XV-5B Vertifan - Fort Rucker, AL - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

The Ryan XV-5 Vertifan was a jet-powered V/STOL experimental aircraft in the 1960s. The U.S. Army commissioned the Ryan VZ-11RY (which was redesignated as the XV-5 in 1962) in 1961, along with the Lockheed VZ-10 Hummingbird (redesignated as the XV-4).

The XV-5 drove three fans. Engine gases from two 3,000 lbf (13 kN) thrust J85 turbojets, similar to those used in the F-5 Freedom Fighter were sent to exit by turning fans. It was much simpler in concept, if not execution, compared to the future F-35 Lightning II which has one fan driven by a driveshaft, balanced by a rotating rear nozzle. There was a large fan in each wing with covers resembling half garbage can lids that flipped up for vertical flight. The 36 inch (0.9 m) nose fan provided adequate pitch control but made flying tricky. The fans provided vertical thrust of approximately 16,000 lbf (71.2 kN), nearly three times the horizontal thrust of the engines alone.

A set of louvered vanes underneath each of the large wing fans could vector the thrust in any direction and provided yaw control. Each jet engine could be controlled for RPM. Wing fan RPM was determined by the output from the J85 engines and fan flow at the fan inlets. Roll control was by differential actuation of the wing-fan exit louvers.

The project performance was moderately subsonic, with delta wings somewhat like an A-4 Skyhawk. The Vertifan also featured a fan in the nose, an unusual intake situated above the two-seat side-by-side seating cockpit, and a T-tail.

The XV-5A was finished in Army green, while the XV-5B was painted in white NASA colors. The fans did not generate as much thrust as was hoped, and the vertical-horizontal flight transition was difficult and abrupt. The XV-5 would be one of the last manned aircraft designed and built by Ryan, which mainly manufactured drones after the mid 1960s.

The XV-5 was one of many dozens of aircraft which attempted to produce a successful vertical takeoff aircraft, but the lift fan system was heavy and occupied considerable internal volume. Only the Hawker Siddeley Harrier would still be operational by the turn of the 21st century, as would technology to make possible the use of a shaft-driven fan in the F-35.

Above info from Wikipedia.

Type of Aircraft: (make/model): XV-5B Vertifan Tail Number: (S/N): N705NA Construction:: original aircraft Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): U. S. Army Aviation Museum inside / outside: outside Other Information:: The aircraft is part of the outdoors display of the U. S. Army Aviation Museum at Ft. Rucker. Access restrictions: The aircraft is displayed outside. There is no fence. Daylight hours would be best for visiting. The aircraft is located on an active Army base.

Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)

Tell why you are visiting this waymark along with any other interesting facts or personal experiences about the aircraft not already mentioned.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.