EWR VJ 101

infobox Aircraft
name = VJ 101
type = V/STOL fighter
manufacturer = EWR



caption = EWR VJ101C in the Deutsches Museum in Munich
designer =
first flight = 10 April avyear|1963
introduced =
retired = 1968
status =Cancelled
primary user =
more users =
produced =
number built = 2
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

The EWR VJ 101 was an experimental German jet fighter VTOL aircraft. VJ stood for "Vertikal Jäger", (German for "Vertical Fighter"). [ Winchester 2005, p. 174. ] It was to be the basis for a successor to the F-104G Starfighter, but was cancelled in 1968 after a five-year test program. The VJ 101 was one of the first V/STOL designs to have the potential for eventual Mach 2 flight.

Design and development

Heinkel and Messerschmitt had developed designs to meet the requirements of VTOL flight and by 1959, the two companies, along with Bölkow, had created a joint venture company called EWR, to build the VJ 101 C. The new proposal merged the characteristics of earlier Bölkow, Heinkel and Messerschmitt designs into a sleek, streamlined platform. The VJ 101 was similar in appearance to the Bell XF-109, both with rotating engines in nacelles at the wingtips. In addition to the wingtip engines, two further lift jets were installed in the fuselage to supplement the main engines in hovering flight.

In order to test the concept, EWR built a test rig called the "Wippe" (seesaw) in early 1960. The simple device incorporated a rudimentary cockpit on a horizontal beam with a "lift" engine mounted vertically at the centre for preliminary single-axis tests of the control system. [Rogers 1989, p. 186, 189.] A later "hover rig" was built that had the skeletal fuselage of the VJ 101C with three Rolls-Royce RB106 engines installed in the approximate positions they would occupy in the final flying version. The small engines each had 2,100 lbf (9.3 kN) thrust, enough to lift the test rig. After initial testing in May 1961 from a telescopic column, the new rig was able to "fly" in free flight in March 1962.Rogers 1989, p. 190.] Additional tests with a cloth "skin" simulating fuselage and wings proved to be successful (showing satisfactory control in all seasons and weather conditions).

Testing and evaluation

Two prototypes were built: X-1 and X-2. On 10 April 1963, the X-1 made its first hovering flight. The first transition from hovering flight to horizontal flight took place on 20 September 1963. The VJ 101C X-1 flew 40 aerodynamic flights, 24 hover flights and 14 full transitions. During these tests the sound barrier was broken, for the first time by a vertical take-off aircraft, but on 14 September 1964 a defect in the autopilot caused a crash. On July 29 1964 the VJ 101 C flew at Mach 1.04 without use of an afterburner. [ [http://www.geschichte.aero/geschichte/suche/anzeige_bild_e.cfm?id_nr=115 Geschichte.aero, VJ 101] Retrieved: 16 March 2008 ] The second prototype X2 with a new autopilot made a successful transition on 22 October 1965. The tests were subsequently continued with X-2, which in contrast to X-1 had afterburners. However the project was cancelled in 1968. The proposed VJ 101 D Mach 2 interceptor was never built. VJ 101 C X 2 hangs today in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

Although the VJ 101C did not proceed to production status, other projects including the Mirage IIIV, Hawker P.1154 (a supersonic parallel to what would become the Hawker Siddeley Harrier) and the much later F-35 Lightning II showed the promise of VTOL fighters.

pecifications (VJ 101C X-2)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= jet
ref=Macdonald Aircraft Handbook [Green,1964. p. 521.]
crew= 1
capacity=
length main= 15.7 m
length alt= 51 ft 6 in
span main= 6.61 m
span alt= 21 ft 8 in
height main= 4.1
height alt= 13 ft 6 in
area main=
area alt=
airfoil=
empty weight main=
empty weight alt=
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 6,100 kg
max takeoff weight alt= 13,420 lb
more general=

engine (jet)= Rolls-Royce RB-145
type of jet=turbojets
number of jets=6
thrust main= 12.2 kN
thrust alt= 2,750 lbf
thrust original=
afterburning thrust main=
afterburning thrust alt=

max speed main= Mach 1.04 achieved
max speed alt=
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main=
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ceiling main=
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ee also

aircontent
related=

similar aircraft=

lists=
* List of military aircraft of Germany
* List of experimental aircraft
see also=
* Dornier Do 31
* Hawker Siddeley P.1154
* VFW VAK 191B

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Rogers, Mike. "VTOL: Military Research Aircraft". New York: Orion Books, 1989. ISBN 0-517-57684-8.
* Winchester, Jim. "EWR-Sud VJ 101C (1962)". "X-Planes and Prototypes". London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-40-7.
* Green, William. "Macdonald Aircraft Handbook". London. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1964.

External links

* [http://avia.russian.ee/air/germany/vj-101.php EWR VJ 101C at Virtual Aircraft Museum]
* [http://www.vstol.org/GermanVSTOLFighters.pdf German VTOL projects]
* [http://www.tomtom-net.de/resources/vj101/vj101_i1.htm Photographs]