VTOL(s) by yvesvidal - FINISHED - 1/48th - PLASTIC

[yvesvidal]

Folks, a silly idea came into my mind as I wanted to build some VTOL aircraft that were all absolute fiasco, one way or the other.

It was also a nice break from the wood dust and the realization that I have lost a lot of my plastic model skills. And because I model pretty much exclusively in 1/48th, the choice of these strange beasts came to:

 

Convair XFY-1

SNECMA C-450-01 Coleoptere

Bachen  Ba349A Natter

Focke Wulf Triebflugel

 

The first three planes were complete disaster one way or the other and the last one did not go beyond some models being tested in a wind tunnel.

 

The Convair XFY-1 was actually the best of all four aircraft as it did not kill its test pilots. YouTube has a couple of very informative videos and testimonies from the test pilot, clearly showing the impossibility to fly that plane (actually to land it) without helicopter assistance and radio communication nearby. Of the four prototypes, it was also the only one that could fly normally, as expected from a plane.

 

The kit is from Lindberg and is showing its age, specifically the decals. It was the first time I used ALCLAD2 paints to recreate the aluminum finishing of the plane structure. Thanks to DocRob and a couple of tutorials, I was able to achieve a decent rendering. A new set of decals was sourced from E-Bay and allowed me to finish the model.

 

 

 

Interestingly enough, Lindberg recreated the contra-rotating motion of the enormous propellers, with miniature gears. It is pretty cool.

 

 

 

The second model of that crazy group, is the infamous French SNECMA C-450-01 Coleoptere.

 

 

The kit was produced by Heller in 1958 or 59 and later on re-issued by a Japanese distributor. I was able to procure the Japanese kit for an hefty amount.

 

The C-450 was a radical departure in engineering and was a platform developed to study VTOL and RAMJET at the same time. Although the only prototype did not implement the Ramjet engine, the annular/circular wing was quite interesting and must have been a challenge as the profile of the wing had to change progressively all along its circumference if the plane was to ever fly. The French test pilot Morel, managed to take off and land the contraption 8 times, thanks to a rotating seat  and additional windows on the sides and below his feet. The pivoting seat allowed the pilot to always have a clear view of the ground and the horizon. On the ninth flight, the pilot decided to place the aircraft in an horizontal position and that is when all hell broke loose. The plane could not fly (annular wing had not enough lift...?) and the pilot ejected, unfortunately too close to the ground. He spent many months in an hospital and survived this catastrophe. The program was cancelled by the French government.

 

The model assembles quite easily and the 50 years old decals had to be coated before being used. I absolutely love the shape of the bird. It is so unusual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our third candidate is the Bachen Ba349 Natter (snake). The Natter was a last minute effort by the Germans to come up with a solution to destroy the heavy bombers that were leveling the Germany, when most of the airfields had been destroyed. The natter was built of wood and plywood, powered by the chemical jet engine of the Komet and four JATO rockets to help it get off the ground. The plane was armed with a bunch of small rockets in the nose. After destroying a bomber or a couple of them, the pilot would eject, come down with his parachute, while the plane splits itself in two sections, coming down to the ground with their parachutes. A lot of waste in equipment for some poor results, but the Natter was made of cheap plywood and the German were desperate. The first few test flights were done unmanned. The only manned flight of the Natter, was done with a young pilot who was knocked out by the initial acceleration and could not do anything to prevent the Natter from crashing and exploding a few kilometers away. The allied forces were able to bring back a few samples of that plane and one of them is in the National Air and Space Museum, near DC (waiting to be restored).

 

The kit is an old Dragon kit and is extremely detailed. In fact, the ramp/pylon to launch the plane is much more difficult to build than the plane itself. Overall, it is a very delicate but extremely detailed model with even some PE parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last VTOL is the Focke-Wulf Triebflugel. A crazy concept studied towards the end of WWII by Focke-Wulf which never ended up being built, by lack of time and resources. The design is quite incredible and only Germans with their incredible mechanical skills could have made such engineering challenge. A rotating structure in the middle of the fuselage, holding three rotating wings propelled by three ramjets, located at the tip of the wings. The plane would take off like an helicopter and transition to an horizontal flight line at a certain altitude. The landing would be done i reverse and would have presented an incredible challenge, even for the German ace pilots.

 

The kit is distributed by Amuzing Hobby, A Japanese company and is very interesting to put together. The central section rotates nicely and the three wings can be positioned as you wish. The shape of the fuselage is really cool and I would almost be tempted to build the 1/32nd version of that same concept.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our four VTOL aircraft are now displayed next to each other:

 

 

 

 

Et voila. A collection of insanity and crazy engineering dreams, that went nowhere.

 

Yves

 

 

 

[GrandpaPhil]

Very cool!

[Canute]

Nice oddballs, Yves.

 

I seem to remember another US tailsitter design that rode on a flatbed. The flatbed went vertical for takeoff and landing. USAF declined to build it, seeing no operational need.

Edited Monday at 01:17 PM by Canute

[Danstream]

Awesome thematic collection, Yves. Perhaps, my preferred is the French Coleoptere. I am amazed by the fact that it flew and somebody could control it.

BTW, you wrote that the annular wing had a variable section along the circumference; is this documented or is a deduction of yours?

Best regards,

Dan

[yvesvidal]

6 hours ago, Danstream said:

Awesome thematic collection, Yves. Perhaps, my preferred is the French Coleoptere. I am amazed by the fact that it flew and somebody could control it.

BTW, you wrote that the annular wing had a variable section along the circumference; is this documented or is a deduction of yours?

Best regards,

Dan

Thank you Dan. Well, I hope they planned for a variable section, otherwise the lift forces would cancel each other. I am sure, the French engineers thought about this and they may have done some tests with models, before spending all that money for nothing. The net result is that when trying to position the plane horizontally, the pilot lost control of it, as the prototype dived to the ground.

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

Below are a couple of interesting YouTube videos about these failed prototypes: 

 

 

 

 

 

[DocRob]

A fantastic collection of more or less flying curiosities you have there, Yves. I love them all, but have to admit, the Coleoptere is a stand out. Interesting, that they were not able to calculate the lift of the annular wing correctly. It might have to do with the low speed when converting into vertical flight. Good to have computer simulation now, but your models show, there was a time in the 40´s and 50´s where everything was thought possible.
I have a 1/32 Natter in stash and I am considering to build it in plywood finish, when time comes.

Cheers Rob

[Danstream]

14 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

Well, I hope they planned for a variable section, otherwise the lift forces would cancel each other. I am sure, the French engineers thought about this and they may have done some tests with models, before spending all that money for nothing.

Thanks for your answer. Surely the French engineers made extensive testing to support their design. This is the norm. As a side note, I just mention that a symmetric section is also able to produce lift when it is at an angle with the flow. A symmetric section would have been much easier to be build in a controlled way. I think that with an annular wing, the lift is not just the integration of the local forces of the sections, but also the synergy that the tube produces as a whole when at an angle of attack. It goes without saying that when the plane is vertical, it must entirely rely on the trust of the engine to stay aloft.

Best regards,

Dan