Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

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Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#1 Post by Cacophonix » Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:57 am

I wonder how many people in Britain have heard of Michel Wibault whose interest and patented VTOL design concept served as the impetus for the redesign work that led to the development of the Bristol then Rolls Royce Pegasus Turbofan engine that enabled the ultimate development of the Hawker Harrier.
WIBAULT’S HISTORY IN AVIATION

After the First World War Michel Wibault founded the “Societe des Avions Michel Wibault“ (S.A. Wibault) near Paris, France. He designed several fighter and transport aircraft out of Duraluminium, most of which were monoplanes instead of biplanes which were still a common sight in the 1920s to early 1940s.

In 1922 Wibault became a consultant for the British Vickers aircraft company. He apparently maintained links to this English aircraft company over the years but during the Second World War Wibault emigrated to the United States and worked in the aviation industry; many different companies including Republic Aviation.

The chief engineer of Republic Aviation back then was Alexander Kartveli, born in the Soviet Republic of Georgia. Kartveli obtained an engineering degree in Paris and had worked for several French companies, including S.A. Wibault, before he emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1920s.

There is little information about exactly what Michel Wibault DID during the 1945-55 period working for several U.S. aviation companies, but at least one of his peculiar aircraft designs from 1948 is known. A strange rear-pusher aircraft!

By 1956, however, Michel Wibault, well-known for his pre-WW II designs (and probably his secret disc work), proposed a VTOL aircraft named the "Gyroptere". He was interested in building a combat aircraft that would be able to operate independently of airfields, which were clearly vulnerable to immediate destruction by Soviet nuclear strikes on the event of a general European war.
Wibault1.JPG
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Wibault original concept for VTOL engine

The Gyroptere was to be fitted with a British Bristol "BE.25 Orion" turboshaft engine, with 8,000 horsepower, fitted in the rear fuselage to drive four blower units, two on each side of the aircraft and arranged around the center of gravity. Each blower would be in a moveable snail-shaped casing that could be rotated to provide vertical or horizontal thrust.

Wibault tried to promote the Gyroptere with both the French and American air forces and got nowhere. Finally, he approached the Paris-based "Mutual Weapons Development Program (MWDP)", an American-funded NATO office that promoted technologies useful for European defense. The MWDP's chief, US Air Force Colonel John Driscoll, found the concept interesting, and passed it back to the NATO "Advisory Group For Aeronautical Research & Development (AGARD)" for comment.

AGARD's chairman was Theodore von Karman of the California Institute of Technology, and one of the most prestigious figures in aerospace. Von Karman was very intrigued by the idea. Encouraged, Colonel Driscoll then passed the concept on to Bristol Aero Engines back in the UK.

Bristol's technical director, Sir Stanley Hooker, found Wibault's design clumsy and inefficient, but he liked the basic idea of using a single engine for both vertical lift and forward flight. Other VTOL experiments at the time had separate sets of engines for the two purposes. Hooker assigned a small research team consisting of Gordon Lewis, Pierre Young, and Neville Quinn to investigate the idea further.

The research team quickly concluded that Wibault's idea could be greatly improved by using the airflow of the engine itself, directed through swiveling exhausts, instead of a set of external blowers. They then gradually refined the idea going through three different engine proposals ranging from the BE.48 to the final BE.53 which was patented as a new type of engine.

Hooker took the BE.53 concept to Paris to show it to Driscoll and von Karman, who were both enthusiastic. Driscoll left the MWDP soon after Hooker's visit, but his successor, USAF Colonel Willis "Bill" Chapman, was just as enthusiastic.

Hooker also hired Michel Wibault as a consultant. Wibault, far from being offended at the way the British were reworking his design concept, was delighted at their ingenuity. He and Gordon Lewis became joint patent holders for the BE.53, though sadly Michel Wibault died just a few weeks later and never saw his idea become reality.

FROM GYROPTERE TO HARRIER

The VTOL design had the company designation P.1127. It was a funny-looking little aircraft, and indeed nothing that resembled this initial concept would ever fly. The BE.53 was fitted under the fuselage, the three (later two) crew sat in a bulbous canopy with its leading edge on the nose of the aircraft, and straight wings. In hindsight, it looked very much like one of the strange "Luftwaffe 1946" concepts the Germans had designed near the end of World War II.


http://discaircraft.greyfalcon.us/S.htm

P1127 Kestrel.JPG
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And this is pretty much all that is left of the British Harriers. Sad really. Of course the basic improved design flies on as the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II with the USMC and Italian Navy AV-8Bs set to be replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II, with the former expected to operate its Harriers until 2025.



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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#2 Post by Cacophonix » Sat Apr 28, 2018 11:23 am

Happened on this video with John Farley (ex Harrier test pilot) giving a brief, simple and very effective description of the Harrier's control system. What an extraordinary aircraft and being described by an extraordinary pilot. The thing that still amazes me is how it transitions from the hover to normal flight and doesn't simply flop out of the sky.



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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#3 Post by unifoxos » Sat Apr 28, 2018 11:47 am

Great video, explained a lot to me. I noticed that the transition is started with full flaps which is something I'd never realised before, I guess this helps a lot at the lower airspeeds.
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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#4 Post by Cacophonix » Sat Apr 28, 2018 11:56 am

As an addendum to the last video (glad you enjoyed it unifoxos) I attach this one with the chief test pilot describing the differences in flying the F-35 and the Harrier.



I saw the F-35B fly at Farnborough two years ago but it couldn't do the bow simply because that routine was not loaded into the aircraft's computer's flight profile on the day. Chalk and cheese. You had to fly the Harrier whereas the computer takes the strain here!


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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#5 Post by Cacophonix » Sat Apr 28, 2018 12:21 pm

A little more about the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem utilised in the F-35B here.

Rolls Royce.JPG
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Rolls-Royce LiftSystem


see the Gallery in the article above for the interesting videos showing the aircraft in the various take off/hover etc. phases of flight.

Some more detail on the F-35B here.

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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#6 Post by Boac » Sat Apr 28, 2018 7:14 pm

unifoxos wrote:I noticed that the transition is started with full flaps which is something I'd never realised before, I guess this helps a lot at the lower airspeeds.
The full flap is required to reduce the surface area of the wing, since induced down-flow in the 'hover' regime significantly reduces the resultant lifting capacity of the engine. It does not serve a 'normal' flap function I.E it is not used directly to improve low-speed lift in the traditional sense. Once one progresss to the STO area then yes, there is a resulting additional 'traditional flap lift' benefit.

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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#7 Post by Cacophonix » Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:04 pm

Boac wrote:
Sat Apr 28, 2018 7:14 pm
unifoxos wrote:I noticed that the transition is started with full flaps which is something I'd never realised before, I guess this helps a lot at the lower airspeeds.
The full flap is required to reduce the surface area of the wing, since induced down-flow in the 'hover' regime significantly reduces the resultant lifting capacity of the engine. It does not serve a 'normal' flap function I.E it is not used directly to improve low-speed lift in the traditional sense. Once one progresss to the STO area then yes, there is a resulting additional 'traditional flap lift' benefit.
The great thing about this site is the folks that have first hand knowledge of what is being discussed and who are happy to share that knowledge in such a friendly way with others who have a genuine interest. Thanks for that enlightening addendum to the discussion Boac.

Am I right in assuming that in the hover any circulation or recycling of the ground deflected vortices might also have been problematic due to the possibility of the ingestion of foreign objects picked up from the ground (dust, grit etc.) and that the pre-heated air might have reduced the power available for the hover as well?

I have also been looking images of the cockpit controls and see that pilot effectively kept the stick in his right hand and that the throttle was on the left right next to nozzle selector. It strikes me that that urge to want to push both levers fully forward might have been somewhat risky. Was the any lock or gate to stop the pilot inadvertently doing just that when transitioning from the hover?
Throttle.JPG
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http://www.harrier.org.uk/technical/How_Hovers.htm

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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#8 Post by Boac » Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:01 pm

Am I right in assuming that in the hover any circulation or recycling of the ground deflected vortices might also have been problematic due to the possibility of the ingestion of foreign objects picked up from the ground (dust, grit etc.) and that the pre-heated air might have reduced the power available for the hover as well?
- yes, re-ingested exhaust (NB that is the rear 'hot' nozzles only - the front 'cold' nozzles, although blowing 'heated' compressed air, were not really a problem) would degrade performance, but:
Main problem was ingested 'surface', picked up if one accidentally did a 'Caco' hover ( :ymdevil: ) which moved forwards off a prepared landing surface onto soil or grass. Then any aft stick to return to nice landing place did two things
a) Opened front puffer, jetting high-speed air down onto grass/soil which obligingly then went up into donk AND the high-speed air could also cause an interesting pop surge of the donk (even without divots, cow-pats, etc) which could focus your mind and require prising of one's posterior off the seat cushion buttons
b) If one casually sauntered even further forwards off a pad and got the front (cold) exhaust onto the green/brown stuff, it was pretty much game over and time to walk away whistling having disappeared in a cloud of debris.

The actual time spent very near the ground 'hovering' was minimised to reduce re-circ, one 'pushed orf' fairly smartly upwrads with a throttle 'slam' and descended back to terra firma without delay from a relatively high hover (50-100ft) which fairly frightened the pre-Harrier heli instructors at RAF Shawbury who had to sit through it on the course :)). Since you were aiming on coming down anyway, a 'late' slight loss of thrust/increase in JPT on the way down was not really a problem, and you did NOT hover very near the ground.

Regarding the 'levers', that would be a 'once-only' mistake not to make. There was nothing to prevent foward movement of the nozzle lever. Accel from a hover was led by pitch a la hecolopeter, and nozzle nudged judiciously forwards as speed increased to maintain what was, in my day, '8 AoA units' until back in Biggles-land. Too rapido with the shiny lever and the AoA would reach alarming numbers, and the ground would get bigger. Another little 'catch' was that J F's 'puffers' shut off at a nozzle angle of less than 20 degrees which meant if you had not achieved 'traditional' controls by the time you get to 19 degrees, this (significant nose-down pitch exacerbated by tailplane loss of downwash) could happen as you ran out of control.
Harrier.jpg
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[Helpful explanation image (RAF Cyprus, shortly after over-enthusiastic nozzling)]

'Twas fun, though. =p~ On the OCU, we were all treated to 8mm cine of other students' first 'stationary' hover attempts, some of which required a fast landrover to keep the camera-man up with......

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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#9 Post by Cacophonix » Sun Apr 29, 2018 5:38 am

Thanks for the, as ever, fascinating feedback and answer to my questions Boac. I also note that the 'Caco Hover' seems to have entered ops-normal's general parlance as being the epitome of hovering ineptitude (so be it)! ;)))

I have come across a photo of the throttle set up in 'Kestrel' and what I presume to be a later version of the same in the Harrier (I leave it to you to correct me if that latter assumption of aircraft type is wrong)!
Kestrel Throttle.JPG
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Later throttle arrangement.JPG
Later throttle arrangement.JPG (50.2 KiB) Viewed 2226 times
As for raising dust, this image taken during the evaluation of the Kestrel as part of evaluation exercises by the ''Tripartite' Evaluation Squadron.
In 1964 the Tripartite Kestrel Evaluation Squadron, or TES, was formed in the UK by the governments of the United States, West Germany, and Britain. The purpose of the TES was to perform operational trials with the Hawker P.1127 Kestrel.

Each nation provided personnel and pilots for the TES and West Germany was represented by Colonel Gerhard Barkhorn, who was the second-highest scoring ace in the Luftwaffe during World War 2 with 301 victories. The Germans participated in the TES to forward their own knowledge base with their own V/STOL project, the VAK.191. On one test flight, Barkhorn cut the throttle too early while in vertical landing mode and the Kestrel dropped quickly and destroyed the undercarriage. As Col. Barkhorn walked away from the crash-landing, he kicked the aircraft out of frustration and declared that the wrecked Kestrel was the "302nd Allied aircraft" he had destroyed.
Barkhorn.JPG
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Oberst Gerhard Barkhorn

Sadly Barkhorn and his wife were killed in a car crash in 1983. Ironic that he survived the Battle of France, the Eastern Front. and the Kestrel,to be killed thus.

Tripartite Kestrel Evaluation.JPG
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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#10 Post by Cacophonix » Sun Apr 29, 2018 6:13 am

Well the Germans may have been reluctant to put any money the way of the Kestrel project and were keen to purloin what they needed from the evaluation but the VJ101 and VAK191 were never a patch on the mighty Harrier and Rolls Royce provided the engines for the VAK 191B as well.




Propulsion was provided by a Rolls-Royce/MAN Turbo RB.193-12 vectored thrust engine for both lift and cruise which was augmented by two Rolls-Royce vertical lift engines.

The program was begun in 1962 to replace the Fiat G.91 ground attack fighter with a VTOL aircraft as part of NBMR-3 but NATO requirements changed and it became a technology demonstrator.

With a new project appearing - the German/American "Advanced Vertical Strike" (AVS) fighter - the VAK was "reclassified as an experimental programme"

Three VAK 191B aircraft were flown in the flight test program between 1970-1975 making 91 flights. The first hovering flight was made in Bremen on 20 September 1971. The first transition from vertical flight to horizontal and vice versa was achieved on 26 October 1972 in Munich.

The prototypes were used to test some of the concepts in for the European MRCA programme (which led to the Panavia Tornado) including 'fly-by-wire' technology.

The VAK 191B was similar in concept to the British Harrier, but was designed for a supersonic dash capability (Mach number 1.2-1.4) at medium to high altitudes. It was judged that having a single engine would create too much drag, but the two lift engines were dead weight in cruise, and the small cruise engine gave a poor thrust to weight ratio. It also had very small highly loaded wings. By contrast, the Harrier had a much higher thrust-to-weight ratio, it was effective as a dogfighter, and had larger wings which were put to good use in rolling short takeoffs.
1280px-Aircraft_engine_VAK191B_hover_swing_nozzles_LH_2.jpg
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VFW_VAK_191B

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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#11 Post by Cacophonix » Sun Apr 29, 2018 6:29 am

Very nice synopsis of S/VTOL efforts over the years... well worth watching.



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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#12 Post by Boac » Sun Apr 29, 2018 7:43 am

I cannot vouch for the 1127 shot as I never saw the cockpit, but the 'nozzle stop' is correct on the production jet. I once 'forgot' to set it for a 'demo' short take-off (I think 'normal' was 60 degrees) and as I whacked the lever aft at the pre-computed speed it went to the 'braking stop' (several degrees FORWARD!) producing a noticeable loss of KE and a loud popping noise - until I realised. :((

I hope Caco does not take offence at the 'hover humour' as I am one of those fully qualified to have demonstrated 'dynamic static hovering' in a Whirlwind - until the bottom-hole advice was given by the QHI =))

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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#13 Post by Cacophonix » Sun Apr 29, 2018 8:18 am

Boac wrote:
Sun Apr 29, 2018 7:43 am
I hope Caco does not take offence at the 'hover humour' as I am one of those fully qualified to have demonstrated 'dynamic static hovering' in a Whirlwind - until the bottom-hole advice was given by the QHI
No offence taken at all at your pretty accurate summation of my hovering skillset! =))

I see that even the great Bill Bedford managed to come unstuck while demoing the Kestrel!




https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/ ... 94904.html


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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#14 Post by Cacophonix » Mon Apr 30, 2018 3:38 am

The role of the Rolls Royce technology in the design and achievements of the team who conceived the Do-31E S/VTOL Transport and the technologists and test pilots involved in the programme is also very interesting and none more so the story of US test pilot Drury Wood!

Read about it here...
As the Cold War heated up in the early 1960s, West Germany revived the longtime dream of an airplane capable of vertical takeoff and landing. The Bundesluftwaffe was concerned about the vulnerability of its air bases to Soviet attack, and in 1962 the Federal Ministry for Defense issued a specification for VTOL aircraft that could operate from small forward bases or even the autobahn. Three German firms pursued fighter, strike and transport variants.

Built by Entwicklungsring Süd, a consortium of Messerschmitt, Bölkow and Heinkel, the VJ-101 supersonic fighter featured wingtip tilt-jets as well as supplementary lift jets in the fuselage. First taking off vertically on April 10, 1963, with American test pilot George Bright in the cockpit, it subsequently became the first VTOL aircraft to exceed Mach 1. On September 14, 1964, however, a faulty roll-rate gyro with reverse polarity was installed. As Bright pushed the stick left to correct a slight roll to the right during a conventional takeoff, the airplane rolled faster and crashed. The Martin-Baker ejection seat saved Bright’s life, though his back was broken in the accident. The VJ-101 project was fi­nally canceled in 1968.

The VAK-191B, built by the Vereinigte Flug¬technische Werke, used adjustable ducts similar in principle to those of the British Aerospace Harrier. It was regarded as a possible replacement for the Fiat G.91 when work began on it in 1962, and indeed Fiat was involved in the project. The first of three prototypes took to the air on September 20, 1971, and the transitions between vertical and regu¬lar flight were first achieved on October 26, 1972. The three VAK-191Bs made 91 flights totaling 12 hours before the program was canceled in 1975.

The most unusual—and promising—of the experimental trio was a transport produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke. Previously known pri¬marily for flying boats, bombers and the tandem-engine Do-335 fighter (see “Piston Power Pin¬nacle,” July 2011 issue), Dornier began dabbling in short-takeoff-and-landing development when it modified its Do-27 light transport into a twin-engine STOL airplane with tilting pusher propellers, the Do-29. Three were built, the first flying on De¬cember 12, 1958. The tests were successful, with the aircraft achieving a stall speed of just 38 mph. The props, capable of tilting 110 degrees, were tested on approaches at about a 20-degree angle of descent.
Dornier’s next venture into V/STOL, the jet-powered Do-31E, was considerably more ambitious. At first glance the Do-31E (“E” for Experimentell) looked like a conventional medium transport with two underwing engine pods and two wingtip pods. The two inboard pods held Bristol Pegasus 5 vectored-thrust turbofan engines generating 15,000 pounds of thrust each. The two outboard nacelles both contained four Rolls-Royce RB-162-4D engines, each directing 4,400 pounds of thrust downward for vertical takeoff and landing.

Dornier produced three prototypes: the Do-31E1, equipped only with the Pegasus engines, for strictly horizontal flight testing; the Do-31E2, for static airframe testing; and the Do-31E3, capable of operating in full VTOL mode, with all engines in place. In addition, two hover rigs—a small and a large version—served as test-beds.

The Do-31 program’s chief test pilot was Drury Wood, a former U.S. Marine who had flown Vought F4U Corsairs from carriers during World War II. “I graduated from the Navy Test Pilot School in Class 8 with George Bright, the pilot of the VJ-101,” Wood recalled. “He went to Germany first, and he recommended me. Dornier called me in July 1964. With my Test Pilot School education and experience at the naval test center, Douglas Aircraft, Northrop and the U.S. Army, I felt that I was as prepared as anyone to test this new VTOL jet transport concept. I started with 145 flights in the small hover rig, a cruciform gadget with four lift engines to test the control system first flown by Karl Kössler, a Dornier pilot. Next came the large hover rig. It looked like the basic airplane but was a hover-only device, with six lift engines and two Pegasus. This was the biggest adventure because it had to prove the hover envelope and stay within the limits of the runway. I had to learn how to take off, hover and land in less than three minutes in a thing with no aerodynamic characteristics.

The Do-31E1 made its first flight on February 10, 1967. By July the Do-31E3, dubbed Fire Stool, was flying with all 10 engines. On November 22, Wood performed the first hovering test in the E3, including full transitions to and from horizontal flight. Looking back on the testing, he said: “The E1 was an honest, straightforward conventional configuration with no bad habits and the added benefit of having the nozzles of the Pegasus for short aerodynamic takeoff and landings. I was comfortable in it after the first flight. The E3 had the comfort of the E1 in conventional flight, but the procedure for vertical takeoffs and landings had to be worked out. Every time I made a vertical takeoff or landing I learned something else. I had enough time to do what was necessary and do show things like fly backward and do circles while hovering. I could make an approach, hover, turn around and go back the way I came in or fly backward down the runway, but we never did have the opportunity to establish the full envelope. I flew the E3 at least 10 times before I could overcome the feeling that I was going to stall when I saw the airspeed go under 100 knots.”

Wood made several memorable flights during the test program. “Testing with the big rig showed that the only major problem the pilots would have would be if the Pegasus nozzles were not calibrated [properly],” he said. “In one test the nozzles were off: 87 degrees [indicated] in the cockpit gave over 90 down. The exhaust gases bounced off the ground and back into the Pegasus intakes, which made for a spectacular attempt at takeoff. We banged down the runway in that test, earning the rig the name ‘Reluctant Dragon.’

“Everything else went as planned,” Wood added, “and we proved that we could land in a 150-foot square laid out in grass. There were no major or minor problems that we could find.” Asked whether there were any notable weaknesses exhibited by the Do-31, Wood said: “There was no fooling around—when the landing was started, you landed. No go-around once in the exhaust gas cloud.” He also recalled a few less-than-perfect tests: “The landing gear collapsed once. Another time there was a fire in the cockpit—which showed how difficult it is to get out of an ejection seat on the ground.”

On May 27, 1969, Wood and a German copilot flew the Do-31E3 from Oberpfaffenhofen to Le Bourget for the Paris Air Show. While his copilot was filing their flight plan, Wood pondered how best to demonstrate the aircraft’s potential. “A light bulb went off,” Wood recalled, “and I had it: a record flight. Easy! The way records work is that they are for a specific class—single engine, multiengine, land, sea, altitude, etc., but most important, type. There was no airplane in the world like the Do-31E. We were in a class by ourselves.

“I looked around for the chief of flight test, Hans Schabronath. It took just a few minutes to give him the details, and then he was on the phone. Within an hour my copilot and I were members of the Féd¬ération Aéronautique International. The FAI head was already in Paris. We were heavily instrumented. It could not have been more convenient if we had planned it.

“I wanted to make certain that the unique characteristics of the airplane were fully utilized for this flight, so there could be no criticism of the records. I would make a very short takeoff, using the Pegasus nozzles, and a vertical landing in Paris, using the lift engines and nozzles. The weather at Paris was overcast but with nothing frontal, and en route was mostly VFR [visual flight rules]. The takeoff was uneventful, and we headed out on course, climbing to 9,000 meters.

“The airplane was not pressurized. This was certainly something that would have to be corrected for any kind of production run, but at that time it was giving me a problem. My mask was not working. If I could not get oxygen, we would have to abandon the flight. There was a small plunger at the base of the regulator that could give a steady flow if kept down. It was too small to hold for a long period of time, but I looked at my ballpoint pen and saw that it was a close fit. I pressed it with the pen, then kept an eye on the oxygen gauge, marking time and quantity, and figured that I could make it.

By the time we got to Paris, my finger was getting numb, but as we let down I descended to breathing altitude and took off the mask. We were given approach procedure and approval. I made an ILS [instrument landing system] approach, and we broke out at about 800 feet. I started the lift engines to make a vertical landing and asked the tower for air taxi to parking. The answer was ‘Mais non!’ So I had to stop being VTOL and go conventional, using the cement. We had five minutes of fuel left with the lift engines running—but we also had five world records, for speed, distance, altitude, speed over a course and duration. That was 42 years ago, and they still stand.”
German President Gustav Heinemann presented Wood the Federal Service Cross with Ribbon in April 1970 for his work on the Dornier VTOL. Earlier, in 1968, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots had given him the Iven C. Kincheloe Award for outstanding professional accomplishment in flight testing.

Despite the Do-31’s promise, the program was canceled in 1970 due to a lack of funding. “There was never any serious consideration from the biggest member of NATO, the U.S.,” Wood recalled. “If we could have had an American partner, it would have been different. We had an agreement with Convair, but they reneged.”

The Do-231, a commercial version with 100-passenger capacity, never left the drawing board. “The airplane was never intended to be a commercial airliner, and we had zero discussions with Lufthansa,” Wood said. “It was a small military ‘C-130’ that needed no runway and would carry 35 paratroopers. It would have been a great COD [carrier onboard delivery] and troop insertion vehicle. This is, or was, the only vertical-takeoff-and-landing jet transport in the world that would fly backward, sideways, take off and land in its own shadow, and I am the only pilot in the world who ever did that.”

On May 4, 1970, the Do-31E3 made its last public flight during an international air and space exhibition at Hanover. After languishing in storage at Oberpfaffenhofen for years, the E3 was restored and is now on display at the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim at Ober¬schleissheim, near Munich. The Do-31E1 can be seen at the Dornier Museum at Friedrichshafen.
John Wayne would have been a shoe in to play test pilot Drury Wood in a film.JPG
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Do E31.JPG
Do E31.JPG (91.62 KiB) Viewed 2186 times
A successful prototype....JPG
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Attachments
Dornier E3.JPG
Dornier E3.JPG (31.59 KiB) Viewed 2186 times

Boac
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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#15 Post by Boac » Mon Apr 30, 2018 6:47 am

Many thanks Caco for 'lighting up' this thread which is particularly enjoyable for me. There were indeed some bizarre (and clever) efforts to crack the nut. I still (ok, I'm biased...) think the BonaJet was the best solution, and once you had been trained (the Harrier OCU training was exellent) AND as long as you followed the drivers' handbook, was simple to fly and did the job.

I can echo Drury's "I flew the E3 at least 10 times before I could overcome the feeling that I was going to stall when I saw the airspeed go under 100 knots." - for anyone transitioning from 'normal' swept wing to the Harrier, a familiar feeling.

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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#16 Post by Cacophonix » Mon Apr 30, 2018 7:53 am

Boac wrote:
Mon Apr 30, 2018 6:47 am
Many thanks Caco for 'lighting up' this thread which is particularly enjoyable for me. There were indeed some bizarre (and clever) efforts to crack the nut. I still (ok, I'm biased...) think the BonaJet was the best solution, and once you had been trained (the Harrier OCU training was exellent) AND as long as you followed the drivers' handbook, was simple to fly and did the job.

I can echo Drury's "I flew the E3 at least 10 times before I could overcome the feeling that I was going to stall when I saw the airspeed go under 100 knots." - for anyone transitioning from 'normal' swept wing to the Harrier, a familiar feeling.
I am glad you are enjoying it Boac. I sometimes feel like a complete anorak going off piste like this but I do get real pleasure discovering new stuff (for me anyway) about interesting subjects like this. Having the input of wise old hands like you and the many others here who have seen it, flown it, done it just makes it all the more interesting.

As for the Harrier, I don't think you are being chauvinistic. The programme's and the aircraft's ultimate accolade is that it probably saved Britain's bacon in the Falklands and still is in use today whereas other some countries efforts, like the Frances S/VTOL for example, were grand compromises what with the Dassault Balzac V Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Demonstrator and they generally used British technology like Bristol or Rolls-Royce engines. Britain had a lot to be proud up in terms of the leading edge research it did at the time, albeit partly, at least, funded by the US under the aegis of NATO programmes.
Even in the face of total devastation at the hands of the German invasion of World War 2 (1939-1945), French aviation industry rebounded rather effectively during the post-war years to lay the groundwork for some of the most impressive developments of the Cold War period. Even during the war, French aviation engineers continued work on various aircraft-related projects and some of these were realized in the immediate years following the close of World War 2 in Europe while others gestated for quite some time.

Further on, French industry began delving into more advanced concepts now that the smoke of total war had settled. Dassault Aviation, a concern finding its start in 1929 under the leadership of Marcel Dassault himself, managed to survive the war and introduced their MD 315 transport as soon as 1948. However, its greatest splash of the early Cold War years came with the introduction of the popular Mirage III interceptor of 1956. This fine platform was brought online during 1961 and 1,422 were ultimately produced, serving a bevy of foreign operators during its time aloft (some continued to fly with Pakistan).

With the Mirage III airframe at its disposal, Dassault engineers began pursuit of a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) prototype during the early part of the 1960s. It was decided to utilize a combination propulsion method in which a primary turbojet would provide the power for forward motion and a series of smaller "lift" engines would provide the force needed to hover. A Bristol Siddeley Orpheus 3 series engine of 5,000lb thrust output became the solution for the former and eight Rolls-Royce RB.108 lift engines were used to satisfy the latter requirement. On the whole, the general appearance of the Mirage III airframe was retained including its forward cockpit, single vertical tail fin, and delta-wing planform. However, the fuselage had to be widened to accept the new internal engine arrangement (engines and related ductwork) and a large part of the fuselage was, in fact, reworked when compared to the original Mirage III series.

The primary forward-motion engine was to use existing side-mounted intakes, represented along the sides of the cockpit as semi-circular openings featuring fixed shock cones. The lift engines would require individual intake openings at their respective positions and these were fulfilled by Rolls-Royce-designed retractable components. During forward flight, these engines would be automatically faired over so as not to disrupt the aircraft's general air flow. Onboard fuel stores allowed for roughly twelve minutes of hovering flight time.

As finalized, the aircraft lost its Mirage III name and became the Dassault "Balzac V" with the official name of the sole prototype ultimately being "Balzac 001".
Balzac SVTOL.JPG
Balzac SVTOL.JPG (36.29 KiB) Viewed 2172 times
Ground running began in late July of 1962 and tethered testing followed in October of that year. At this time, the undercarriage remained fixed for simplicity's sake. On October 18th, the first untethered flight was accomplished and several more untethered flights followed before the end of the year and the aircraft was finally given a fully-fledged retractable undercarriage arrangement to test traditional horizontal flight envelopes - the first such flight recorded on March 2nd, 1963. On March 18th, the aircraft completed its first vertical-to-horizontal flight conversion test and landed in a conventional fashion on the runway. A successful horizontal-to-vertical landing action was made on March 28th. Modifications instituted during 1963-1964 added a unique short take-off capability by way of deflectors installed - the Balzac now showcases short-field take-off qualities.

The aircraft program proceeded with nary a setback until January 10th, 1964 when the aircraft turned over during a hovering action and landed on its dorsal spine. The pilot, Jacques Pinier, ultimately died from his injuries. The accident was blamed on a loss of control due to the autostabilization system. Despite being damaged and its test pilot killed, the Balzac airframe was saved to move the program along into 1965.

The Balzac completed some additional evaluation flights before a September 1965 accident once again threatened the project. At this point, the Balzac was part of a VTOL technology exchange between the French and the Americans. USAF pilot P.E. Neale was at the controls during a low hovering action which went awry. He managed to eject prior to the airframe crashing from a total engine flameout, but died when impacting the ground as he had ejected under the recommended altitude minimum. Unlike the first accident, this one was to claim both pilot and aircraft - ending the Balzac program in full.

Dassault was to continue further research into VTOL aircraft through its new Mirage IIIV offering. Two of the type were ultimately built and these based largely on the work already completed through the Balzac (including its independent lift/push engine arrangement). First flight was on February 12th, 1965 and the aircraft was developed along the lines of a new NATO VTOL aircraft requirement but was not adopted before the end.

Despite the loss of both life and aircraft - always the unwritten price to be paid for pioneering development aircraft - the Balzac provided important insight into VTOL flight for the French. For warplanners, the future was always full of supersonic fighter jets holding an inherent helicopter-like capability. While this would not be truly realized until the adoption of the British Harrier jet, it fell to aircraft like the French Balzac to help further the concept along, ensuring that the sacrifices emerging from such programs would never be forgotten and ultimately realized in fully-flying forms.
https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraf ... ft_id=1323

Caco

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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#17 Post by Cacophonix » Sun May 13, 2018 11:53 am

So taken was I was by the story of the development of the Pegasus engine and therefore the P1127, Kestrel and Harrier that I purchased 'Pegasus, the Heart of the Harrier' by Andrew Dow and am now reading about how the Harrier was understood and liked by the USMC almost ab initio whereas the USAF and the USN who both also trialled the aircraft, the USAF half heartedly(and tragically as one of their test pilots (1) was killed during the testing, they never seemed to understand or maybe not want to understand the huge potential of the aircraft. The trials of the Harrier with the USN were so successful that it is likely that vested interests actually connived to have the positives buried. See below from the book which I highly recommend for a dry but very detailed exegesis of the subject.

With respect to the USAF...

(1)
It was very unfortunate that at the end of the trials Maj Rosberg was killed in an accident when in transition, and the USAF report commented on a variety of improvements in the ejection seat which could have saved Maj Rosberg’s life. This accident may not have assisted any chance for the Harrier to be selected for the US Air Force, but there is a strong possibility that the tests were to gain knowledge of the Harrier in the light of strong Marine interest, even though it might have been known before the test that it would not meet the USAF requirement. At the time the USAF had sought expressions of interest in industry for what was to become the A-10, and that requirement did not include vertical operation. Nor did it require that the aircraft should be capable of air-to-air combat, and it was for this reason, no doubt, that Maj Mason’s report does not mention issues concerned with nozzle movements, angles of attack, engine limitations or indeed, any aspect of the engine at all.
The USN undertook carrier trials which were highly successful and the Harrier received glowing reports...
There are three postscripts to these glowing commentaries upon the AV-8A and its engine. When Col John Braddon briefed the cruise report in Navair, it received a very frosty reception, because it was seen as a threat to the big carriers rather than as an opportunity to improve operations. Clearly VAdm Petersen’s views were not shared by all. The cruise report is understood to have been suppressed, and few became aware of how well the AV-8A had performed. Second, at about the time of the Roosevelt cruise, AV-8As were flown against F-14s in simulated air-to-air combat. They achieved such a high proportion of ‘kills’ that the ensuing report was suppressed by security classification and never reached Congress. In part, at least, the reason was that the rules of engagement between the two aircraft were limited to dogfighting, so that a direct comparison of capabilities could be made. The F-14 pilots were not permitted to use the radar/ Phoenix missile combination that allowed them to kill from a distance. 55 And lastly, it should be noted that a squadron deployment of AV-8As or AV-8Bs on a CV has never been undertaken again. 56 There was a down-side to early Harrier operations, for at one time it had a poor reputation as a difficult aircraft to fly. Sensational headlines which described the Harrier as a ‘widow-maker’ and suchlike did not help, but as usual, the superficialities of press reporting rarely analysed the right data, and often ignored vital facts. The safety record of the AV-8A, either in isolation or in comparison with other aircraft, is not to be examined here. The engine is our concern. However, certain basic facts need to be recognised. First, the AV-8A and its engine operated in a dangerous environment of high speed at low level. As it was once stated in the British magazine Flight many years ago, ‘It is near the ground that most crashes occur.’ Close air support involves ground attack, with very short transits from base to target.
Dow, Andrew. Pegasus, The Heart of the Harrier: The History and Development of the World's First Operational Vertical Take-off and Landing Jet Engine.

I am genuinely stunned that the UK did not continue to develop and refine and produce a successor to the Harrier. Another opportunity lost, that's for sure.

An absolutely fascinating insight into this testing period from the British perspective is to be found here....

Harrier Testing - Andy Lawson

Harrier Trial.JPG
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An AV-8A lands on USS Franklin D Roosevelt during her last cruise, 1976. The presence of the AV-8A could have heralded a new era of VTOL operations for the US Navy, but Harriers have never since operated from a CV. (US Navy via Mick Simmons) - Dow, Andrew. Pegasus, The Heart of the Harrier: The History and Development of the World's First Operational Vertical Take-off and Landing Jet Engine.

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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#18 Post by Boac » Sun May 13, 2018 12:21 pm

It was amazing in combat, considering its small wing/high wing-loading. We flew an exercise whilst on deployment at the NATO weapons range in Decimomannu (around 1981) where we (6 Harrier) were 'bombers' attacking a nominal target in the Deci ACMI range protected by USAF F-15s (Bitburg wing, I think). There was much toothsucking about our 'role' as we just wanted to get in and mix it :-) After some 'forceful' negotiation it was agreed that once we had 'pickled' on the target we were free to enter the hoolie as 'fighters' (huzzah!). All 6 got through the screen and 'hit' the target and off we went. It rapidly became apparent that we definitely had the upper hand in combat and the 15s did not seem to be that competent. I finished up chasing one vertically (gunsight, naturally, buried on his cockpit :-)). Next I heard was "*****- he's still with me" as we passed 8000ft, followed by "I've lost an engine" followed by 'Mayday" as he 'flopped' over the top - and so I claimed a kill................. and I escorted him back to base. Bitburg 'lost' a few that day :-) We did not hear much about it...... A true 'BonaJet'!

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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#19 Post by Capetonian » Sun May 13, 2018 6:50 pm

Interesting, I thought the only thing the Frogs had invented related to aviation was the hot air balloon, and that was accidental since they talk so much of it. Surprised they didn't make a ***** balloon.

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Cacophonix
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Re: Michel Wibault - the Frenchman who foresaw the Harrier

#20 Post by Cacophonix » Wed May 23, 2018 3:17 pm

I am still reading Andrew Dow's Pegasus, The Heart of the Harrier: The History and Development of the World's First Operational Vertical Take-off and Landing Jet Engine, and have a question (two actually), probably for Boac (if he feels inclined to comment) as he is probably the only person on this forum that might be able to answer these.

1) Was the Harrier ever flown above Mach 1, either in a dive or in level flight?

2) Could the pilot override the Jet Pipe Temperature Limiter (JTPL) in extremis (I am thinking about a situation where the pilot may have to need to go into an over-temperature situation in the hover to avoid descending).

I remain as ever...

Uber Nerd (aka Caco)

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