Lockheed F-104 « Starfighter » VTOL projects

[hesham]

Drawings of the VSTOL F-104, Model CL-521.

And anther artist drawing to CL-521.


Самолеты вертикального взлета и посадки (1966)

 

[blackkite]

Hi! CL-704 model. Lockheed CL-704: Mach 2 Grasshopper

https://kplanes.tumblr.com/post/136896926310/k-planes-episode-90-strike-fighters

https://elpoderdelasgalaxias.wordpress.com/2015/05/07/lockheed-cl-704-mach-2-grasshopper/

And...
https://elpoderdelasgalaxias.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/f-104-vtol-project-the-icing-on-the-cake/

 

[RAP]

1/40 model of F104 VTOL, for sale at this address: http://www.aviationmodels-online.com/for_sale/page_3/F-104_VTOL_1.htm
It says make an offer, don't know if it is still available.

 

[hesham]

And CL-802-12;

https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWings/comments/cjxckz

 

[masher47]

Lockheed document on VTOL F104 variants

Pt1read from bottom up

 

[masher47]

Lockheed document on VTOL F104 variants

Pt 2 read from bottom up

 

[masher47]

Lockheed document on VTOL F104 variants

Pt 3 read from bottom up

 

[hesham]

From Aviation magazine Inter. 1967.

 

[blackkite]

Hi!
https://modernwartech.blog.hu/2016/...i_vadaszgep_es_a_sikeres_nbmr-4_szallitogepek
"Peter Girard, an airplane pilot and engineer at the Ryan American aerospace company, had the idea for this version of the "heliplane". The concept is to have the same carrying surface at the rotor take-off and then the wing at high speed. This would eliminate the problem of traditional rotors not being able to exceed the speed of sound at their ends, i.e. ultimately the speed of rotor sediments is limited. However, if the rotor was not to be rotated after take-off, it would give you enough buoyancy without it, then this disadvantage would be out of control. Ryan first envisioned the implementation with retractable blades, but later (1962) they reached a regular triangular, fast-flight arrangement that acts like a delta wing. The torque equalization was originally designed to be solved by two surfaces rotating in opposite directions above and below the fuselage, but this complicated the design of the machine. Therefore, the newer version already contained a single rotating unit on top of the fuselage, and the countertorque was intended to be provided by a gas exhaust (NOTAR system) that could be used instead of the tail rotor.(At the end of the torso, directly behind the red stripe, the gray rectangle is the outlet to control the lateral rotation)
The design required a supersonic but light aircraft, and to make sure it wasn't too big, Girard chose the F-104 instead of a new design. This type was sufficiently low in weight and fast.
The "rotor" was placed roughly in the middle on top of the fighter jet, which was stripped of its wings. The tips of the triangular shape could be rotated by 10 degrees, and the structure in the rotation channelled the air downwards to create the buoyancy. The propulsion would have been provided by the (presumably) J79 engine through one axle, but it could have been possible to blow out the combustion gases from the engine through the rotating elements. Of course, their reaction power would have been fit for purpose. When the plane, commonly referred to as the (Lockheed-)Ryan F-104 VTOL, rose and accelerated, it was gradually slowing down the rotation of the "rotor". At the right pace, the device would have produced buoyancy by fixing it as a delta wing. In the absence of normal wings, however, the armament had to be suspended for points below the fuselage.

The concept did not disappear completely: in the 2000s, the Boeing X-50 tried to use the rotor/wing as an unmanned aircraft with a slightly more sophisticated design, but the two experimental specimens were both destroyed in accidents and failed to make any successful transitions."
X-50.
http://www.hitechweb.genezis.eu/x50.htm

 

[blackkite]

Hi!
"In the drawing from the patent description, the inlets marked with 96 are sealed by the 100 lids. These are the extra air sources for the engines of the stationary machine. The bottom diagram showing the engine system shows that two gas turbines, apparently smaller than the J79(maybe J85?) were counted this time."

 

[StraGen410]

Hi!
"In the drawing from the patent description, the inlets marked with 96 are sealed by the 100 lids. These are the extra air sources for the engines of the stationary machine. The bottom diagram showing the engine system shows that two gas turbines, apparently smaller than the J79(maybe J85?) were counted this time."

The best F-104 VTOL variant in my opinion.

 

[Hafidz Rahman]

Hi, the structural modifications of CS-704

https://twitter.com/x/status/1038301803035557889

View: https://twitter.com/Ninja998998/status/1038301803035557889?s=20

 

[riggerrob]

Photograph (first image) of Pete Girard holding a model of a jet-powered heliplane concept. Girard was project engineer of special projects at Ryan Aeronautical Co. in San Diego, CA.

Photograph (second image) of a model of Girard's jet-powered heliplane concept.

Source: "Supersonic Helicopter" Popular Mechanics August 1962 p. 69.

Did anyone build a wind tunnel model or ground spin rig of the triangular rotor?