Alexander
Lippisch Aerodyne
Limited edition Sharkit ; 1/72 scale. Price
eur40
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Alexander Lippisch was born in Munich, Germany
in 1894. Developing an affinity for delta-winged aircraft, he designed
a series of innoative gliders during the 1930s, his concepts ultimately
resulting in World War II's rocket-powered ME163 "Komet" interceptor.
In 1950, Lippisch joined the American Collins Radio Co. where he investigated
the feasibility of building a high-performance Vertical Take-Off and Landing
(VTOL) aircraft. The "Aerodyne" was the most interesting of his
concepts: Theoretically, it would be able to outpace most conventional
aircraft with the same weight/power ratio, it would be able to achieve
super-sonic speed, and it didn't have the operational disadvantages of
such "tail-sitters" as the Convair XFY-1 "Pogo," Lockheed's
XFV-1 "Salmon," or the Ryan X-13 "Vertijet."
The Aerodyne's lift and propulsion were
to be generated by two co-axial shrouded propellers, the slipstream from
which would be deflected downward by "flaps" for vertical take-off
and landing. Control was to be achieved by deflecting part of the slipstream
emerging from the end of the tail boom, and by flaps in the propeller slipstream.
Lippisch's fundamental equations survive
on paper, and this Sharkit represents one of the many models built for
research purposes. Despite the drawn cokpit, only unmanned craft were built
and tested.
The Aerodyne configuration was ultimately
validated by the Dornier aerodyne "E1," a high-speed VTOL drone
developed between 1968 and 1971, and succesfully fight-tested in 1972.
Hovering flight tests showed extremely smoth attitude stabilization and
minimal ground-effects.
And, of course, the McDonnell-Douglas Harrier
Jump Jet, developed in the 1970s and still in operation today, employs
many of Lippisch's VTOL principles.
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