List of VTOL aircraft
Encyclopedia
This is a list of planes capable of vertical take-off and landing
arranged under manufacturer. The list excludes helicopter
s because they are assumed to have this capability.
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off and land vertically. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors...
arranged under manufacturer. The list excludes helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s because they are assumed to have this capability.
A
- Aero-Design & Development Hummingbird
- AeroVironment SkyToteAeroVironment SkyToteThe SkyTote is an unmanned aerial vehicle , tailsitter Vertical Take-Off and Landing -fixed wing hybrid plane, which attains the advantages of both airplane designs...
- Aeryon Scout
- AESIR HODER
- AirBuoyant - VertiPod
- Augusta-Westland Erica (tiltwingTiltwingA tiltwing aircraft features a wing that is horizontal for conventional forward flight and rotates up for vertical takeoff and landing. It is similar to the tiltrotor design where only the propeller and engine rotate. Tiltwing aircraft are typically fully capable of VTOL operations.The tiltwing...
) - Avcen JetPod
- Avro Avrocar
B
- BAE Harrier II - vectored thrust
- BAE Sea HarrierBAE Sea HarrierThe British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval VTOL/STOVL jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft, a development of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the "Shar"...
- vectored thrust - Bell Boeing V-22 OspreyV-22 OspreyThe Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, military, tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing , and short takeoff and landing capability...
(tiltrotorTiltrotorA tiltrotor is an aircraft which uses a pair or more of powered rotors mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles at the end of a fixed wing for lift and propulsion, and combines the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft...
) - Bell 65 ATV (TiltjetTiltjetA tiltjet aircraft is similar in concept to a tiltrotor design. Whereas a tiltrotor utilises rotors, the tiltjet employs jet engines with the entire propulsion system being rotated from the from axial to dorsal in order to achieve a transition from hover or vertical flight to horizontal. They are...
) - Bell Boeing Quad TiltRotorBell Boeing Quad TiltRotorThe Bell Boeing Quad TiltRotor is a proposed four-rotor derivative of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor developed jointly by Bell Helicopter and Boeing. The concept is a contender in the U.S. Army's Joint Heavy Lift program...
- Bell Eagle EyeBell Eagle Eye-References:* This article contains material that originally came from the web article by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.-External links:** * ....
(tiltrotor) - Bell X-14
- Bell X-22Bell X-22-References:NotesBibliography* Markman, Steve and Bill Holder. Straight Up: A History of Vertical Flight. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7643-1204-9....
(ducted fanDucted fanA ducted fan is a propulsion arrangement whereby a fan, which is a type of propeller, is mounted within a cylindrical shroud or duct. The duct reduces losses in thrust from the tip vortices of the fan, and varying the cross-section of the duct allows the designer to advantageously affect the...
) - Bell XV-15Bell XV-15The Bell XV-15 was an American tiltrotor VTOL aircraft. It was the second successful experimental tiltrotor aircraft and the first to demonstrate the concept's high speed performance relative to conventional helicopters.-Early VTOL rotor aircraft:...
(tiltrotor) - Bell/Agusta BA609Bell/Agusta BA609The AgustaWestland AW609, formerly the Bell/Agusta BA609, is a civil twin-engined tiltrotor VTOL aircraft with a configuration similar to the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey.-Design and development:...
(tiltrotorTiltrotorA tiltrotor is an aircraft which uses a pair or more of powered rotors mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles at the end of a fixed wing for lift and propulsion, and combines the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft...
) - Bensen B-10 Propcopter
- Boeing/Mcdonnell Douglas AV-8 Harrier - vectored thrust
- Boeing-Vertol VZ-2 (tiltwingTiltwingA tiltwing aircraft features a wing that is horizontal for conventional forward flight and rotates up for vertical takeoff and landing. It is similar to the tiltrotor design where only the propeller and engine rotate. Tiltwing aircraft are typically fully capable of VTOL operations.The tiltwing...
) - Boeing X-50Boeing X-50The Boeing X-50A Dragonfly, formerly known as the Canard Rotor/Wing Demonstrator, was a gyrodyne unmanned aerial vehicle that was developed by Boeing and DARPA to demonstrate the principle that a helicopter's rotor could be stopped in flight and act as a fixed wing...
- Butterfly LLC Super Sky Cycle
C
- Canadair CL-84Canadair CL-84The Canadair CL-84 "Dynavert", designated by the Canadian Forces as the CX-131, was a V/STOL turbine tilt-wing monoplane designed and manufactured by Canadair between 1964 and 1972. Only four of these experimental aircraft were built with three entering flight testing...
Dynavert (tiltwingTiltwingA tiltwing aircraft features a wing that is horizontal for conventional forward flight and rotates up for vertical takeoff and landing. It is similar to the tiltrotor design where only the propeller and engine rotate. Tiltwing aircraft are typically fully capable of VTOL operations.The tiltwing...
) - CarterCopterCarterCopterThe CarterCopter is an experimental compound autogyro developed by Carter Aviation Technologies to demonstrate slowed rotor technology. On 17 June 2005, the CarterCopter became the first rotorcraft to achieve mu-1 , an equal ratio of airspeed to rotor tip speed, but crashed on the next flight and...
- compound autogyro - Carter PAVCarter PAVThe Carter PAV is a two-bladed, compound autogyro developed by Carter Aviation Technologies to demonstrate slowed rotor technology. The design has an unpowered rotor mounted on top of the fuselage, wings like a conventional fixed-wing aircraft mounted underneath, and a controllable pitch pusher...
- Convair XFY-1 Pogo (tailsitterTailsitterA tailsitter is a type of VTOL aircraft that launches and lands on its tail. One of the most famous examples of this type of aircraft is the Ryan X-13 Vertijet. Among the propeller-driven versions were the Lockheed XFV, and the Convair XFY Pogo. Studies and wind tunnel models were made of a...
) - Curtiss-Wright VZ-7Curtiss-Wright VZ-7-See also:...
(flying jeep) - Curtiss-Wright X-19Curtiss-Wright X-19|-See also:-External links:*...
(tiltrotorTiltrotorA tiltrotor is an aircraft which uses a pair or more of powered rotors mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles at the end of a fixed wing for lift and propulsion, and combines the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft...
)
D
- Dassault Balzac VDassault Balzac V|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Breffort, Dominique and Andre Jouineau. "The Mirage III, 5, 50 and derivatives from 1955 to 2000." Planes and Pilots 6. Paris: Histoire et Collections, 2004. ISBN 2-913903-92-4....
- interim Mirage III VTOL testbed - Dassault Mirage IIIVDassault Mirage IIIV|-See also:-Bibliography:* Breffort, Dominique and Andre Jouineau. "The Mirage III, 5, 50 and derivatives from 1955 to 2000." Planes and Pilots 6. Paris: Histoire et Collections, 2004. ISBN 2-913903-92-4....
- separate lift and thrust engines - de Lackner HZ-1 AerocycleDe Lackner HZ-1 AerocycleThe HZ-1 Aerocycle, also known as the YHO-2 and by the manufacturer's designation DH-4 Heli-Vector, was an American one-man "personal helicopter" developed by de Lackner Helicopters in the mid 1950s. Intended to be operated by inexperienced pilots with a minimum of instruction, the HZ-1 was...
- Dornier Do 31Dornier Do 31-See also:-Bibliography:*Green, William. The Observer's Book of Aircraft. London. Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd., 1968.*Jackson, Paul A. German Military Aviation 1956–1976. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1976. ISBN 0-904597-03-2.-External links:**...
- Doak 16/VZ-4DADoak VZ-4|-References:NotesBibliography* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft . London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.* Swanborough, F.G. and Peter M. Bowers. United States Military Aircraft since 1909. London: Putnam, 1963....
- Wingtip mounted Ducted Fans - DM AeroSafe Group Eagle - a VTOL rescue platform, for rescue operations in tall buildings/structures
- DM AeroSafe Group Aero-cart - a much smaller (personal transport) version of the eagle
E
- EWR VJ 101EWR VJ 101-See also:-Bibliography:* Rogers, Mike. VTOL: Military Research Aircraft. New York: Orion Books, 1989. ISBN 0-517-57684-8.* Winchester, Jim. "EWR-Sud VJ 101C ". X-Planes and Prototypes. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-40-7....
- Rotatable engines at the wingtips, two further lift jets in the fuselage to supplement the main engines in hovering flight.
F
- Fairey Gyrodyne -
- Fairey Jet GyrodyneFairey Jet Gyrodyne|-See also:-Bibliography:* Charnov, Dr. Bruce H. The Fairey Rotodyne: An Idea Whose Time Has Come – Again? Retrieved: 18 May 2007.* Green, William and Pollinger, Gerald...
compound autogyro - Fairey RotodyneFairey RotodyneThe Fairey Rotodyne was a 1950s British compound gyroplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation and intended for commercial and military applications...
- compound autogyro with powered rotor for takeoff/landing - Focke-Wulf Triebfluegeljaeger (tailsitterTailsitterA tailsitter is a type of VTOL aircraft that launches and lands on its tail. One of the most famous examples of this type of aircraft is the Ryan X-13 Vertijet. Among the propeller-driven versions were the Lockheed XFV, and the Convair XFY Pogo. Studies and wind tunnel models were made of a...
, not built)
G
- Garrett STAMPGarrett STAMPThe Garrett STAMP was a two person flying jeep prototype made by a division of AiResearch Manufacturing Co. of Phoenix, Arizona, for the United States Marine Corps STAMP program, in the early 1970s....
(Small Tactical Aerial Mobility Platform) - Gress Aerospace eVader
- Grumman Nutcracker
H
- Hawker P.1127Hawker P.1127The Hawker P.1127 and the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 were the experimental and development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first vertical and/or short take-off and landing jet fighter-bomber...
(prototype of Kestrel/Harrier) - vectored thrust - Hawker Siddeley P.1154Hawker Siddeley P.1154The Hawker Siddeley P.1154 was a planned supersonic vertical/short take-off and landing fighter aircraft designed by Hawker Siddeley Aviation . Developed alongside the subsonic and smaller Hawker Siddeley P.1127/Kestrel, the P.1154 was derived from the P.1150. The P.1150 proposal did not meet NATO...
- vectored thrust supersonic design not completed - Hawker Siddeley Harrier - vectored thrust
- Hawker Siddeley Kestrel (evaluation aircraft forerunner of Harrier) - vectored thrust
- Hiller X-18Hiller X-18The X-18 was an experimental cargo transport aircraft designed to be the first testbed for tiltwing and VSTOL technology.-Development:...
(tiltwingTiltwingA tiltwing aircraft features a wing that is horizontal for conventional forward flight and rotates up for vertical takeoff and landing. It is similar to the tiltrotor design where only the propeller and engine rotate. Tiltwing aircraft are typically fully capable of VTOL operations.The tiltwing...
) - Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee
L
- Lunar Landing Research VehicleLunar Landing Research VehicleThe Bell Aerosystems Lunar Landing Research Vehicle was an Apollo Project era program to build a simulator for the Moon landings. The LLRVs, humorously referred to as "flying bedsteads", were used by the FRC, now known as the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, at Edwards Air Force Base,...
(LLRV) - Lockheed XFV-1 "Salmon" (tailsitterTailsitterA tailsitter is a type of VTOL aircraft that launches and lands on its tail. One of the most famous examples of this type of aircraft is the Ryan X-13 Vertijet. Among the propeller-driven versions were the Lockheed XFV, and the Convair XFY Pogo. Studies and wind tunnel models were made of a...
) - Lockheed XV-4 Hummingbird
- Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II - fan and vectored thrust
- LTV XC-142 (tiltwing)
M
- Martin JetpackMartin Jetpack-References:*http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/jun2010/bw20100615_209271.htm-External links:* * *...
- McDonnell Douglas DC-XMcDonnell Douglas DC-XThe DC-X, short for Delta Clipper or Delta Clipper Experimental, was an unmanned prototype of a reusable single stage to orbit launch vehicle built by McDonnell Douglas in conjunction with the United States Department of Defense's Strategic Defense Initiative Organization from 1991 to 1993...
- Moller SkycarMoller Skycar-Criticism:The only flight demonstrations have been hover tests performed in 2003 by a Skycar prototype that for insurance reasons was tethered to a crane...
- Millennium Jet DuoTrek
P
- PAM 100B
- PAM 100T
- PAM 200
- PAM ILV
- Piasecki VZ-8 Airgeep
- PuffinPuffin (aircraft)|-See also:- External links :*NASA.gov: , 2010-02-08.*, Charles Q. Choi, Scientific American, 2010-01-19*, Discover Magazine, 2010-01-20.*, Jason Paur, Wired, 2010-01-21.*, computer graphic video....
(tailsitterTailsitterA tailsitter is a type of VTOL aircraft that launches and lands on its tail. One of the most famous examples of this type of aircraft is the Ryan X-13 Vertijet. Among the propeller-driven versions were the Lockheed XFV, and the Convair XFY Pogo. Studies and wind tunnel models were made of a...
) project
R
- Rockwell XFV-12
- Rotary Rocket- RotonRotary RocketRotary Rocket, Inc, was a rocketry company headquartered in a facility at Mojave Airport that developed the Roton concept in the late 1990s as a fully reusable single-stage-to-orbit manned spacecraft. Roton was intended to reduce costs of launching payloads into low earth orbit by a factor of...
- Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring RigRolls-Royce Thrust Measuring RigThe Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig was a pioneering vertical take-off and landing aircraft developed by Rolls-Royce in the 1950s. The TMR used two Nene turbojet engines mounted back-to-back horizontally within a steel framework, raised upon four legs with castors for wheels...
- vertical engine testbed - Ryan X-13 Vertijet (tailsitterTailsitterA tailsitter is a type of VTOL aircraft that launches and lands on its tail. One of the most famous examples of this type of aircraft is the Ryan X-13 Vertijet. Among the propeller-driven versions were the Lockheed XFV, and the Convair XFY Pogo. Studies and wind tunnel models were made of a...
) - Ryan XV-5 Vertifan
S
- Sikorsky CypherSikorsky Cypher|-References:This article contains material that originally came from the web article by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.-External links:*...
- Sikorsky Cypher 2
- Sikorsky X-WingSikorsky S-72|-See also:-External links:* * *...
- Short SC.1Short SC.1|-See also:-Bibliography:* Barnes, C.H. with revisions by Derek N. James. Shorts Aircraft since 1900. London: Putnam, 1989 . ISBN 0-85177-819-4.*Illingworth J. K. B. and Chinn H.W. . London: HMSO, 1969. Retrieved: 11 December 2007....
- separate lift and thrust - SNCASO FarfadetSNCASO Farfadet-See also:-Bibliography:* Taylor, John W.R. Jane's Pocket Book of Research and Experimental Aircraft, London, Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd, 1976. ISBN 0356 08409 4.-External links:*...
- SNECMA ColéoptèreSNECMA ColéoptèreThe SNECMA Coléoptère was a VTO aircraft developed by the French in the 1950s. It was a single-person aircraft with an annular wing designed to land vertically, therefore requiring no runway and very little space to take-off. There were several prototypes developed and tested, however the design...
(tailsitterTailsitterA tailsitter is a type of VTOL aircraft that launches and lands on its tail. One of the most famous examples of this type of aircraft is the Ryan X-13 Vertijet. Among the propeller-driven versions were the Lockheed XFV, and the Convair XFY Pogo. Studies and wind tunnel models were made of a...
) - SoloTrek XFVSoloTrek XFVThe SoloTrek XFV was a single-person VTOL aircraft. It was first flown in December 2001 by Millennium Jet Inc, a private company run by Michael Moshier. Millennium Jet subsequently changed its name to Trek Aerospace Inc...
- Springtail Exoskeleton Flying Vehicle
T
- Tiltplane (tailsitterTailsitterA tailsitter is a type of VTOL aircraft that launches and lands on its tail. One of the most famous examples of this type of aircraft is the Ryan X-13 Vertijet. Among the propeller-driven versions were the Lockheed XFV, and the Convair XFY Pogo. Studies and wind tunnel models were made of a...
) - Trek Aerospace DragonflyTrek Aerospace DragonflyThe Trek Aerospace Dragonfly is a horizontally-configured cargo-carrying aircraft from Trek Aerospace that began development in 2004. The Dragonfly has the ability to quickly change its flight options from remote, to unmanned, or manned...
- Thunderbird 1
- Thunderbird 2
V
- VFW VAK 191BVFW VAK 191B|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Jackson, Paul A. German Military Aviation 1956-1976. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1976. ISBN 0-904597-03-2.-External links:* * * *...
- vectored thrust plus vertical lift - VFW-Fokker H3VFW-Fokker H3-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Taylor, John W.R. Jane's Pocket Book of Research and Experimental Aircraft, London, Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd, 1976. ISBN 0356 08409 4....
- Compound helicopter
W
- Williams International WTS-125
- Williams X-JetWilliams X-JetThe Williams X-Jet, created by Williams International, was a small, light-weight Vertical Take Off and Landing system powered by a modified Williams F107 turbofan aircraft engine. This vehicle was nicknamed "The Flying Pulpit". It was designed to be operated by and carry one person and controlled...
Y
- Yakovlev Yak-141Yakovlev Yak-141The Yakovlev Yak-141 , also known as the Yak-41, is a supersonic vertical takeoff/landing fighter aircraft designed by Yakolev. It did not enter production.-Design and development:...
- Yakovlev Yak-36 - vectored thrust
- Yakovlev Yak-38Yakovlev Yak-38The Yakovlev Yak-38 was Soviet Naval Aviation's first and only operational VTOL strike fighter aircraft, in addition to being its first operational carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft...
- separate lift and thrust
See also
- Helicopter manufacturersHelicopter manufacturersIt is useful to think of helicopter manufacturers as falling into two categories, those that can design, certify and manufacture new helicopter designs from scratch and those that can only manufacture extant designs under license...
- ColeopterColeopterA coleopter is a type of Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft design that uses a ducted fan as the primary fuselage of the entire aircraft. Generally they appear to be a large barrel-like extension at the rear, with a small cockpit area suspended above it. Like most ducted fan designs, coleopters...
- TiltrotorTiltrotorA tiltrotor is an aircraft which uses a pair or more of powered rotors mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles at the end of a fixed wing for lift and propulsion, and combines the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft...
- TiltjetTiltjetA tiltjet aircraft is similar in concept to a tiltrotor design. Whereas a tiltrotor utilises rotors, the tiltjet employs jet engines with the entire propulsion system being rotated from the from axial to dorsal in order to achieve a transition from hover or vertical flight to horizontal. They are...
- TiltwingTiltwingA tiltwing aircraft features a wing that is horizontal for conventional forward flight and rotates up for vertical takeoff and landing. It is similar to the tiltrotor design where only the propeller and engine rotate. Tiltwing aircraft are typically fully capable of VTOL operations.The tiltwing...
- TailsitterTailsitterA tailsitter is a type of VTOL aircraft that launches and lands on its tail. One of the most famous examples of this type of aircraft is the Ryan X-13 Vertijet. Among the propeller-driven versions were the Lockheed XFV, and the Convair XFY Pogo. Studies and wind tunnel models were made of a...