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American experimental STOL aircraft
This article is about the US utility aircraft developed in the 1960's. For the ground attack VTOL aircraft, see
AV-8 Harrier.
XV-8 "Fleep"
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XV-8 "Fleep" tested in the Full Scale Tunnel at Langley, 1962
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Role
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Experimental STOL aerial utility vehicle Type of aircraft
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Manufacturer
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Ryan Aeronautical Company
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First flight
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1961
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Number built
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1
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The Ryan XV-8 Flexible Wing Aerial Utility Vehicle (nicknamed Fleep, short for "Flying Jeep") was an improved version of the Flex-Wing. Both aircraft were built by Ryan Aeronautical Company in collaboration with NASA for the United States Air Force and the United States Army and tested in 1961 as a STOL patrol, reconnaissance, and light utility aircraft to transport people or freight when a more specialized aircraft is not required or available.
Design and development
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The Fleep began as the Flex-Wing. The Flex-Wing had four-wheel landing gear, a smaller nose section behind which the pilot sat, and a single vertical tail/rudder.
The Fleep had tricycle landing gear, a larger nose section and a V tail/rudder. The wing was a fabric delta-shaped Rogallo wing with a foldable frame; the wing was attached to a pod-like cockpit on a four-wheeled cargo platform. It was tested with two tail configurations — vertical fin and V-tail. The aircraft wing could be folded into a relatively small package for transport.[1][2][3][4][5]
General characteristics
- Crew: One pilot
- Length: 10 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
- Wingspan: 33 ft 5 in (10.18 m)
- Powerplant: 1 × Continental IO-360-A , 210 hp (157 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 65 mph (105 km/h, 56 kn)
- Range: 120 mi (193 km, 100 nmi)
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Ryan XV-8.
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