FRENCH LOW-SPEED V/STOL CONCEPTS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

A number of different types of Vertical and/or Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) rotorcraft and propeller aircraft concepts were explored in France during the Twentieth Century, primarily during the 1950s and 1960s. This paper discusses the various concepts studied, the extent of development, and, where possible, lessons learned. The Sud-Ouest SO 1100 Ariel (1948) and SO 1310 Farfadet (1953) tip-jet compounds and the Nord 500 ducted propeller aircraft (1968) all flew and provided lessons learned for future concepts. Numerous other design excursions were also conducted and are included here to the maximum extent possible. Recently, tilt-rotor designs have been studied, such as the X 910 (1975), the Eurofar (1990), and the Eurotilt (2000) programs. Although none of these designs reached production or even flight testing, significant component, wind tunnel and sub-scale tests were conducted. This paper will catalog all known low-speed V/STOL designs for the benefit of future compound rotorcraft and propellercraft development efforts, such as being considered for the Future Transport Rotorcraft (FTR) concept and the current European tilt-rotor design effort. This paper is the fourth in a series examining V/STOL designs during the Twentieth Century.