Horizontal VTOL

Airplanes are slowly outgrowing their need for long runs on the ground before getting into the air. The reason is jet engines, which deliver so much thrust that they can lift themselves and an airframe vertically, without needing take-off help from the lift of a fast-moving wing.

The latest VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) airplane to do this trick successfully is Bell Aircraft Corp.'s X-14, whose pictures were made public last week. Unlike Ryan Aeronautical Co.'s X-13 (TIME, May 20), which stands on its tail while taking off, the X-14 takes off in normal horizontal flying position. Its two jet engines blow their gas through thrust-diverters rather like Venetian blinds. The gas, deflected downward, pushes the airplane up. During the hovering period, jets of compressed air act as controls to keep it in the proper position. After the airplane is well off the ground, the thrust-diverter can be adjusted so that the engines push the airplane forward. When it picks up enough speed, it flies supported by its wings.

The X-14 is a small, experimental aircraft, and Bell has not told how much weight of airframe, payload and fuel its thrust-diverters can lift. Neither has Ryan given figures for its X-13. The chances are that each of the rival VTOLS has advantages. The X-13 needs launching equipment, while the X-14 does not. On the other hand, the X-13 is pushed into the air by the undiminished thrust of its jet engine. The thrust-diverter of the X-14 probably wastes thrust, reducing the weight that the X-14 can carry.

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