Hiller's Propelloplanes

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8 prop tandem tilt wing, weight given as 60.000 lb in The Aeroplane 2/1959 :
 

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Although the X-18 is generally associated with the name "Propelloplane", this term was in fact coined by Hiller to designate a whole series of earlier designs using tilt-wings in the same way as the X-18.

The AIAA's website provides a very good starting place to these fascinating designs, whose sole misfortune was to be unproven compared to the then-in-use aircraft and helicopter configurations. The texts below were taken for the most part from that excellent website.

  • First known Propelloplane was the Model 1035. This design was the first tilt-wing under an Army contract. Wing tips were fixed due to initial concern about tilted sections not bathed in propeller downwash. Studies on this design began in 1953.
  • Second known Propelloplane was the Model 1045. This design was proposed to the Army in 1954 against its requirement for a utility helicopter. It featured a bubble canopy which provided excellent visibility. As with the earlier Model 1035, only the parts of the wings extending on each side of the fuselage tilted, while the central part stayed in place. Although convinced a tilt-wing would fulfill the mission, a conventional helicopter was advanced as the primary offering (the Bell UH-1, aka "Huey").
  • Much bigger was the Model 1048/A Propelloplane. Hiller received the first government-funded tilt-wing study contract for that model, which turned company policy toward the transport size. The design used the existing Lockheed Hercules fuselage. The Office of Naval Research became fond of this 30-ton transport and encouraged more development.
  • The Model 1051 Propelloplane, which was another tilt-wing design, possibly the one that was submitted in a competition held by the Office of Naval Research and was defeated by Vertol's lower-cost aircraft.
  • The Model 1056, Model 1057 and Model 1058 designs, which were respectively a tiltrotor design, a tilt-wing design and a tilt-duct design in a Hiller study for the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics which compared several VTOL and STOL concepts. Ultimately, the tilt-wing concept was confirmed as the most advantageous to develop and build.
  • The Model 1085 Propelloplane, a proof-of-concept research prototype designated as the X-18 by the US Air Force which utilized a modified fuselage from a Chase XC-122C Avitruc model with other parts coming from a Convair R3Y Tradewind transport. The Allison T40 turboprops and the propellers were reused from the Navy's unfortunate Convair XFY-1 "Pogo" and Lockheed XFV-1 "Salmon" VTOL fighters.
 

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Stargazer2006 said:
Although the X-18 is generally associated with the name "Propelloplane", this term was in fact coined by Hiller to designate a whole series
  • Much bigger was the Model 1048 Propelloplane. Hiller received the first government-funded tilt-wing study contract for that model, which turned company policy toward the transport size. The off-the-shelf and ungainly airframe soon gave way to a plan to use the existing Lockheed Hercules fuselage, resulting in the revised Model 1048A. The Office of Naval Research became fond of this 30-ton transport and encouraged more development.
Click to expand...

I have to giggle at the picture of the men standing right at the optimal point for the downwash from the props. Given their size the outwash would make a V-22 environment seem like a summer breeze. Still it would have been impressive to see these aircraft.
 
In 'Air Force Magazine' - September 1959 the Model 1048 with raised cockpit
is labelled as the Model 1067 transport-rescue aircraft...
 
lark said:
In 'Air Force Magazine' - September 1959 the Model 1048 with raised cockpit
is labelled as the Model 1067 transport-rescue aircraft...
Click to expand...

Interesting. So if this was the 1067, what did the original (non-A) Model 1048 look like?
Anyway, I'll correct my post and repost the picture accordingly.
 
The Hiller 1067, as described in lark's post above:
 

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Profile drawing of Hiller Model 1057.

A tilt-wing design in a Hiller study for the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics which compared several VTOL and STOL concepts. Ultimately, the tilt-wing concept was confirmed as the most advantageous to develop and build.

Source:
http://www.aiaa.org/tc/vstol/unbuilt/
"Straight Up and Away" Flying Review. May 1969: 52
Straubel, John F. One Way Up. Hiller Aircraft Company, Inc., 1964.
 

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Profile drawing of Hiller Model 1058 tilt duct.

A tilt-duct design in a Hiller study for the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics which compared several VTOL and STOL concepts. Ultimately, the tilt-wing concept was confirmed as the most advantageous to develop and build. In 1956, a tilt-wing (the 1058??) was submitted in a competition held by the Office of Naval Research. It was defeated by Vertol's lower-cost aircraft.

Source:
http://www.aiaa.org/tc/vstol/unbuilt/
"Straight Up and Away" Flying Review. May 1969: 52
Straubel, John F. One Way Up. Hiller Aircraft Company, Inc., 1964.
 

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The Model 1045:
 

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Recently posted by the San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) archive page (SDASMARCHIVES) on YouTube, some Hiller X-18 (USAF Ser. No. 57-3078 / ex- 49-2883) test flight footage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvSTCJgACeI
 
FYI, There is a companion report on aerodynamic characteristics, available on dtic. It comes up if you search "Propelloplane"
 
AeroFranz said:
FYI, There is a companion report on aerodynamic characteristics, available on dtic. It comes up if you search "Propelloplane"
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. I'll hunt it down and add it later.
 
Hi,


here is a Hiller Model-1048A;


http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/103229.pdf
 

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Good Day All -

Hiller Tilt Wing artwork from an ad in the June 1956 issue of Flying magazine.

Enjoy the Day! Mark
 

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Does anybody have a reasonable good 3-view drawing and/or detail information of the X-18? I am thinking about making a scale-model of, but to be sure I need some good drawings...

Thanks in advance, Rene
 
Hello hesham,
thanks for your kind reply. Unfortunately the 3-view is unusable for me; no judge at a semiscale-contest would accept this drawing.

Kind Regards,
Rene
 
Give me a day or so, I may have something suitable . . .

cheers,
Robin.
 
From University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign project hummingbird 1961,
 

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Last edited:
From Interavia 1958.
 

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