McDonnell XV-1
| XV-1 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Role | Compound gyroplane |
| Manufacturer | McDonnell Aircraft |
| First flight | 14 July 1954 |
| Number built | 2 |
The McDonnell XV-1 was an experimental compound gyroplane developed for a joint research program between the United States Air Force and the United States Army to explore technologies to develop an aircraft that could take off and land like a helicopter but fly at faster airspeeds, similar to a conventional airplane. The XV-1 would reach a speed of 200 mph (322 km/h), faster than any previous rotorcraft, but the program was terminated due to the tip-jet noise and complexity of the technology which gave only a modest gain in performance.
In 1951, the Air Force announced a competition to develop a compound helicopter, an aircraft that could take off and land vertically, like a helicopter, but could cruise at higher airspeeds than conventional helicopters. The joint research program was being conducted by the Air Force's Research and Development Command and the Army's Transportation Corps.Bell Aircraft submitted the design for the XV-3, Sikorsky Aircraft submitted the S-57, a retracting rotor design, and McDonnell submitted a design modified from its Model M-28 design.
On 20 June 1951, the Air Force and Army signed a Letter of Intent with McDonnell to award a contract to develop an aircraft based on their design. McDonnell benefited from previous design work on the Model M-28 and had a complete mockup ready for inspection by the Army and Air Force by November 1951. McDonnell was given approval to begin fabrication of what was then designated the XL-25 ("L" for Liaison). As the aircraft was being constructed the designation was changed to XH-35. Finally, the aircraft became the first vehicle in the convertiplane series as the XV-1.
The basic airframe came from an early post-World War II commercial airplane program for a four-place airplane in the Bonanza and Navion class. McDonnell enlisted Kurt Hohenemser and Friedrich von Doblhoff, the Austrian helicopter designer of the WNF 342, to provide technical direction in developing the tip-jet driven rotor system. After 22 months of fabrication, the first aircraft (serial 53-4016) was ready for flight testing by early 1954.
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