Dornier Do 29 V1 STOL prototype

[-]

attran84@reddit

Damn i thought the osprey was an original design.

[-]

tadeuska@reddit

And 58 years later we got V-280/MV-75. Ok, not the same concept but very close at least for some parts. Minus the wing. And orientation. And.. yeah. Great looking machine.

[-]

iamalsobrad@reddit

I think this is probably closer to something like a channel wing. The lift is going to come from the air being pulled over the wing rather than directly from the props.

They even seemed to have tried to address one of the channel wing's nastier traits; the Do 29's engines were linked together so the failure of one didn't instantly kill you when you were low and slow.

[-]

IlluminatedPickle@reddit

the Do 29's engines were linked together so the failure of one didn't instantly kill you when you were low and slow

As in, if one died the other one would also cut out to prevent an instant rollover?

[-]

iamalsobrad@reddit

I think the idea is that if one engine cuts out the other can still drive both props and give you a fighting chance to get back down.

It's a lift thing rather than an asymmetry thing. In a channel wing (or similar) at low ground speed a significant proportion of your lift is generated by the props pulling / pushing air over the wings. They almost all have an engine on each wing in order to be able to do this.

The catch is that if you lose an engine you suddenly have nearly zero lift coming from that wing and you get instant roll-over. However, if you arrange it so that both stop then you have have nearly zero lift from both wings and your aircraft suddenly has the all the flying qualities of a house brick. You'd be upright, probably, but there would still be all sorts of horribleness in your very near future.

[-]

IlluminatedPickle@reddit

You'd be upright, probably, but there would still be all sorts of horribleness in your very near future.

I was thinking you'd mostly only be hovering it while you're close to the ground anyway, so preventing the rollover would be the number one concern for avoiding an instant death.

[-]

DouchecraftCarrier@reddit

I've gotta imagine there's only so many ways to take a horizontally mounted prop-shaft and get it to turn a propeller capable of articulating up to 90 degrees.

[-]

JJohnston015@reddit

Spitballing here: how about a face-to-face double ring and pinion system?

[-]

GamingGems@reddit

I feel like Germany had major unresolved PTSD issues after getting mogged by allied airpower in WWII. Seems like every postwar special project or independent design presupposed that every aircraft will have to take off or land on a platform the size of a couch cushion and the floor is lava.

[-]

AutonomousOrganism@reddit

The propellers could tilt 90 degrees down. Although during test flights they were limited to 60 degrees. Apparently it had a stall speed of just 24 km/h (15 mph).

[-]

IlluminatedPickle@reddit

What angle were the engines at for that stall speed?