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Bell X-14

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X-14
Bell Type 68 VTOL
General information
TypeExperimental VTOL
ManufacturerBell Aircraft
StatusMuseum Display
Primary usersNASA
Number built1
History
Manufactured1
First flight19 February 1957; 67 years ago (1957-02-19)
Retired29 May 1981; 43 years ago (1981-05-29)

The Bell X-14 (Bell Type 68) is an experimental VTOL aircraft flown in the United States in the 1950s. The main objective of the project was to demonstrate vectored thrust horizontal and vertical takeoff, hover, transition to forward flight, and vertical landing.

Design and development

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External image
Bell X-14 thrust vectoring vanes
image icon View of the X-14's thrust vectoring vanes used to transition from vertical to horizontal flight from the Ropkey Armor and Aviation Museum.

Bell constructed the X-14 as an open-cockpit, all-metal (duralumin) monoplane for the USAF. It was powered by two Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojet engines equipped with thrust deflectors sited at the aircraft's centre of gravity. The engines are fixed in position; transition from vertical to horizontal flight is achieved with a system of movable vanes that control the direction of engine thrust.[1][2] Top speed was 180 miles per hour (290 km/h) with a service ceiling of 20,000 feet (6,100 m). The X-14 was designed using existing parts from two Beechcraft aircraft: wings, ailerons, and landing gear of a Beech Bonanza and the tailcone and empennage of a Beech T-34 Mentor.[3]

Operational history

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The X-14 first flew on 19 February 1957 as a vertical takeoff, hover, then vertical landing. The first transition from hover to horizontal flight occurred on 24 May 1958. In 1959, its Viper engines were replaced with General Electric J85 engines. That year the aircraft was delivered to the NASA Ames Research Center as the X-14A. During the development of the P.1127, Hawker test pilots Bill Bedford and Hugh Merewether visited NASA Ames to fly the X-14 and acquaint themselves with jet V/STOL aircraft handling prior to the first flights of the prototype P.1127.[3] It served as a test aircraft with NASA until 1981.

The X-14 project provided a great deal of data on VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) type aircraft and flight control systems.

In 1971, the X-14A was fitted with new engines (General Electric J85-GE-19) and redesignated the X-14B.[4][5] An onboard computer and digital fly-by-wire control system were also installed to enable emulation of landing characteristics of other VTOL aircraft.[citation needed]

The aircraft was obtained by NASA and repurposed as a Moon-landing simulator.[6] Neil Armstrong flew the aircraft on numerous occasions, running out of fuel more than once.[5]

The X-14B was used in this test role until it was damaged in a landing accident on 29 May 1981 and never repaired.[6] At the time, there were plans to develop an X-14C with an enclosed cockpit. There were also plans for an X-14T trainer. None of these further versions got beyond the planning stage.

During all of its years of service, the X-14 was flown by numerous pilots with no serious incidents or injuries.[5][6]

Aircraft serial numbers

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Although there was only one airframe, it changed serial numbers with every major upgrade.

Surviving aircraft

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The X-14 undergoing renovation by a private collector in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Ropkey Armor and Aviation Museum

The X-14B was rescued from the scrap yard in 1991 and is undergoing renovation as part of the Ropkey Armor and Aviation Museum.[7][8][needs update]

Specifications (X-14B)

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Data from Bell aircraft since 1935[9]

General characteristics

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 172 mph (277 km/h, 149 kn)
  • Range: 300 mi (480 km, 260 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
  • Thrust/weight: 1.4

Avionics
Auto-stabilisation and computer-controlled engine controls.

See also

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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

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  1. ^ US patent 2879014, Smith, Stanley W.; Sperazz, Charles M. (Sr.), "Jet Propelled Airplane With Jet Diverter", issued 1959-03-24 
  2. ^ "Picture of Bell X-14 moveable vanes for thrust vectoring". web site, ropkeyarmormuseum.com. Ropkey Armor Museum. Retrieved 12 February 2013.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ a b Borchers, Paul F.; Franklin, James A.; Fletcher, Jay W. (1998). "Chapter 8, Boundary Layer Control, STOL, V/STOL Aircraft Research". (SP-3300) Flight Research at Ames, 1940-1997, Fifty-Seven Years of Development and Validation of Aeronautical Technology. NASA. pp. 55–59. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  4. ^ a b Craig Bowman (12 January 2023). "Bell's X-14 VTOL Prototype Aircraft That Actually Worked". Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Jason McDowell (21 March 2023). "How NASA's Unconventional Bell X-14 Almost Landed in the Scrapyard". Flying. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Bell Model 68 X-141957". Virtual Aircraft Museum. 25 June 2009. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  7. ^ Lowther, Scott. "Bell X-14." up-ship.com. Retrieved: 3 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Bell X-14B". Ropkey Armor Museum. 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ Pelletier, Alain J. (1992). Bell aircraft since 1935 (1st ed.). London: Putnam Aeronautical. pp. 119–121. ISBN 1557500568.
  10. ^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bell X-14.
  • Bridgman, Leonard, ed. (1958). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59. London: Jane's All the World's Aircraft Publishing Co. Ltd. pp. 258–259.
  • Markman, Steve; Holder, William G. (2000). Straight up : a history of vertical flight. Atglen: Schiffer Pub. ISBN 0-7643-1204-9.
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