ADO-12 to "US-FRG" AVS V/STOL Fighter Programs

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Yes, apparently P.1163, later redesignated HS.1170, was designed for VAK191 spec.

 

[Barrington Bond]

Boeing Bolkow AVS?

 

[blackkite]

Amazing!!

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Nice Barry!

EWR was a 3 way collaboration between Heinkel, Messerschmitt and Bolkow. Heinkel left, leaving just Messerschmitt and Bolkow. The design might be a wind tunnel model of an early stage of the Boeing/EWR 360. Fun fact: Boeing bought a minority stake in Bolkow on January 1, 1965.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

And the twisted UK/FRG VTOL timeline turns again:

"GE are offering GE1/J1 lift/cruise and lift engines for the Boeing-South Group variable geometry follow-on for the VJ101E, otherwise VAK. 191C or EWR type 360"

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

A400

Source: Fana de L'Aviation September 2009 (Part 2 of VJ-101 article from previous month)

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Revisiting an old post - these two NASA reports can now be identified as reusing the Republic US/FRG wind tunnel model (side-intake version).

Sources:

Carter, Aerodynamic characteristics of a six-jet V/STOL configuration with four swing-out lift jets in the transition speed range
NASA-TM-X-2060

Aerodynamic characteristics of a six-jet V/STOL configuration with four swing-out lift jets in the transition speed range - NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

A wind-tunnel investigation has been made of the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics and jet-interference effects of a model of a jet V/STOL variable-sweep fighter airplane that employs four direct-lift engines which swing out from the fuselage and two lift-cruise engines located in the...

ntrs.nasa.gov

Carter, Effects of ground proximity on the aerodynamic characteristics of a six-jet V/STOL configuration with four swing-out lift jets
NASA-TM-X-2212

Effects of ground proximity on the aerodynamic characteristics of a six-jet V/STOL configuration with four swing-out lift jets - NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

A wind-tunnel investigation has been made of the effects of ground proximity on the longitudinal and lateral-directional aerodynamic characteristics and jet-interference effects of a model of a jet V/STOL variable-sweep fighter airplane that employs four direct-lift engines which swing out from...

ntrs.nasa.gov

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Source:

Благородный металл 4.

Шестидесятые годы были интереснейшим временем в истории мировой авиации. Разгорающаяся гонка вооружений, борьба за глобальное господство, освоение новых технологий производства, способствовали появлению невиданных ранее видов летающей техники, а достаточно короткий цикл их проектирования и запуска…

pkk-avia.livejournal.com

 

[hesham]

Source:

Благородный металл 4.

Шестидесятые годы были интереснейшим временем в истории мировой авиации. Разгорающаяся гонка вооружений, борьба за глобальное господство, освоение новых технологий производства, способствовали появлению невиданных ранее видов летающей техники, а достаточно короткий цикл их проектирования и запуска…

pkk-avia.livejournal.com

Nice find my dear Paul.

 

[Jemiba]

Hope, I didn't posted it before: Two variants of the early Republic/EWR designs,
mainly based on the pictures posted here

 

[circle-5]

Splendid work, Jens -- as always! If you need specific dimensions or photos, I have three different manufacturer models from the AVS program.

 

[foiling]

Excellent drawings, as always, Jens. Thanks.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Great drawings. I don't suppose you could forward me in the original vector format, Jens?

 

[hesham]

Amazing work my dear Jemiba.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Patent showing the AVS pop-out liftjets

US3507465A - Apparatus for a retractable jet engine - Google Patents

 

[circle-5]

Profile view of AVS model in forward flight configuration. Functional, metal presentation model by EWR (Entwicklungsring-Süd) in its final (1968) redesign.

After the US and Republic Aviation pulled out of the project, it survived for a short while in the FRG as the A-400. VTOL complexities were soon removed, and it rapidly evolved as a STOL aircraft into the NKF (Neues Kampfflugzeug), which eventually became the Panavia Tornado.

AVS engineering breakthroughs continued to be studied by NASA into the early 1970s and by Fairchild-Republic as late as 1975, in the form of the FR-150, essentially a half-scale AVS. The FR-150 was developed to compete against the Convair 200 and others, for the US Navy's Sea Control Ship (SCS) program. It was the last proposal to employ retractable, rotating and swiveling forward lift-jet engines.

 

[circle-5]

EWR manufacturer model of late (~1968) AVS in VTOL configuration. The twist-and-swivel main engine nozzles are very similar to those on the F-35.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Materials held at the NASM:

https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/NASM.1989.0060.pdf

Box 178, Folder 4 Fairchild Hiller Republic Aircraft Division, US and Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) joint program to produce V/STOL tactical fighter, correspondence and draft papers, government memoranda and Air Force Regulations, AFR 80-14, 80-14A and 55-31 and press kit

Box 178, Folder 5 Fairchild Hiller Republic Aircraft Division, US and Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) joint program to produce V/STOL tactical fighter, internal newsletter, press releases, brochures, advertisements, articles and photographs

Box 364, Folder 16 "United States/Federal Republic of Germany V/STOL Fight Design" by Stefan Geisenheyner, Air Force Magazine, December 1967 (reprint)

Box 364, Folder 17 EWR Fairchild International United States/Federal Republic of Germany Tactical Fighter, photograph and caption

 

[hesham]

Nice find my dear Paul.

 

[barbara_em]

As a non-technical type, I find those pop-out engines just aft the cockpit silly. It seems as if some engineers say, "Hey, this has never been done, so let's do it. Maybe somebody will think it's cool/practical/cost-effective/weight-efficient." Or is it just me?

 

[circle-5]

As a non-technical type, I find those pop-out engines just aft the cockpit silly. It seems as if some engineers say, "Hey, this has never been done, so let's do it. Maybe somebody will think it's cool/practical/cost-effective/weight-efficient." Or is it just me?

These 'pop-out' lift engines could also rotate horizontally to provide forward thrust, in case the main engines were disabled by enemy fire. That could very well mean hobbling the AVS and its crew back to base instead of checking them into the Hanoi Hilton. When swiveled, two of these lift engines could also taxi the aircraft, allowing main engine cutoff and corresponding fuel savings. In no other aircraft (to my knowledge) do dedicated lift engines provide anything but vertical lift.

Partial rotation of these lift engines also optimized STOL performance and efficiency. And numerous man-hours would have been saved, thanks to the unsurpassed field service accessibility offered by this design, not to mention increased mission readiness. In spite of its complexity and a relatively small weight penalty, the AVS retractable lift engine configuration had numerous practical benefits for FRG, the intended customer. Nothing silly about that ...

 

[iverson]

The pop-out engines might not be silly, but I suspect that they'd be problematic. There might be severe drag and little or no usable thrust during deployment of the lift engines, and turbulence might effect aerodynamic lift and control--all during the critical transition between wing-born and thrust-born flight, when a lift-engine design has the greatest control problems. Given the range of motion required and the likely aerodynamic and thrust-related loads, designing the moving parts and selecting the right materials might also be challenge. The F-111 pivot structure was a lot simpler, but caused a fair number of problems even so.

 

[RAP]

This picture is shown in an earlier posting but this one includes the caption.
(From AW & ST 24. July 1967, page 83)

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Tony Buttler sent me these photos of a Fairchild possibly NKF model to identify.

It seems to be a model of the 1967 Republic(Fairchild) AVS proposal. It's lacking the popout engines and the rear engine detail (thrust reversers?) but otherwise is a good match.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

For comparison (from earlier in topic)

 

[hesham]

Very nice drawing my dear Paul,and many thanks to my dear Tony.

 

[fightingirish]

Equipped with Rolls-Royce/Allison XJ-99 lift engines and TVC nozzle, parts of which were later used in RB.199.

Here slightly better scans of the two pictures, which have been posted before.
Found at Pinterest.

 

[uk 75]

Overscan Any chance of putting the 5 pictures back from 5 Mar they seem to have gone.
Great to see the new model

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

This patent appears to show the EWR AVS rear nozzle system :

US3467315A - Airframe-integrated nozzle for aircraft - Google Patents

And these the front pop-out jets :

US3507465A - Apparatus for a retractable jet engine - Google Patents

US3529791A - Apparatus for positioning the engines of short and vertical take-off aircraft - Google Patents

I never did upload these. Here's the drawings and PDFs....

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Last drawing, plus 2 more patents..

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Last is from 1970, same engineer. Not sure of application?

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

And a clue, regarding the Boeing US/FRG proposal..
.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

The positive intermediary role that a technically competent and experienced government office can play has long been apparent. The history of the U.S.-German advanced VSTOL fighter (AVS), in the mid1960s, no matter how poorly conceived the aircraft itself may have been, provides an interesting case of how a SPO can improve communications and facilitate the work of industrial firms in a collaborative development project. In the case of AVS, which had a brief life in the mid-1960s, the SPO at WPAFB supervised the work of EWR in Germany and Fairchild in the U.S. and incorporated about 20 German engineers into the Dayton office. One of the bright spots of this ill-fated program was the smooth functioning of government and industry people at the technical level.

https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a035768.pdf

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Whoops, my apologies for introducing some extraneous speculation - this was for US/FRG (later AVS), late 1965.

ADO-12 and US/FRG are VERY closely linked. Effectively US/FRG was a continuation of US ADO-12 studies with German involvement and design proposals overlap.

 

[Orionblamblam]

Tony Buttler sent me these photos of a Fairchild possibly NKF model to identify.

It seems to be a model of the 1967 Republic(Fairchild) AVS proposal. It's lacking the popout engines and the rear engine detail (thrust reversers?) but otherwise is a good match.

Probably the same model, sold at auction:

Sold at auction Fairchild Hiller Republic Fighter Presentation Aviation Model with Display Plinth Auction Number 3147M Lot Number 525 | Skinner Auctioneers

Sold at auction Fairchild Hiller Republic Fighter Presentation Aviation Model with Display Plinth for sale in auction. Auction Number 3147M, Lot Number 525. Bid on similar items for sale at auction

www.skinnerinc.com

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Nice!

 

[Orionblamblam]

But wait! There's more!
[ebay pics no longer work - Admin]

 

[Orionblamblam]

This poor model, constantly being sold back and forth. Gotta be generating some abandonment issues by now...

 

[uk 75]

I would give it a home in a heartbeat! Have been fascinated by this plane for years

 

[Orionblamblam]

Link to the auction in the "Found on ebay" forum. Currently sitting at twelve and a half bucks.