Vanguard Air and Marine Corp. Model 2C Omniplane Fan-in-Wing VTOL
Established in February 1958 by two former Piasecki engineers, Edward G. Vanderlip and John J. Schneider, and based in Paoli, Pennsylvania, Vanguard Air and Marine Corporation designed its Omniplane 2C fan-in-wing VTOL for an executive transport role. The 2C used the 25-ft (7.6-m) long fuselage from the Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) Ercoupe light aircraft, and drive system components from the Jacobs 104 convertiplane. Construction of the prototype began in May 1958.
Two wing-mounted, 6.5-ft (2-m) diameter, three-bladed ducted rotors were driven via shafting from a 265-hp (200-kW) Lycoming O-540 6-cylinder engine which also powered the 5-ft (1.5-m) diameter, tail-mounted shrouded propeller for forward thrust.
Ground and initial tethered hover testing started in August 1959. The full-scale 2C prototype also completed wind tunnel testing at the NASA Ames Laboratory, Moffett Field, California, which led to incorporation in the improved Vanguard 2D modified flight controls, the addition of an extended nose with a 5-ft (1.5-m) diameter lift-fan for pitch control, and the replacement of the Lycoming piston engine with a Lycoming YT53 860-shp (640-kW) turboshaft. The YT-53 modification work was incorporated under an Air Force Systems Command research and development (R&D) contract.
During testing, the 2D suffered a mechanical failure and was damaged, with the aircraft never flying successfully. However, Vanguard continued design studies of the fan-in-wing concept with larger and faster short haul/transport variants until 1962. The shaft-driven lift-fan concept was eventually successfully developed in the 2000s by Lockheed Martin with the F-35B Lightning II short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) strike fighter.
Description: Ken Bartie
Photo credit: Howard Levy
Drawing credit: John J. Schneider
References:
- Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft, 1963-1964, pg. 289
- Ducted Fan Design, Volume 1, by F. Marc de Piolenc & George E. Wright, Jr., 1997, 2001
- “The Vanguard VTOL Aircraft Concept,” John J. Schneider, AHS Newsletter, October 1959
- Vanguard Omniplane, Vertipedia, Vertical Flight Society
- Aerospace Industries Association, 1962 Yearbook, pg. 159
- Aviation Week, September 7, 1959
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