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The Tilt Wing Advantage - For High Speed VSTOL Aircraft
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Abstract
By the early 21st century, high speed VSTOL aircraft will be operating in Air Transportation Systems around the world moving people and cargo to and from thousands of public use vertiports and stolports. Of even greater significance is the fact that high speed VSTOL aircraft will be playing a major role in reducing traffic congestion on the ground and in the air at busy hub airports.
For many years world wide attention has been drawn to the United States' effort to develop the military V-22 Osprey. More than two billion dollars have been expended on this tilt rotor program. The advantages of a tilt wing over a tilt rotor, however, are beginning to surface in both the United States and abroad. The tilt wing, it turns out, is more efficient, more cost effective, safer and an easier aircraft to operate.
Tilt wing development began in the mid 1950's. Successful demonstrator aircraft were the Boeing Vertol 76 VZ-2, the Hiller X-18, the LTV/Hiller/Ryan XC-142A and the Canadair CL-84. In the mid 1970's military support for this form of power lift decreased. Also, there was no obvious need at the time for civil high speed VSTOL aircraft. Now there is.
Tilt rotor studies began in the mid 1940's by the Bell Helicopter Company. Bell's first test aircraft was the XV-3. Their second tilt rotor aircraft was the XV-15. The military V-22 Osprey is a combined Bell-Boeing tilt rotor program.
This paper brings into focus the technical and operational advantages of the tilt wing concept in comparison with the tilt rotor, the helicopter and conventional airplanes. The following areas are discussed and analyzed: Public Acceptance, Block Time, Direct Operating Cost, Useful Load and Payload, Vertical Lift, Propulsive Efficiency, Pilot Transition, Reliability Maintenance and Safety, Development and Production cost, Structural Dynamics, CTOL/VTOL/STOL and STOVL operations, and Search and Rescue (SAR).
A 9 passenger (11 seats) high speed VSTOL tilt wing aircraft is proposed for entry into the civil market by the late 1990's. It will be certificated in the U.S. under the FAA's “Airworthiness Criteria for the Powered-Lift Normal Category Aircraft” which applies to “nine or fewer passenger seats”.
A 14 passenger (16 seats) tilt wing vehicle that will require certification under the FAA's “Airworthiness Criteria for Powered Lift Transport Category Aircraft” is currently in development by another company.
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Authors
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Citation
Chana, W. and Sullivan, T., "The Tilt Wing Advantage - For High Speed VSTOL Aircraft," SAE Technical Paper 921911, 1992, https://doi.org/10.4271/921911.Also In
References
- Reber, Ron “Addressing Community Concerns About Vertical Flight” VERTIFLIGHT September October 1991
- Kocurek, David Dr. “Tilting at Targets” Author - Graham Warwick FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 11 February 1992
- Boeing/Bell Study Team “Civil Tilt Rotor Missions and Applications - Phase II” January 1991 NASA Ames
- Ruscello, Anthony “Conceptual Design and Analysis of a Special Operations Transport,” VERTIFLIGHT May June 1992
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- Phillips, Frederick C. “The Canadair CL-84 Experimental Aircraft - Lessons Learned” AIAA PAPER 90-3205 Dayton, Ohio September 1990
- Blackburn, Albert W. “Tilt Wing or Tilt Rotor” PROFESSIONAL PILOT January 1991
- Chana, William F. Independent Study of Military and Commercial Aircraft Development Costs beginning with the Douglas DC-3 1935
- Michaelsen, Odd E. “Comparison of Outflows From Helicopter, Tilt Wing, and Jet Lift Hovering Aircraft” AIAA PAPER 71-992 Wash., DC 25 October 1971
- Sullivan, T. M. “Suitability of the CL-84 Tilt Wing Aircraft For The Sea Control Ship System” SAE PAPER 72-0852 2 October 1972
- Jane's All The World's Aircraft JANE'S PUBLISHING CO., LTD. London, England