View source for Lockheed XFV

[[File:XFV-1.png|thumb|right|1964 Cessna 180G Skywagon, N4679U|333x333px]]
==Design and development==
The Lockheed XFV originated as a result of a proposal issued by the U.S. Navy in 1948 for an aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aboard platforms mounted on the afterdecks of conventional ships. Both [[Convair]] and Lockheed competed for the contract but in 1950, the requirement was revised, with a call for a research aircraft capable of eventually evolving into a VTOL ship-based convoy escort fighter. On 19 April 1951, two prototypes were ordered from Lockheed under the designation '''XFO-1''' (company designation was Model 081-40-01). Soon after the contract was awarded, the project designation changed to XFV-1 when the [[1922 United States Navy aircraft designation system|Navy's code]] for Lockheed was changed from O to V.<ref name=":0">Allen 2007. p. 14.</ref>

The XFV was powered by a {{convert|5332|hp|abbr=on}} [[Allison YT40]]-A-6 [[turboprop engine]] driving three-bladed [[contra-rotating propellers]]. The tail surfaces were a reflected cruciform [[v-tail]] (forming an '''x''') that extended above and below the fuselage. The aircraft had  an ungainly appearance on the ground with a makeshift, fixed landing gear attached.<ref>Winchester 2005, p. 135.</ref> Lockheed employees derisively nicknamed the aircraft the "[[pogo stick]]" (a direct reference to the rival [[Convair XFY]]'s name).<ref>Winchester 2005, p. 134.</ref>

==Testing and evaluation==
[[File:Lockheed XFV-1 in flight with T-33 c1954.jpg|thumb|The first XFV-1 during a test flight at Edwards AFB]]

To begin flight testing, a temporary non-retractable undercarriage with long braced V-legs was attached to the fuselage, and fixed tail wheels attached to the lower pair of fins. In this form, the aircraft was trucked to [[Edwards AFB]] in November 1953 for ground testing and taxiing trials. During one of these tests, at a time when the aft section of the large spinner had not yet been fitted, Lockheed chief test pilot [[Herman "Fish" Salmon]] managed to taxi the aircraft past the liftoff speed, and the aircraft made a brief hop on 22 December 1953. The official first flight took place on 16 June 1954.

Full VTOL testing at Edwards AFB was delayed pending the availability of the 7,100 shp [[Allison T54]], which never materialized. After the brief unintentional hop, the aircraft made a total of 32 flights. All further XFV-1 flights did not involve any vertical takeoffs or landings. The XFV-1 was able to make a few transitions in flight from the conventional to the vertical flight mode and back, and had briefly held in hover at altitude. Performance remained limited by the confines of the flight test regime. With the realization that the XFV's top speeds would be eclipsed by contemporary fighters and that only highly experienced pilots could fly the aircraft, the project was cancelled in June 1955.<ref>Allen 2007, p. 20.</ref>

Salmon taxied the XFV-1 on its temporary gear "from a standing start to 175 mph, and then brought it back down to a dead stop without any use of the brakes, all within a distance of one mile."<ref>''American Aviation'' 27 Sept 1954 p34</ref>

==Variants==
*'''XFO-1/XFV-1''': (Model 081-40-01) Two prototypes built, one flown.
*'''FV-2''': Proposed production version (Model 181-43-02) was to have been powered by the T54-A-16 turboprop, incorporating a bullet-proof windshield, armor and radar in the fixed forward part of the nose spinner. The proposed armament was four 20&nbsp;mm cannon fitted in the two wingtip pods. Alternatively, 48 2{{fraction|3|4}}-inch folding-fin rockets could be fitted.

==Aircraft on display==
[[File:Prototype XFV-1 Aircraft at Sun-n-Fun Nov 2012.jpg|thumb|Vertical display of the XFV-1 Prototype at Florida Air Museum at Sun-n-Fun]]

The single flying prototype ended up as an exhibit at the [[Sun 'n Fun]] Campus Museum at [[Lakeland Linder International Airport]] in [[Lakeland, Florida]]. This example was refurbished at the museum's Buehler Restoration Center and is currently on outdoor display.  The aircraft was assigned USN/USMC Bureau Number 138657, but was marked as 658 following restoration.<ref>[http://www.sun-n-fun.org/Museum/BuehlerCenter.aspx "Buehler Restoration Center."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411231023/http://sun-n-fun.org/Museum/BuehlerCenter.aspx |date=2010-04-11 }} ''sun-n-fun.org.'' Retrieved: 20 September 2010.</ref> The second prototype, which was never completed, is on display at [[Los Alamitos Army Airfield]] in [[California]].

==Specifications (XFV-1)==
[[File:Lockheed XFV-1.JPG|thumb|right|The XFV-1 prototype located at Sun 'n Fun Museum, Lakeland, Florida]]

{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=imp

|crew=1
|length ft=36
|length in=10.25
|length m=11.23 
|span ft=30
|span in=10.1
|span m=9.4 
|height ft=36
|height in=10.25
|height m=11.23 
|wing area sqft=246 
|wing area sqm=22.85 
|empty weight lb=11,599 
|empty weight kg=5,261 
|gross weight lb=16,221 
|gross weight kg=7,358 
|max takeoff weight lb=16,221 
|max takeoff weight kg=7,358 
|eng1 name= [[Allison XT40]]-A-14 turboprop,
|eng1 type= 6 blade contra-rotating
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 shp=5,100 
|max speed mph=580 
|max speed kmh=930 
|cruise speed mph=410 
|cruise speed kmh=660 
|ceiling ft=43,300 
|ceiling m=13,100 
|climb rate ftmin=10,820 
|wing loading lb/sqft=65.9 
|wing loading kg/m2=322 
|armament=4 × 20 mm (.79 in) cannons ''or'' 48 × 2.75 in (70 mm) rockets
}}

''Note: Performance estimates are based on XFV with YT40-A-14 engine.''

==See also==
{{aircontent|
|related=
|similar aircraft=
* [[Convair XFY]]
* [[Focke-Wulf Triebflügel]]
* [[Heinkel Lerche]]
* [[X-13 Vertijet|Ryan X-13 Vertijet]]
|lists=
* [[List of Lockheed aircraft]]
* [[List of fighter aircraft]]
* [[List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)]]
* [[List of military aircraft of the United States]]
|see also=<!-- other relevant information -->
}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist|group=N}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* Allen, Francis J. "Bolt upright: Convair's and Lockheed's VTOL fighters". ''Air Enthusiast'' (Key Publishing), Volume 127,  January/February 2007, pp.&nbsp;13–20. ISSN 0143-5450.
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Great Book of Fighters''. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN|0-7603-1194-3}}.
* Taylor, Michael. ''The World's Strangest Aircraft''. London: Grange Books plc, 1999. {{ISBN|1-85627-869-7}}.
* Winchester, Jim. "Lockheed XFV-1 Salmon." ''Concept Aircraft: Prototypes, X-Planes and Experimental Aircraft''. Kent, UK: Grange Books plc., 2005. {{ISBN|978-1-84013-809-2}}.
{{refend}}


[[Category:Lockheed aircraft|F01V]]
[[Category:1950s United States fighter aircraft]]
[[Category:1950s United States experimental aircraft|FV, Lockheed]]
[[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Mid-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Tailsitter aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft with contra-rotating propellers]]
[[Category:Single-engined turboprop aircraft]]
[[Category:Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States]]
[[Category:X-tail aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1954]]
[[Category:Aircraft with fixed quad landing gear]]