In November 1961, General Electric won a US Army contract to develop its fan-in-wing concept, the XV-5A, with design, construction and flight testing
of the aircraft was sub-contracted to Ryan. General Electric retained responsibility for the propulsion system and integration with the aircraft. In
the inboard portion of each wing a 5 ft diameter fan provided vertical lift. A smaller fan in the nose in front of the two person cockpit give pitch
control and additional lift.
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Two aircraft were built; the first one flew from 25 May 1964 until it crashed the following April, killing the pilot during a transition attempt.
First hover was in June 1964, and first transition in November 1964. The second aircraft flew until it crashed in October 1966 (also killing the
pilot), but was rebuilt as the XV-5B. This had a wider landing gear, had an improved cockpit, and removed the thrust spoiler. It began flying on 24
June 1968. The drawbacks of the Vertifan were the large volume and weight occupied by the lift system, slow control response, and the narrow
transition corridor.
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[Edited on 22-1-2003 by quaneeri]
