#V/STOL

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

Rockwell XFV-12A

Rockwell XFV-12A

by Alex Stoll

Around 1970 the Navy could not see how it was going to be able to replace its old Essex and Midway carriers with Nimitz-class supercarriers. Admiral Elmo Zumwalt directed a study of alternatives which resulted in the Sea Control Ship (SCS), a mini-carrier equipped with V/STOL fighters and ASW aircraft. The USN invited manufactures to propose demonstration programs for a new aircraft, called the V/STOL Fighter Technology Prototype, to replace the outdated Harrier and serve on the SCS or other ships much smaller than conventional carriers: BAe and MD proposed an improved Harrier and a supersonic Harrier with a PCB (Plenum-Chamber Burning) engine; Boeing and Northrop proposed jet-powered tail-sitters; Lockheed-California proposed a propeller-driven tail-sitter; and Rockwell proposed a canard-delta aircraft powered by a large and enormously powerful engine that used the ejector-lift system for V/STOL. The Navy awarded the contract to Rockwell in 1972, instead of choosing designs based on proved technology, and the XFV-12A designation (twelth in the V series, not in the F series; the F-12 was the interceptor verison of the Blackbird) was allotted. Even though the forward fuselage and landing gear of the A-4 and the wing box, air intakes, and fuel tanks of the F-4 were used to speed the program up, it still ran far behind schedule. The prototype was rolled out in December 1976 and the first flight was scheduled for 1979.

Engine Configuration For takeoff and landing, the entire engine was ducted to hollow-section "ejector flaps" (also called augmentor flaps) out along the wings and the canard by pilot command via a diverter valve box. The high-energy hot gas forced fresh air from above through the ejector flaps at a ratio of 7.5:1 to boost thrust by 70 percent. The ejector flaps could be raised or lowered to provide a smooth transition from vertical to horizontal flight or vice versa. After the XFV-12A's cancellation, de Havilland Canada designed an aircraft with ejectors build into the roots of a delta wing. GD incorporated their concept into the E-7, a F-16-based delta-winged STOVL aircraft. DHC built a large powered model and tested it in 1987. The EL system was large and control was difficult as a result of the large air mass moving through the wing root during transition, and nothing came of it (though not because the EL couldn't produce enough thrust as in the XFV-12A's case) despite the attractive low exhaust velocity.

Cancellation Rockwell and Pratt & Whitney experienced several major technical problems, and the thrust boost from the ejector flap system was never as large in the full-scale aircraft as predicted from data collected by test rigs and sub-scale models; the XFV-12A could not leave the ground. Eventually funding dried up, the SCS was canceled, and the program proved a disappointment; however, in most future ASTOVL programs, large-scale powered models were used because of the experience gained in the XFV-12A program.

[blackros78]

British Aerospace Sea Harrier

[helliixns]

Honestly what I now desperately need is Stolas talking to Asmodeus and/or Fizzie and as a result making Stolas take a good hard look at how he himself has treated Blitzø and every other imp he’s ever dealt with

[stormcried]

"Erm... could I help you little one? Where are your Mother and Father?"

"Uhm.. I-I jus' wanted t'look at th' pretty flowers y'got in here." Drake answered, albeit not the main question Stolas was asking him. Drake REALLY didn't want to answer that part. He felt as though that was a question that was REALLY personal to him. Drake walked up and pressed his nose against one of the flowers that were on the stand. It had a very strong smell to it that made Drake crinkle his nose a little bit. "Bleh... that stinks!" He would stick his tongue out lightly in disgust. "What is tha'?" Drake inquired pointing to the flower.

[typosandtea]

Vertibirds. 🚁⚙️🗡️🪽

So every wastelander and his dog know that the fallout 4 vertibirds crash more than settlements need help. But why is that? Here's my 2 caps on the matter. (Or: Bethesda doesn't understand aviation very well I think)

( So uh this is way longer than I expected, I was possessed🚁☢️:] )

TLDR: Horrific conditions for aviation, the difficulties of wasteland heavy maintenance, inexperienced pilots AND mechanics, and the WORST damn instrument layout I’ve ever seen

The Vertibird is designed as a fictional tilt rotor VTOL/STOL(Vertical/Short Take Off and Landing) aircraft which makes a ton of sense in the wasteland where suitable runways are rarer than hens teeth. One of Bethesda's primary visual design influences for the vertibird I suspect is the bell boeing v-22 Osprey.

This funky creature \/

This photo is from the Wikipedia page >Here< [ID: a photo of a v22 osprey aircraft in flight as seen from below and to the right, the aircraft is a medium tilt rotor aircraft with very large propellers, the aircraft is current in vertical take off or landing with the engines pointed straight up. The landing gear is extended, the aircraft is painted in air-force grey with the faint decal “marines” and the American army star on horizontal stripes and the squadron and registration barley visible on the empennage. The cargo and forward doors are open and a soldier is hanging out the front. End ID]

Now the Osprey has a bit of a reputation among people I’ve met who’ve flown in them, I've personally been told things like "if it's not leaking hydraulic fluid, that means you're out of fluid" and "its terrifying to fly in".

My screenshot. [ID: A screenshot of a fallout 4 vertibird, seen from front left in flight over bushland. the Player is manning the minigun and Paladin Danse is a Passenger. End ID]

Looking at the Vertibirds themselves we can make a few assumptions here.

The shape of the cowling and the noise they make indicates that the engines are some form of turboprop engine, likely requiring liquid fuel akin to Avtur(Aviation turbine fuel). Confirmed by the Instruments visible in the cockpit.

The most weight efficient way to move big parts is hydraulics so, they likely have complex hydraulic systems for wing positioning / AOA(Angle Of Attack) / engine angle. Likely also for landing gear since they have retractable gear in fallout 4.

That the BoS has modified them from the original design at least partially, allowing attachment to the Prydwen, likely other modifications too.

I strongly suspect that they have an APU(Auxiliary Power Unit) in the aft fuselage / empennage somewhere, since they have a massive air intake scoop on the top fuselage, they can self start their primary engines which either requires a ridiculous amount of electricity / amps or a source of bleed air. Bleed air is the most likely candidate for self start and is reasonably common on real turbine aircraft, APUs also allows for ground power without having primary engines running. Also confirmed by the instruments in the cockpit.

All of these points are well and good and common in aviation, even modifications (ie. STOL kits, survey aircraft, agricultural mods, skiis, ect). But modern aviation has some advantages that the BoS doesn't have: access to new off the shelf parts, proper verified documentation, proper test processes & facilities, and experienced personnel.

Don't get me wrong, I think Proctor Ingram is awesome, very knowledgeable and practically a miracle worker (especially with that one terminal entry about an engine failure field recovery she pulls off!!), but one chief engineer cannot maintain an entire fleet AND the Prydwen, she comments on how things are breaking often on the ship that she is very busy! Training of new engineers takes *years* to even get to basic level! Ingram can’t train anyone she is too busy keeping everyone in the air 24/7! So who is training all of these scribes? There must be a huge amount of time teaching and supervising even simple tasks! Even at their best the BoS wouldn’t be able to hope to be near the prewar standards of training! Even Ingram or other senior scribes would not be thaaaaat experienced, 10 years is not a long time to completely learn a new aircraft and implement systems & processes of maintenance. The point here is that there are inexperienced scribes maintaining these aircraft.

WOLRDS BEST CHEIF ENGINEER ❤️ \/

My Screenshot. [ID: A screenshot of proctor Ingram from fallout 4, she is standing in the Liberty prime control area. She is smiling. She is wearing her usual modified power armour frame. Preston is visible in the background with a clipboard and pen, he is wearing woody’s outfit from toy story. End ID]

Heavy maintenance in the wasteland, especially in an active combat zone would be an absolute nightmare, are the poor scribes doing overhauls on the flight deck?? Not really possible, so the BoS must have a ground facility at the airport somewhere. Also side note where is the rest of Boston airport? There is more to an airport than a terminal and 1 runway, where are all the hangars?? Likely underwater but still, no ruins??

Back to maintenance, aircraft need a huge amount of care, way way way more than cars do. light civilian aircraft IRL need a full inspection every 100 hours of flight time, which adds up incredibly quickly! For example if you have a one hour commute twice a day that’s MR(Maintenance Release) hours reached in 50 days! You legally cannot fly out of hours. And a service for small aircraft takes about 3 personnel / 2 days and that’s without any major repairs or ADs (Airworthiness Directives) to address! $$$$! Aircraft operating in adverse conditions also need additional maintenance, and coastal areas like Boston, are considered adverse conditions since the salt air corrodes aluminum and steel like nothing else! Corrosion untreated will damage your aircraft and if left too long can destroy the structural integrity of aluminum parts. The spars of aircraft are aluminum often!

My photo. [ID: The inside of a Cessna 172 wing trailing edge is shown looking inboard at the aft root rib, which is primer green, it is backlit by torchlight, the fuselage and a orange scat hose are visible behind it, it has 3 irregular shaped holes in it, 2 are by design but the third medium sized hole in the center of the image is eaten away by corrosion. End ID]

Vertibirds, between being shot at constantly and having a complex deign with a lot of precision moving parts will need a lot of repairs; moving parts means lots of upkeep, grease and inspections! The BoS by 2287 must have some sort of manufacturing back in capital, they cannot still be using old parts from the enclave after 10 years of maintenance, that’s a lot of grease, paint and hydraulic fluid!!!

The BoS must also have a refinery of some kind because Avtur is a refined fuel with some important additives like biocide. Manufacture and storage of fuel is very important since fuel contamination will bring down an aircraft! (and has multiple times IRL! :[ ). Water, microbes, and algae are real dangers to engines, with free water being the most common. Poorly sealed tanks or improper fuel storage combined with a incomplete or missed pre-flight inspection can lead to fuel starvation, since water is heavier than fuel and tank outlets are at the bottom of the tank. If you loose an engine on a twin, may God help you.

This image is from Concordia Bioscience >Here< [ID: A photo of a sample of pale yellow Jet fuel in a clear container, the sample is contaminated with water and microbes and has separated into layers with water at the bottom, then microorganisms, and then Fuel at the top, the image is labeled as such. End ID]

Getting to the most likely crash reasons now (finally), In my opinion that is inexperienced pilots and; a horrific instrument layout.

While there must be some lancers in the BoS that have been flying for the whole 10 years that they’ve had Vertibirds, I think that is likely the exception not the rule, even if they crashed a fraction of the time that do in game that’s still A LOT of downed aircraft!

Experience is only gained in practice, and unfortunately for the BoS they are (self-declared) at war so resources are thin and safe zones are thinner. I suspect that there are a lot of very inexperienced pilots without the time for the experienced pilots to really teach.

Linking to my final point, experience on an airframe itself is also important, you want to be familiar with your aircraft, even among a group of the same model aircraft they will each have quirks, like slightly different instrument layouts, slightly different handling/feel i.e. "this one flies heavier / slower" (at least that's my experience with smaller civilian aircraft) I imagine that the apocalypse did nothing for improving manufacturing tolerances!

FINAL AND MOST DAMNING POINT:

Experience can only help lancers so much when veritibirds have such a strange instrument panel layout:

My screenshot. [ID: a screenshot of a instrument panel from a Fallout 4 vertibird. it is slanted on a approximately 30 degree angle. End ID]

A bit weird looking yeah? For reference Pilot is left seat and copilot is always right seat, this applies globally even in right hand drive countries.

lets take a closer look:

My Screenshots. [IDs: Three screenshots of the same Instrument panel as above, but zoomed in using a sniper rifle scope to get a better look. The first screen shot is the pilots side, the second the center, and the third the copilots side. End ID]

All righty! So reading from top to bottom, then left to right we have:

On the pilots side: A Rotor%RPM gauge, a VOR(Very high frequency Omni-directional Range) indicator, a DG(Directional Gyro), a HSI(Horizontal Situation Indicator), and then a huge AI(Attitude Indicator),

In the center section we have: presumably light clusters (likely master warnings & cautions, gear indicators, and other status lights), a second VOR gauge, likely magnetic compass as they are usually top centre (though I can’t see it being at all accurate with all of the steel around!), the engine instruments cluster, and the APU status / control panel at the bottom. unsure of what the 3 clusters of horizontal buttons are suppose to be other than input of some kind?

In the Engine cluster: Torque%, XMSN(transmission) oil temp / pressure dual gauge, a gas producer % RPM gauge with small integrated single percent dial (like having a seconds dial on your watch for accuracy) meaning the engines have free turbines (compressor not attached to the power turbine), a dual load / fuel psi gauge, a dual engine oil pressure and temperature gauge, fuel quantity in pounds, a turbine output temperature gauge (the hottest part of your engine), and a clock.

On the copilots side: a second Rotor%RPM dual gauge, a third VOR indicator, Airspeed in Knots and MPH, a RMI(Radio Magnetic Indicator) which uses VOR and ADF(Automatic Direction Finder) on compass, a second DG, a second HSI, and a teeny tiny altimeter right in the outboard corner.

the 4 instruments on the lower copilots panel are completely unlabeled

some things of note that are from game limitations:

most of the engine instruments don't have needles at all

the DGs and the RMI use the same background asset, resulting in the DG wrongly having 'VOR' and 'ASI' on its face, DGs are self contained air driven instruments that work on gyroscopic precession, not any outside data input.

all of the instruments with a compass face all say north despite this vertibird not quite facing north.

the AI is showing wings level despite this vertibird being crashed and on a ~30 degree angle

there are not engine controls at all not even flat assets, only flight controls.

There are a lot of instruments here and most of them are reasonably OK read individually, BUT there at least 1 key instrument missing and the layout outs emphasis on completely the wrong things:

WHERE IS THE VERTICAL SPEED INDICATOR(VSI)????? That's a pretty important gauge in a VERTICAL take off / landing aircraft!!!!!!!!!! It's one of the basic six pack!!! how was it omitted??? Speaking of the six pack why is there only one ASI and Altimeter?? and why are they tiny and ON THE COPILOTS SIDE ONLY???? the altimeter is LITERALLY the furthest instrument from the pilot in a vertibird, it should be right in front of the pilot!!! the easy to miss altimeter would make IFR(Instrument Flight Rules) flying incredibly dangerous! Also why are there four VOR based navigational instruments? VOR IS GROUND BASED NAVIGATION!!! unless the BoS has rebooted the multiple ground beacons for them to navigate from that's THREE dead instruments taking up space on the panel! the RMI is slightly more useful as ADF can tune to commercial radio frequencies, though these would need to be strong!

These poor inexperienced lancers are having to look all over the whole unnecessarily crowded cockpit for basic information that should be right in front of them, causing reaction delays and possible confusion. That delay could be the difference between whether or not they are flying home today.

-> Bethesda doesn't understand what half the instruments do and while they did a good job with most of the assets, in their quest to make it retro-future / visibly different from actual aircraft, they have completely destroyed any use of logic in the layout.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading! Here’s a video of me yeeting Danse with the ‘Get out of my face mod’ as compensation haha

My Video. [ID: a video capture from fallout 4 in first person. It is night and is at oberland station facing the water treatment plant. The player is wearing power armour and the HUD is visible. The player is very close to Paladin Danse, he turns away from them and they shove him with the voice line “stay out of my way”. Danse flys a long way away while rag-dolling. The Gamer’s laughter can be heard while Danse is flying. The player follows Danse’s fall with the crosshairs. The player then walks backwards. End ID]

[usafphantom2]

'Digital Harrier' XW175 was used to test a new computerised flight control system intended for a next-generation V/STOL fighter - which would eventually end up being the F-35.

@Tempest_Books via X

[chaifootsteps]

more HB reddit - this time an update on the next episode

apparently Brandon said

the cast and crew watched the screening and said that it was going to have a "Big Episode character development" and "some people will really like it and some people might be crying."

(I imagine he means crying from emotion but in the phrasing of the quote it's funnier to imagine he means 'some people really like it and some people will be crying from how much they hate it')

also that he'll be singing in this ep (I'm personally not looking forward to the Stol/tz 'why didn't I realize he loved me the whole time he was objectifying and demeaning me?' duet but good for him getting to do some vocals - probably should have happened earlier for the literal lead character but nothing in this show has been all that thought out so far, so whatever)

still no release date yet, but I guess a screening implies they're at the animatic with v/o stage at least?

Is it actually going to make us cry, Brandon? Or is this another "This scene totally made Alex Brightman cry" thing?

[kineticpenguin]

The USMC's obsession with having V/STOL jets is really funny when you get right down to it.

Good Idea Fairy: During a beach landing, the fast movers can advance with the ground forces!

Literally Anybody Who Has Ever Been Responsible for the Safety, Security, or Maintenance of Multimillion Dollar Combat Jet Aircraft: they're going to fucking what now

[halopedia]

Lore Thursday — Falcata

The F-23 Falcata is a heavy V/STOL atmospheric fighter operated by the UNSC Air Force early in the Human-Covenant War. Ultimately supplanted by the S-14 Baselard, surplus Falcatas have found a niche in planetary defense forces.

[viktorviolettaenterprises]

STOVL Fighters Collection DOWNLOAD

At the end of 1950s, the engineers had just an idea of delivering the aircraft even without a runway. Then in the beginning of 1960s, some tests conducted to test the capability of STOVL (Short Take-Off Vertical Landing) or in other word, a possibility of vertical movement of the fixed-wing aircraft, began with the "Flying bunk" in1959. Then the Hawker Siddeley Limited in Britain proposed a concept named "P1127 Kestrel" as a prototype of the VTOL fighter. Then this concept acepted and in 1969, the production of Harrier GR1 had begun. This aircraft was intended to be in use for Royal Air Force, but the Royal Navy also got their own version of FRS1 years later. These Harriers sought it's first battle experience in Falklands War in 1982 when these Harriers brought down some of the Argentine's air capability without any losses. The last of the Harrier production was in GR9 variant which subsequently substituted by the latest F-35B by the Royal Air Force.

McDonnell-Douglas AV-8B Harrier II

The USMC was also seeking the aircraft that suits for the amphibious mission. After the success of the Harrier FRS1 and GR3 variants in the Falklands War, in 1985 the USMC proposed an inquiry to acquire some of these aircrafts, with also stated that these aircrafts should be manufactured in the United States. Then BAe Industries licensed the Harrier to the McDonnell-Douglas company . Also this aircraft met the service within the Royal Spanish Navy in 1987. Several missions has been done by AV-8Bs including Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Libyan Crisis.

Lockheed Martin F-35B

The STOVL variant of F-35 Thunderbolt which it's STOVL technology derived from Yak-141 VTOL system, which sold to the Lockheed Martin in 1992, which emphasizes the vector exhaust and a fan in the middle of the aircraft. Also the most wanted aircraft in action of this century. The F-35B is the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the aircraft. Similar in size to the A variant, the B sacrifices about a third of the A variant's fuel volume to accommodate the SDLF. This variant is limited to 7 g. Unlike other variants, the F-35B has no landing hook. The "STOVL/HOOK" control instead engages conversion between normal and vertical flight.The F-35B is capable of Mach 1.6 (1,976 km/h) and can perform vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL)

[bahtinov]

https://bahtinov.ru/uslugi/dizajn-proekt-kvartiry/rabochij-stol-ryadom-s-knizhnym-shkafom-v-stene/

[besedar]

frazeološka enota dne: židane volje

židan = svilen. Glede pomenskega prenosa, do katerega pride pri židani volji, se fran ni povsem zedinil:

1.) Joža Glonar v svojem slovarju iz 1936 doda še en pomen: "nevsakdanji, izreden, prazniški". Na tem pomenu bi potemtakem lahko slonel izraz "židana volja" (= dobra volja). (Iz Kebrovega Slovarja slovenskih frazemov)

2.) V Slovenskem etimološkem slovarju Marka Snoja pa piše:

V frazi žídana vọ́lja (18. stol.) pridevnik pomeni ‛dober’, kar temelji na metafori iz zveze žídana oblẹ̑ka ‛svilena, tj. dobra obleka’.

[bigglesworld]

Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. Multi-purpose role aircraft. VTOL. STOL

[helliixns]

@thenextchapterbegins replied to your post:

It needs to happen however im bog fear that will never happen and they’ continue to just paint blitz as the sole factor

Unfortunately yeeahhh

[miyakuli]

imdefinitelynoadult replied to your post

Did you notice the tiny short blush on Blitzs face when Stolas transformed??

Yesssssssssssand I doubt he reacted to his daughter since he already saw her in this form gehehe ;))) there are so many lil details I appreciated like, how in the truck he reacts immediately when Stolas gets worried, or when he smiles nervously very quickly when Stolas is seducing him, or calling him “Stols” in his message to Millie <3333

Also Stolas was so supportive to Blitz in this ep, and once again he is the one who is laughing at his stupid jokes like when they were kids, loved the parallel >v< 

I feel like saving Via just put the Ozzie fiasco aside for the moment and it was nice to have some funny sweet moments again, but yeahhh I feel the angst coming back soon x’) idk if it’s relevant but on Blitz calendar, we can see Stolas name with “???” and I wonder if it was bcs he didn’t dare to see him after what happened to Ozzie....I wonder actually how many days passed since then, maybe that was the first time they’ve seen each other in days :o well, let’s see in the future eps =v=