Ryan XV-5 and beyond - Liftfan VTOL designs

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Ryan Lift-Fan Advanced Studies

Flying Review Vol.20 No.12

Courtesy of Lark

Model 182 is a transonic close-support fighter developed from XV-5A.

Model 186-C is a supersonic point defence fighter

Model 187-B is a also a supersonic fighter
 

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Retractable liftfans obviously were very popular for US-german cooperative
projects. Another team was Ryan/HFB ...
 

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Model 182 is a transonic two seat close support fighter. Powered by two non-afterburning engines of 8,200lb thrust, VTO weight 34,900lb. Lifting force provided by five 4 ft fans, two in the wings and three in the fuselage (one at the rear, and two in the front under the cockpits with side intakes). Bombs carried semi-recessed under the belly either side of the main undercarriage. M-61 Vulcan gun, terrain avoidance and fire control radars, and flight refuelling capability. Maximum speed of Mach 1.2 estimated. Short takeoffs possible to 25% over VTO weight.

Source:
Flying Review International, August 1965
 

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Model 186C

Supersonic, powered by two reheated GE-1 engines and with VTO weight 30,000lb. The efflux from the engines is ducted to eight fans mounted in the 3.25% wings. Confguration suitable for point defence duties, with max speed of Mach 2.0. However, it has too large wetted area for low level flight, an unsuitable planform for ground attack, and insufficient span for good ferry range.

Source:
Flying Review International, August 1965
 

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Model 187B

Designed to a similar spec as 186C, but with a conventional moderately swept wing for improved strike and ferry capabilities. Mach 1.6 maximum speed. Fans now retractable into fuselage, which allows the wings to be optimised for performance without regard to fan diameter or depth.

The writer notes that such an arrangement could be combined with VG wings, and that to give better STO performance the lift fans should be rotatable to vector thrust, thereby nicely predicting the AVS :)

Source:
Flying Review International, August 1965
 

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From Aviation Week .08.1965 some more lift fan concepts,
for transports, including the CX-6A and a VTOL fighter.
(pictures inversed)
 

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I seem to remember seeing something about a Ryan/Learjet study of a vtol Learjet using siz or eight fans (if memory serves me correctly) in sponsons on either side of a Model 23.
 
Maybe this one (from Air & Cosmos) ?
 

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Yep, that one; though I've also seen the Learjet drawings on that. As shown, the design has a few problems, like a blocked main door. An interesting study, too.
 
Hi,

There was unknown project to Ryan for vertifan-equipped
jet airliner VTOL aircraft.
 

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Hi,

The Ryan convertifan projects;

1-a fighter,transport and utility machines with body-mounted fan.
2-COIN strike fighter.
3-subsonic surveillance and attack aircraft.
4-low level supersonic strike aircraft.
5-mach 3.2 fighter.

The subject in;
http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1964/1964%20-%202594.pdf
 

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So it was a slow day at the office, and I got bored. So I walked out side and got some photos of the lovely Ryan XV-5A. Thought I would share them. I have ~1Meg versions of these as well if anyone wants the big ones.
 

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Well, There is a Chinook with four rotorblades per hub and a set of wings, an AH-56 Cheyanne, the YAH-63 and some other things. If I ask permission to go into the garage... just about every type of VTOL the Army played with in the 60's and 70's. Its a wonderful backyard. ;D
 
http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1964/1964%20-%202596.html
http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1964/1964%20-%202597.html

Fig 9 is a study based on the current COIN (counter-insurgent) mission. In addition to being V/STOL, this aircraft has the range and endurance of the COIN mission with a VTOL payload of 2,000lb. The aircraft would use a single production J85 turbojet and three XV-5A nose fans. Mach number of 0.9 indicates an acceptable degree of survivability, and the V/STOL capability would truly fulfil requirements being imposed by air mobility. Fig 10 illustrates a solution to the Army surveillance/attack and the potential USAF V/STOL strike reconnaissance requirements. This is essentially a high-subsonic aircraft, with radius requirements approaching 250 nautical miles at Mach 0.92 at sea level. Fig 11 illustrates the feasibility of the lift-fan for the solution to theNavy VAX attack mission; this aircraft is designed for Mach 1.2 at sea level and Mach 2.5 at altitude with a wing t/c of 4.0 per cent. Fig 12 represents a Mach 3.2 supersonic-cruise design, with a wing t/c of 3.7 per cent.
Click to expand...

Four early Ryan Vertifan projects. They include a fighter, a transport and utility machines with body-mounted fans
Click to expand...
 

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May I stand in a queue right after you, Paul?)
 
I'd like to be in the third place for that YAH-63 pics :)
 
Here's a Ryan design for a lift-fan transport aircraft, which looks
like a Fokker F-28, although the description in Aviation Week 1968 19 says,
it was just an example to show, that a lot of standard aircraft could be
used as basis for lift-fan designs.
 

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Gentlemen,

It would be my pleasure to get some photos of the YAH-63 for you. I will get some next week as the rest of this week is already spoken for. I will have to find out who has the key to get close ups as some unsporting type has put the bird inside a fence.

Stingray,

Thats the one (forgot the nomenclature for it). I'll try to get some photos of it as well.
 
Jemiba said:
Here's a Ryan design for a lift-fan transport aircraft, which looks
like a Fokker F-28, although the description in Aviation Week 1968 19 says,
it was just an example to show, that a lot of standard aircraft could be
used as basis for lift-fan designs.
Click to expand...

Nevertheless, they gave their child a name - it's the Ryan Model 226.
 
That's the meaning of life : To learn something everyday !

In Aviation Week it was just shown as " Though not intending
to represent any specific aircraft, concept resembles the Fokke F-28,
which Ryan says is well-sized to V/STOL use"
 
Hi,

the Ryan XV-5 developments.
http://jpcolliat.free.fr/xv5/xv5-4.htm
 

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An artist impression of the model 182 close-support fighter:
(from AIAA paper "VTOL Vehicles, Vol.3")
 

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Two other drawings from the AIAA paper VTOL-Vehicles-Vol.3:
 

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Ryan/Republic proposal to the US Army and USAF for an advanced XV-5A V/STOL operational evaluation aircraft.
AW & ST December 14, 1964
 

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Barrington Bond said:
Can't remember where I got this from -rotary rocket launchers?!
Click to expand...

My dear Barrington,

I remember this project in old Arabic book about aviation,
it was (as I think) North American aircraft intended to occupy
and clear the land after the nuclear war was happened,
but the artist drawing in that book is very obvious and it
had a single tail fin,unfortunately I can't find it now.
 

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Looking at the XV-5A, the fans either side of the fuselage appear to be gas driven but to achieve roll control what method is employed? Do the fans have variable pitch or do the doors blank the flow? Alternatively, have I missed high pressure 'puffers' (Harrier style)?
Thanks in anticipation,
S
 
there are no puffers, and with gas-driven fans you can't really vary RPM fast enough. IIRC, the vanes in the exhaust adjust to vary thrust.
 
AeroFranz said:
there are no puffers, and with gas-driven fans you can't really vary RPM fast enough. IIRC, the vanes in the exhaust adjust to vary thrust.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. It's as I thought then - use the doors / vanes to reduce the flow and hence the thrust. Maybe not the most efficient way of doing it but it can certainly be made to work and gives the required sublety of control.
S
 
Not sure, that it worked that way. You asked about puffer jets à la Harrier and
those are just for controlling attitude, not thrust. That role of the puffer jets would be
taken over by the vanes in a lift-fan design. That's what Franz told us, I think. For
increasing/lowering thrust of the lift fans, they would be given more or less bleed air
from the engine via a splitter valve.
Just closing the vanes probably would blow them apart.
 
My point was how roll control was achieved. 'Collective' can obviously be achieved by an increase in gas flow to both fans but to get the subtle differential in thrust and to get that differential vitually instantaneously is the key. If you can't change the pitch of the fans (heavy and complex), the only other way to get this is to reduce the flow through the fans (and design the vanes / doors to cope with the aero loads that they experience).
At this point, I ought to declare my interest. Through the day job, I've worked on a couple of ducted - fan VTOL UAV projects and before we got to the point of reliable, stable, controllable flight, we learnt quite a few 'hard lessons'. It's always interesting to see how others who've already trod this path overcame these issues. It's also interesting to note that technology regarded as obsolete or 'dead end' now has relevance in new applications / areas.

S

PS Everything I do / read etc in this field further reinforces my opinion that the Harrier is a work of genius.
 

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