The History Of

* cover (Final) 2/18/04 2:27 PM Page 1 The History of The XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft From Concept to Flight The History of the XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft:FromConcepttoFlight Research Rotor Tilt The HistoryoftheXV-15 Monograph 17NASASP-2000-4517 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Martin D. Maisel • Demo J. Giulianetti • Daniel C. Dugan NASA SP-2000-4517 The History of the XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft: From Concept to Flight Martin D. Maisel Demo J. Giulianetti and Daniel C. Dugan Monographs in Aerospace History #17 The NASA History Series National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Policy and Plans NASA History Division Washington, D.C. 2000 Contents Prologue . iii Dedication . v Acknowledgments . vii Forewords . ix List of Figures . xiii List of Acronyms . xix Introduction . 1 Early Efforts. 4 XV-3 Program . 12 NASA-Army Cooperation . 19 Building the Technology Base. 20 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft Project Office. 28 Aircraft Development . 42 Navy Participation . 59 Flight Envelope Expansion . 61 Flight Research . 65 Incidents. 83 Paris Air Show . 88 Evaluations and Demonstrations . 91 Crash . 98 The End of an Era . 100 XV-15 Project Summary . 103 Epilogue . 105 Appendix A Aircraft Descriptions . 115 Appendix B Key Personnel . 133 Appendix C Chronology . 140 Appendix D Awards and Records . 154 Appendix E Photo Gallery. 157 Appendix F Bibliography of Tilt Rotor Related Publications. 164 About the Authors . 185 Index . 187 i Prologue This monograph is a testament to the efforts of many people overcoming multi- ple technical challenges encountered while developing the XV-15 tilt rotor research aircraft. The Ames involvement with the tilt rotor aircraft began in 1957 with investiga- tions of the performance and dynamic behavior of the Bell XV-3 tilt rotor aircraft. At that time, Ames Research Center was known as the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). As we approach the new millennium, and after more than 40 years of effort and the successful completion of our initial goals, it is appropriate to reflect on the technical accomplishments and consider the future applications of this unique aircraft class, the tilt rotor. The talented engineers, technicians, managers, and leaders at Ames have worked hard with their counterparts in the U.S. rotorcraft industry to overcome technology barriers and to make the military and civil tilt rotor aircraft safer, environmen- tally acceptable, and more efficient. The tilt rotor aircraft combines the advantages of vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, inherent to the helicopter, with the forward speed and range of a fixed wing turboprop airplane. Our studies have shown that this new vehicle type can provide the aviation transportation industry with the flexibility for high- speed, long-range flight, coupled with runway-independent operations, thus hav- ing a significant potential to relieve airport congestion. We see the tilt rotor aircraft as an element of the solution to this growing air transport problem. I am proud of our past accomplishments and ongoing efforts in the development of tilt rotor technology. Much remains to be done to continue to develop and fur- ther enable quiet, ultra-safe, cost-efficient flight for this class of vehicles. I am convinced that Ames Research Center will continue to provide the leadership necessary to be in the forefront of new developments leading to the introduction of tilt rotor aircraft into the aviation transportation system of the 21st century. Enjoy the aviation historical journey that unfolds on the following pages. Harry McDonald Director, NASA Ames Research Center iii Dedication The story of the successful development of the tilt rotor aircraft is not just about technology, but also about the efforts of many capable people who dedicated themselves to what they believed would be an important advancement in aviation. The tasks proved to be technically challenging and involved both high financial and safety risks. This history, therefore, is dedicated to all of the people who held on to the dream and made it possible, and especially to those who, unfortunately, have passed on and are not able to witness the remarkable product of their work. A partial list of these people includes: Bob Lichten and Lovette Coulter of Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.; Pip Gilmore of the Boeing Helicopter Company; Laurel (Shorty) Schroers and Gary Churchill of the U.S. Army; and Jim Weiberg, Dr. Leonard Roberts, and Jerry Bree of the NASA Ames Research Center. Their efforts have advanced aeronautical technology significantly and made their mark on aviation history. v Acknowledgments The authors wish to acknowledge Frank J. Aguilera, manager of the Ames Advanced Tilt Rotor Technology Office, who requested the writing of this history and who sponsored the work. This account of the history of the development of tilt rotor technology is the product of valuable contributions from many people, each of whom played a key role in the long chain of events that led to the successful accomplishment of the tilt rotor research aircraft program goals. Firsthand recollections and comments were provided by Bell Helicopter personnel, both active and retired, including Dick Stansbury, Jerry Pickard, Jose Caero, Claude Liebensberger, Jack DeTore, John Williams, Sam Ferguson, and Hank Smyth. We are especially indebted for assistance provided by Ron Reber of Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., who provided the link to other Bell personnel and who generously made available Bell’s large resource of XV-3 and XV-15 still photographs. Former and current Government employees who provided important information included Paul Yaggy and Dave Sharpe of the Army laboratory at Ames; Woody Cook, Dave Few, Mike Bondi, Don Reynolds, and John Wilson of NASA Ames; John Ward of NASA Headquarters; and Hal Andrews of NAVAIR. The authors also thank John Schneider (retired), Ken Bartie and Hal Rosenstein of the Boeing Helicopter Company for photographs and information, and Jay Hendrickson for background about the Platt-LePage Aircraft Company. In addition, the authors wish to thank tilt rotor pioneer Mario Guerrieri for his input regarding the Transcendental Aircraft Corporation. Finally, the authors wish to acknowledge Roger W. Ashbaugh of the Documentation and Technology Branch and Lynn L. Albaugh, Capitol Resource Management, both at Ames, for their assistance in preparing this publication. The authors have made every effort to ensure that the historical accounts in this document are reported accurately and that the people associated with these events are correctly identified. However, due to limitations of the available documentation, the names of some individuals may have been inadvertently omitted. Also, the reader should be aware that some information is not presented chrono- logically because events that are important in telling this story often occurred separately but during the same time period. There are also a number of people at NASA Headquarters who helped in various ways. In the NASA History Office, M. Louise Alstork edited, proofread, and prepared the index while Stephen J. Garber and Nadine J. Andreassen also assisted with editing and production. Roger D. Launius, the NASA Senior Historian, provided much useful overall guidance. The Printing and Design Office developed the layout and handled the printing. Geoff Hartman and Joel Vendette handled the editing and design, respectively, while Jeffery Thompson and Stanley Artis saw this work through the publication process. Thanks are due them all. vii Foreword The development of tilt rotor aircraft technology involved some of the same fac- tors that led to other important aeronautical accomplishments of this century. The vision of a few individuals in search of a practical and efficient new aircraft design, commitment to their goals, and their willingness to continue to pursue their objective while encountering major technical problems and programmatic challenges were critical ingredients in this tale. However, the unique aspect of the tilt rotor story was the combined Government and industry focused effort that was sustained for over four decades to explore, comprehend, develop, and refine this technology. The remarkable product of the investment of public and private funds, and the efforts of the people dedicated to the concept, is an aircraft type that will have an impact on civil and military aviation that will rival the introduction of the practical helicopter more than 60 years ago. As this book is being written, the first production V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft is being prepared for delivery to the U.S. Marine Corps and the Bell-Augusta BA609 six- to nine-passenger civil tilt rotor aircraft is well into the development phase. When these new vehicles enter service, I am confident that other visionar- ies will find new uses for this capability, both in the civil transport and military arenas. The tilt rotor aircraft has come of age. I have had the good fortune to have been closely associated with a significant element of this activity, the XV-15 tilt rotor research aircraft project, for several decades. It is fitting that this adventure in aeronautical technology development be recorded. I know firsthand that the success of the tilt rotor can be credited to the capable industry and Government individuals whose story is told in the following pages. Hans Mark Director of Defense Research and Engineering Office of the Secretary of Defense Director, NASA Ames Research Center, 1969-1977 ix Foreword The XV-15 tilt rotor research aircraft program resulted in part from earlier inves- tigations by the U.S. military seeking new and more efficient concepts for air support of field operations. The XV-3 tilt rotor emerged from the Army/Air Force convertiplane program of the 50s as a strong contender. However, it faced significant stability problems that discouraged many supporters and threatened to swamp the program.

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