Aircraft That Hovers - For decades engineers have been trying to combine the best features of helicopters and airplanes to create an airplane that can fly. As a result, various methods of transport and landing were created, some more successful than others.
Both airplanes and helicopters offer amazing capabilities, but they are, at least in some cases, unique. Helicopters are capable of takeoff and landing (VTOL), including mid-range. That means they can work from almost anywhere, independent of airports. Airplanes can't do that because they need runways. But they can carry larger loads and fly faster than helicopters can.
Aircraft That Hovers
Wouldn't it be great to combine the capabilities of these two types of aircraft? The idea is not new. Since at least the 1950s, aeronautical engineers have been working on the problem. To date, only a handful of aircraft have been towed.
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Here's a look at what goes into getting an airplane to lift off the ground vertically and enter the center. Four planes have made the cut so far, and each has dealt with engineering problems in a different way.
The technology behind an air conditioner is very complex. Airplanes, by definition, need air flowing over their fixed wings to lift them. When an airplane is moving, it has no forward speed, so its wings cannot lift.
So how do you make a plane? Designers and manufacturers have been experimenting with different methods for decades.
Helicopters are the obvious solution. They are a proven technology that enables takeoff and landing (VTOL) and medium maneuvering. The helicopter achieves this by producing its lift with spinning rotors instead of fixed wings.
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But helicopters have many disadvantages. They can't carry a lot of cargo, and they can't fly very fast. In fact, today's helicopters are limited to about 200 knots of top speed, much less than what is needed for a fighter/interceptor.
Therefore, aerospace designers have a challenge on their hands - how can they make an aircraft as capable and fast as a modern fighter, but also because it can fly and land correctly?
It is a serious challenge because the ability to control an aircraft from anywhere opens up many functions.
It should be noted that there are some aircraft on this list that cannot take off and land in all conditions.
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Several methods have been tried to open a plane (or rather, the shape of a plane). The basic idea is - you use engine power to clear the ground at altitude, then at a safe altitude, you switch to using the engine for forward thrust and the wings for pregnancy. This allows you to fly in an airplane while taking off but can also take off and land directly.
Ryan Aircraft tested the so-called "tail-sitter." This plane sat upright on the rail, and the pilot sat pointing the sky like a rock before take off. Ryan wasn't around, and neither were Tails.
A better way to achieve a vertical approach is to hold the engine throttle and throttle in a controlled manner. If the engine runs at full power and generates more than the weight of the fully loaded aircraft, it should have enough power to lift off the ground.
The problem with this method is that it is expensive to manufacture and difficult to fly. But there are some successful "jump-jet" strategies that work very well.
A British Royal Navy Frs.mk 1 Sea Harrier Aircraft Hovers Over The Flight Deck Of The Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier Uss Dwight D. Eisenhower (cvn 69). Another Harrier Is Approaching In The Background
The current jet-jump transport is an aircraft with vertical elevators that direct a plane down. In combination with suspension, this can create the lift needed to leave the soil in an easy way.
Finally, there is a design where the entire engine is designed to pivot. For takeoff and landing, the engines should be vertical. For steady flight, turn the engines to a level position.
The Harrier family of aircraft is commonly known as the Jump Jet. The importance of the Harrier to this list is easy to underestimate. If it wasn't for the Harrier, there wouldn't be a list at all. Out of all the wild and crazy ideas the engineers came up with, the Harrier stood out.
The Harrier first entered service in 1969 and is still used today by several manufacturers. The US Marine Corps uses them, as do many others. But their main users, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, have retired their old Harrier fleets.
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For all their excellent stats, the Harrier design is the best at the moment. They are subject to wear and tear throughout their working life, requiring a lot of maintenance and high operating costs. They are also difficult for pilots to fly.
Hawker Siddeley and Britsh Aerospace built the first generation of Harriers. The aircraft was named the AV-8A Harrier and was used by the Royal Air Force and the US Marine Corps. The Sea Harrier is a version developed for the Royal Navy and the Indian Navy.
In the 1980s, the second generation Harrier was built in the US by McDonnell Douglas, the AV-8B. When Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas, the Hawker came under that company's umbrella.
In operation, the Harrier uses a single Rolls-Royce turbine engine that has four vectored nozzles that can move independently from horizontal to slightly forward vertically (98 degrees). Being able to turn the nozzles slightly forward meant that the Harrier could move backwards while going forward.
Yakovlev Yak 141
Over its forty years of service, 824 Harriers were delivered, making it the most popular and successful aircraft ever flown.
Another way to get an airplane off the ground is to simply remove the entire engine. The best working example of this approach is the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. It's not a plane, but it's not a helicopter either.
Although many others were designed, the Osprey was the world's first operational tiltrotor aircraft. The FAA has developed a new type of "powerlift" aircraft for it, hoping that the technology will one day be used for civilian use.
First flown in 1989, the Osprey project was so fraught with engineering and design problems that the aircraft did not enter operational service until 2007. The design retains the VTOL functionality of a helicopter but continues to the performance of flying a powerful turboprop aircraft.
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There are about 400 aircraft on offer, and they are in use by the US Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force also operates a fleet of aircraft. The US Navy currently plans to use a CMV-22B variant for carrier operations. India, Indonesia and Israel are also interested in the V-22.
The operating range of the Osprey is about 900 nautical miles, and they can do about 300 nautical miles. The rear ramp can be opened in flight for rappelling and lifting.
The latest generation of tiltrotor developed is the Bell V-280 Valor. This version is designed for the US Army to replace their fleet of attack helicopters.
The Soviets' attempt at a competitor to the Harrier jet was the Yakovlev Yak-38. It first flew in 1971 and entered service in 1976 but was retired. It was a precursor to the better Yak-41, a great design that was canceled due to bad timing.
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The Yak-38 was used on the Kiev-class aircraft carriers by the Soviet Navy. They built 231 of them and operated them until 1991.
Although the design of the Yak-38 looks similar to the Harrier, the concept of the aircraft's performance is completely different. Where the Harrier used one engine with four separate exhaust ports, the Yak used one large engine and two smaller engines mounted specifically for takeoff and landing.
America's latest fighter jet design, combining the STOVL type, has been developed. The F-35B has a single turbine engine with a vector nozzle and a power fan to provide lift for takeoff and landing.
Much of the technology that went into the V/STOL system of the F-35B came from a partnership between Lockheed Corporation and Yakovlev. The systems included in the Yak-141, an experimental aircraft that became the canceled Yak-41, are going to the F-35B.
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Many of the original manufacturers of the retired Harriers have started to replace the F-35B. Unlike its predecessors, the F-35B is the first VTOL aircraft capable of flying.
The F-35 program is called joint because there is a version available for all service branches, tailored to the needs of each branch. Only the F-35B has V/STOL capability.
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