AZ-1 Marvelette
| XAZ-1 Marvelette | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Role | Experimental aircraft |
| National origin | United States of America |
| Manufacturer | Mississippi State University |
| First flight | 16 November 1962 |
| Retired | March 1964 |
| Primary user | United States Army |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | Anderson Greenwood AG-14 |
| Developed into | XV-11 Marvel |
The Mississippi XAZ-1 Marvelette (or MA18-B Marvelette) was an American research aircraft of the 1960s. A converted Anderson Greenwood AG-14 light single-engined pusher aircraft, it provided the test-bed, or test platform, on which to test the boundary layer control system and ducted propeller installation of the planned XV-11 Marvel STOL research aircraft. One aircraft was converted to XAZ-1 configuration; although underpowered, it provided valuable test data over a year-long flight program. Following the conclusion of test flying, the aircraft was used for ground testing before being scrapped.
The Department of Aerophysics at the Mississippi State University had been involved in a programme of research into boundary layer control on behalf of the Office of Naval Research and the US Army since 1950, carrying out trials on a modified Schweizer TG-3 glider, a Piper L-21 and a Cessna O-1. As a result of these studies, the US Army awarded the Department a contract to develop a new STOL research aircraft: the XV-11 MARVEL ("Mississippi Aerophysics Research Vehicle, Extended Latitude"). The new aircraft was to feature a novel form of wing warping to deflect the wing trailing edges to vary the wing's camber instead of conventional flaps, while the wings were to be built of glassfibre in order to ensure that the wing was as smooth as possible. In order to test these features, it was decided to build a smaller and less powerful test-bed.
The aircraft chosen as the basis for the testbed was the Anderson Greenwood AG-14, a single-engined, twin-boom pusher light aircraft that had been built in small numbers in the late 1940s and early 1960s. The type was already familiar to Mississippi State University, as it had used one to test ducted propellers. Initially, a simple conversion, to be designated MA-18, was planned, but it was later decided to make the test bed more closely resemble the final full-scale aircraft, with the resultant changes causing re-designation to MA-18A. It was later named "Marvelette", and received the military serial number 62-12147 and the US Army designation XAZ-1.
...
Wikipedia