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X-13 Vertijet
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The
Ryan Aeronautical Company X-13A-RY Vertijet, Ryan Model 69, was an experimental
Ryan Aeronautical Company X-13A-RY Vertijet, Ryan Model 69, was an experimental
VTOL aircraft flown in the United States in the 1950s. The main objective of the project was to demonstrate the ability of a pure jet to vertically takeoff, hover, transition to horizontal forward flight, and vertically land.
Development
Just after
World War II, Ryan engineers wondered whether or not the Ryan/U.S. Navy
FR-1 Fireball, which had a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1 at low fuel quantities, would take off vertically. The
Navy's
United States Navy Bureau of Aeronautics|Bureau of Aeronautics in
1947 in aviation awarded Ryan a contract to investigate the development of a vertically-launched jet fighter. This was part of a program to evaluate the feasibility of submarine-based aircraft. Ryan conducted remote controlled VTOL tethered rig tests from 1947 to
1950 in aviation and a flying rig in 1951. Ryan was awarded an
US Air Force contract in
1953 in aviation to develop an actual flying jet-powered VTOL aircraft, which was given the designation X-13. Two prototypes were built.
The Ryan X-13 Vertijet was 23 ft 5 in (7.14 m) long. It was just large enough to accommodate the single place cockpit (with a tilted seat) and the 10,000 lbf (45 kN) thrust
Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet. The high mounted delta wing of the aircraft had a wingspan of only 21 ft (6.4 m) and was capped with flat endplates. The nose of the aircraft had a short pole ending in a hook. The hook was used to catch a wire on the vertical trailer bed/landing platform. After the aircraft landed vertically, the trailer was lowered to horizontal. The trailer was then used to transport the aircraft on the ground. Pitch and yaw control in hover were provided by vectored engine thrust. Roll control was provided by "puffer" jets mounted outboard of the wingtip endplates. The first prototype (
- 54-1619) was fitted with temporary landing gear and made its first horizontal flight on December 10, 1955 in aviation. Later, it made full horizontal to vertical attitude conversions and back again at altitude. The first prototype then had the landing gear replaced with a tail mounted framework that held it in a vertical attitude on the ground. Using this rig, hooking practice was conducted. The second prototype (#54-1620), on 1955 in aviation. Later, it made full horizontal to vertical attitude conversions and back again at altitude. The first prototype then had the landing gear replaced with a tail mounted framework that held it in a vertical attitude on the ground. Using this rig, hooking practice was conducted. The second prototype (#54-1620), on April 11, 1957 in aviation, made a vertical take-off from the vertically raised trailer, transitioned to horizontal flight and back again. It then returned back to the vertical trailer and landed by hooking the landing wire.
On
July 28-
July 29,
1957, the X-13 was demonstrated in Washington, D.C. It crossed the
Potomac River and landed at the Pentagon.
The Air Force chose not to continue development of the Ryan X-13 Vertijet because of the lack of an operational requirement.
Operational history
The X-13 was designed to investigate vertical takeoff, horizontal flight transition, and return to vertical flight for landing. The first prototype of it X-13 was equipped with temporary tricycle landing gear. The X-13 was flown conventionally on
December 10,
1955 to test its aerodynamic characteristics. The Vertijet was then fitted with a temporary "tail sitting" rig. On
May 28,
1956 in aviation, it was flown from the ground in a vertical position to test its hovering qualities. The X-13 VertiJet completed its first full-cycle flight at
1956 in aviation, it was flown from the ground in a vertical position to test its hovering qualities. The X-13 VertiJet completed its first full-cycle flight at
Edwards AFB, California on
April 11,
1957, when it took off vertically from its mobile trailer, angled over into a horizontal attitude, and flew for several minutes. The X-13 then transitioned to vertical flight and slowly descended back onto its trailer and landed.
The two X-13 aircraft are now on display at aviation museums. The Vertijet which made the
full-cycle flight on
April 11,
1957 (
Aircraft serial numbers
- X-13 - USAF 54-1619
- X-13 - USAF 54-1620
Specifications (X-13)
{{airtemp|
|plane or copter?=plane
|jet or prop?=jet
|crew=one pilot
|length main=23 ft 5 in
|length alt=7.14 m
|span main=21 ft 0 in
|span alt=6.40 m
|height main=15 ft 2 in
|height alt=4.62 m
|area main=191 ft²
|area alt=17.8 m²
|empty weight main=5,334 lb
|empty weight alt=2,424 kg
|loaded weight main=6,730 lb
|loaded weight alt=3,059 kg
|max takeoff weight main=7,200 lb
|max takeoff weight alt=3,272 kg
|engine (jet)=
Rolls-Royce Avon
|type of jet= turbojet
|number of jets=1
|thrust main=10,000 lbf
|thrust alt=44.6 kN
|max speed main=350 mph
|max speed alt=560 km/h
|range main=192 miles
|range alt=307 km
|ceiling main=20,000 ft
|ceiling alt=6,100 m
|climb rate main=ft/min
|climb rate alt= m/min
|loading main=35.2 lb/ft²
|loading alt=172 kg/m²
|thrust/weight=1.48 lbf/lb (14.8 N/kg)
}}
Related content
{{aircontent|
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|sequence=
North American X-10|X-10 -
Convair X-11 -
Convair X-12 -
X-13 -
Bell X-14 -
North American X-15|X-15 -
Bell X-16
|lists=
|see also=
- List of experimental aircraft
- X-plane
}}
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