeep II and received the designation VZ-8P-2 or VZ-8P[B], depending on the sources (Fort Rucker's museum gives the former one on the aircraft's information sign).

Stargazer · 10 February 2012

Finally, a beautiful photograph showing both 58-5510 and 58-5511 side-by-side.

Stingray · 10 February 2012

Stargazer2006 said:
The U.S. Navy also showed interest in the PA-59, and evaluated a float version of it, PA-59N Seageep. They simply designated it the "PA-59". This is one version I'd love to find more pictures of. Please note that this is simply the Army's 58-5510 with the mention "Army-Navy" added on the sides.

Better picture over here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/6313184134/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/6313184134/sizes/l/in/photostream/

[photo replaced by larger version further in the thread]

hesham · 10 February 2012

Did this consider a flying jeep (Piasecki PA-159B)?.

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2140.msg110711.html#msg110711

Rickshaw · 10 February 2012

What aerodynamic advantage was conferred by bending the chassis/fuselage in the middle in the way they did in second version? Did it improve controllability?

JC Carbonel · 11 February 2012

The theme of the topic is as follow :

There is a kit which depicts the mock-up of the Piasecki Flying Jeep. The design evolved somewhat between the initial mock-up and the flying articles (which themselves as you pointed out, existed in different variants). The flying articles are "well" documented, not so with the initial mock-up of which only one (now four) pictures are known. For example is there any picture of the left (port) side of the mock-up? any picture of the rear landing gear of the mock-up? etc...
This is not about the Flying Jeep program but about its early iteration.

JCC

hesham · 22 March 2012

Hi,

and may be Piasecki submitted those concepts.

Stingray · 22 March 2012

hesham said:
Hi,

and may be Piasecki submitted those concepts.

Top one is the Chrysler VZ-6 concept, bottom-left is the Aerophysics/Curtiss-Wright VZ-7, bottom-right is a Piasecki concept.

Stargazer · 22 March 2012

Yep. Related to the VZ-6, VZ-7 and VZ-8 programs.

Stargazer · 16 May 2012

First flight of the AirGeep (Sept 22, 1958)
First flight of the SeaGeep (Sept 18, 1961)
First flight of the AirGeep II (Feb 15, 1962)

NHHS Photos from the San Diego Aerospace Museum's galleries:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/

Jemiba · 30 January 2013

In Aero, December 1958, I've found an artist impression of a civil derivative of the
VZ-8P, called "Skycar". Actually it looks like the kind of private means of transportation,
we were expecting from the year 2000 back in the '60s ...

XP67_Moonbat · 6 December 2013

The Aircar was on this book cover.

Stargazer · 7 December 2013

XP67_Moonbat said:
The Aircar was on this book cover.

I'm afraid not. This is the Hiller Aerial Sedan, straight from a Popular Mechanics cover of the time.

XP67_Moonbat · 7 December 2013

I stand corrected.

bercr · 29 March 2017

28 photos of the Airgeep from the Life Magazine archives

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/search/asset?q=pleasant%20aerial%20jeep&p=life-photo-collection

Dew · 10 February 2024

Some of my old pics..

https://flic.kr/p/fZuvg

https://flic.kr/p/fZu3H

https://flic.kr/p/fZu5X

Piasecki PA-59 Airgeep and derived projects

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