Sikorsky XV-2

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Sikorsky S-57.jpg
Role Stoppable rotor aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft
Number built 0

The Sikorsky XV-2, also known by the Sikorsky Aircraft model number S-57, was a planned experimental stoppable rotor aircraft, designated as a convertiplane, developed for a joint research program between the United States Air Force and the United States Army. The program was cancelled before construction of the prototype began.

Design and development[edit]

The XV-2 was developed as part of a joint U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army program intended to explore technologies to develop an aircraft that could take off and land like a helicopter but fly at faster airspeeds, similar to a conventional airplane. The XV-2's stoppable-rotor design was intended to allow it to hover and fly at low speed like a conventional helicopter. It utilized a single-rotor design; a counterweight provided stability to the rotor system,[1] while a tip-jet arrangement powered the rotor, which retracted into the upper fuselage when stopped, the XV-2 then flying like a conventional aircraft on delta wings.[2] A single jet engine was provided for forwards flight.[3]

The XV-2 prototype was assigned the serial number 54-4403, but the project was cancelled before construction could begin.[4]

See also[edit]

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era


  1. ^ Boyne 1984, p.178.
  2. ^ Sikorsky 2007, p.84.
  3. ^ Allen 1993, p.4-5.
  4. ^ Pearcy 1993, p.103.
  • Allen, Francis J. (Spring 1993). "The McDonnell XV-1". AAHS Journal (Huntington Beach, CA: American Aviation Historical Society) 38 (1). 
  • Boyne, Walter J. (1984). Vertical Flight: The Age of the Helicopter. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 978-0874742794. 
  • Pearcy, Arthur (1993). Flying the Frontiers: NASA and NACA Experimental Aircraft. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1557502582. 
  • Sikorsky, Sergei I. (2007). The Sikorsky Legacy. Images of Aviation. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0738549958. 

External links[edit]