Lockheed XV-4 'Hummingbird'

lark · 30 January 2008

Lockheed produced several initial designs leading
to the Hummingbird.
One of them was the GL-224-2 concept.
Is there anyone who can help with a decent three view drawing or an
other illustration about?

The 'X' plane book No.5 -HPM Publications haves an illustration
but in my copy the drawing is almost invisible.

Thanks in advance.

Justo Miranda · 30 January 2008

lark said:
my copy the drawing is almost invisible.

Mine too!

Antonio · 30 January 2008

It's almost impossible to see anything but it looks almost identical to GL-224-3 whith less prominent intakes.

JJC · 8 May 2009

Lockheed XV-4 hummingbird

circle-5 · 26 April 2011

While testing the XV-4A (but prior to the XV-4B redesign) Lockheed offered a production variant of the Hummingbird, which is briefly described in Jane's All The World Aircraft, 1964-65.

Attached is a factory model of this production variant (V-4A?). A comparison photo with the VZ-10 (XV-4A) model shows numerous aerodynamic and design improvements. Among them is the large ventral weapons fairing, shorter tail fin, reduced stabilizer area, extended intakes, different canopy, integrated puffer jets, canted wingtip fairings, tail probe, single VTOL intake doors (instead of split louvers), etc.

Additional info, drawings and data are always welcomed.

Stargazer · 17 December 2011

An item on the Hummingbird's first flight (Army Research and Development Newsmagazine, September 1962)
Another item on the Hummingbird's first flight (US Army's Aviation Digest, September 1962)
Artwork depicting jet ejection lift

Justo Miranda · 17 December 2011

Drawings here

circle-5 · 17 December 2011

Justo Miranda said:
Drawings here

Thank you.

Stargazer · 18 December 2011

Brilliant. Thanks Justo!

Stargazer · 10 May 2013

Beautiful artwork of the Hummingbird when it was still known as the VZ-10 (source: Flying, May 1962)

fightingirish · 20 June 2014

Source (in German): Lockheed XV-4 Hummingbird: Kolibri mit Jetantrieb - Klassiker der Luftfahrt, July 2012

Jemiba · 21 January 2016

lark said:
... Is there anyone who can help with a decent three view drawing or an
other illustration about?

Have looked through this and some other threads, but couldn't find a better drawing,
so I hope, that this one, though far from being perfect, is just about 8 years late ....

(from vertiflite July 1963)

lark · 21 January 2016

Thanks Jens,

Better late than never

We,at last have an idea about now..

Pioneer · 22 January 2016

Justo Miranda said:
Drawings here

Hey, nice find gents with the desk-top models and drawings gents!!
Justo Miranda that cut-away drawing of the Hummingbird really emphasised to me the internal volume and weight of the separate lift and propulsion jet arrangement takes up within such a design!!

Regards
Pioneer

Jemiba · 22 January 2016

Tried to clean up the above posted drawing, but without much success. So
I decided to redraw it, but I encountered several uncertainties.
The actual arrangement of the augmentor on the upper side of the
fuselage isn't clear to me, as well, as the position of the bulge at the
fuselage sides, visible on the top view, but not on side view.
If someone has better ideas, just tell us.
And if someone wants to make changes by himself, I've attached the sketch
as pdf-file, suitable to be imported to Inkscape or CorelDraw.

Pioneer · 22 January 2016

Nice job Jemiba on the clean up!!

Regards
Pioneer

Orionblamblam · 25 January 2016

Here's a kinda craptacular piece of art showing the GL-224-2 pilot rescue vehicle in action with the C-130 mothership orbiting above.

blackkite · 22 February 2016

Hi!
Lockheed XV-4A ejection system. (jet pump)
Source : NATO report

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1J7ouZ5scY

blackkite · 22 February 2016

This picture shows XV-4A main engine, exhaust gas shout off valve, exhaust gas manifold and ejector nozzle manifold.
Upper engine shows cruising condition and bottom engine shows hovering condition.
Correction is given to this picture. (White color zone, parts name)
Thrust amplification of this system is small.(smaller than 1.2)
The ejector principle was applied with notably disappointing results to the Rockwell XFV-12A and the Lockheed XV-4A.
Ejector induced flow also push the aircraft to downward direction. ;D

Rockwell XFV-12A
https://thelexicans.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/rockwellxfv12athrustaug.jpg

Orionblamblam · 22 February 2016

Here's my take on the GL-224-2, as included in US VTOL Projects #1:
http://www.aerospaceprojectsreview.com/blog/?p=2555

hesham · 22 February 2016

Orionblamblam said:
Here's my take on the GL-224-2, as included in US VTOL Projects #1:
http://www.aerospaceprojectsreview.com/blog/?p=2555

Excellent work my dear Scott.

blackkite · 23 February 2016

Ummm....
What is the operating procedure of this combination?

Orionblamblam · 23 February 2016

The two aircraft would take off independently; rendezvous shortly after; the VTOL would dock to the C-130 via a trapeze system; the VTOL would shut its engine down and the pilot transfer to the C-130 for long-range cruise. At the target area the VTOL would separate, land, pick up passengers, launch, return to the C-130, be flown home and would separate and land independently.

blackkite · 23 February 2016

Thanks a lot. I can understand very hard story.
So C-130 is a range extender for this rescue aircraft. To use retractable vertifan is the better solution.
I want to see this aircraft in next 007 movie. ;D

Orionblamblam · 23 February 2016

blackkite said:
So C-130 is a range extender for this rescue aircraft.

Yes. The Bell D-190 seems to have been designed for the same requirement.
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,15543.msg10280.html#msg10280

To use retractable vertifan is the better solution.

No. The point was to have a small rescue VTOL with global range; these two requirements are contradictory. Even today, the only way to accomplish this would be with a two-stage vehicle.

blackkite · 23 February 2016

Tnaks a lot. Nice information.

I used to see a hard to believe another solution in Thunderball. ;D

iverson · 27 February 2016

blackkite said:
Tnaks a lot. Nice information.
I used to see a hard to believe another solution in Thunderball. ;D

The Fulton Skyhook was quite real. The Thunderball B-17 was, I believe, an actual CIA aircraft. Later the FUlton system was installed on the HC-130/MC-130 and tried on the Grumman S2. It was not a popular system as near as I know.

JohnR · 27 February 2016

Funnily enough there was an episode of Worlds Weirdest Weapons on yesterday that feature that very system.

An early version had a wire attached to two poles and an aircraft flying in low and hooking the wire as it flew over. This was found to be difficult as it required a large clear area for the plane to be able to line up and grab the wire. It was also quite arduous for the user as they would be accelerated to the planes speed very rapidly. They featured a test of the system using a sheep, as the poor creature was snatched up from the ground all you could hear was a Baaaaa as it disappeared into the distance.

When the process was changed to the system with the cable suspended from a balloon it was found to be much more user friendly, as the user would travel more or less vertically until they matched the planes height and speed.

The programme also featured an inflatable plane that was being developed by Goodyear for use by escaping spies and downed pilots. The plane feature a kind of webbing structure between the two outer surface to help keep the right shape and make it rigid; it was sufficiently rigid to have a man stood on each wing. It was powered by a small motor which could achieve about 60mph and give a range on about 600 miles. The engine also bled of air to keep the structure fully inflated. The project went on for a while, but then a prototypes wing failed and the test pilot was killed and the whole project was binned.

Regards.

dan_inbox · 28 February 2016

Fulton Skyhook

iverson said:
FUlton system was installed on the HC-130/MC-130 and tried on the Grumman S2. It was not a popular system as near as I know.

I'd bet that it was very popular with whoever was rescued from harm's way by it.
IMO it just was made completely obsolete by helicopters as soon as their range + IFR made it possible.

blackkite · 28 February 2016

Thanks a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PErEsNhDmo8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5GJ4cu311o

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_surface-to-air_recovery_system

dan_inbox · 28 February 2016

Fulton Skyhook

iverson said:
the FUlton system was installed on the HC-130/MC-130 and tried on the Grumman S2.

It was also implemented on a C-123H.

yasotay · 28 February 2016

I actually know a fellow who worked on the Fulton system as a summer intern. If memory recalls, he said the first challenge was not snapping the neck of the participant (although the crash dummies did not seem to mind). Next was figuring out how much open space was required so as not to drag the participant through trees and other impediment that might not agree with their safe retrieval. Third problem was finding someone to actually try the idea.

blackkite · 29 February 2016

The person who challenged this rescue way actually has the courage really. I think this rescue way is incredible and fearful.

iverson · 5 March 2016

For more informtion on Skyhook, see the following links.

Operation Coldfeet:
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/95unclass/Leary.html

Evergreen's B-17, James Bond, and the Fulton Recovery System:
http://www.robertnovell.com/evergreens-b-17-james-bond-fulton-recovery-system/

Rickshaw · 5 March 2016

Wasn't the Fulton system used in John Wayne's Green Berets?

Stargazer · 27 May 2016

I'm very grateful for seeing the GL-224 project at last, Jens, for which I thank you.
Thanks and congrats to both you and Scott for the beautiful artwork, too!

HOWEVER... I'm surprised that none of you (or any forum member for that matter) noticed that in your artwork you BOTH made a big typo by writing "242" instead of 224... Here are the images in question:

Mark Nankivil · 12 April 2019

Good Day All -

Photo of the Lockheed XV-4 model in the Vought Low Speed Wind Tunnel Model. Need to look at this in detail to see whether this is the XV-4 or the proposed production variant as noted by Circle-5's models.

Enjoy the Day! Mark

Lockheed XV-4 'Hummingbird'

ACCESS: Top Secret

ACCESS: Above Top Secret

Attachments

Moderator

ACCESS: Restricted

Attachments

ACCESS: Top Secret

Attachments

ACCESS: USAP

Attachments

ACCESS: Above Top Secret

Attachments

ACCESS: Top Secret

ACCESS: USAP

ACCESS: USAP

Attachments

ACCESS: Top Secret

Attachments

Moderator

Attachments

ACCESS: Top Secret

Seek out and close with the enemy

Moderator

Attachments

Seek out and close with the enemy

ACCESS: USAP

Attachments

Don't laugh, don't cry, don't even curse, but.....

Attachments

Don't laugh, don't cry, don't even curse, but.....

Attachments

ACCESS: USAP

Attachments

ACCESS: USAP

Don't laugh, don't cry, don't even curse, but.....

Attachments

ACCESS: USAP

Don't laugh, don't cry, don't even curse, but.....

ACCESS: USAP

Don't laugh, don't cry, don't even curse, but.....

Attachments

ACCESS: Top Secret

ACCESS: Top Secret

ACCESS: Top Secret

Don't laugh, don't cry, don't even curse, but.....

ACCESS: Top Secret

Attachments

ACCESS: Top Secret

Don't laugh, don't cry, don't even curse, but.....

ACCESS: Top Secret

ACCESS: Top Secret

ACCESS: USAP

ACCESS: Top Secret

Attachments

Similar threads

Please donate to support the forum.