Northrop N-63 Convoy Fighter (oz16911)

About this Plan

Northrop N-63 Convoy Fighter. Free flight scale model for rubber power.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Quote: "NORTHROP N-63 VTOL CONVOY FIGHTER
Northrop N-63 VTOL Fighter

This is the Northrop N-63 design from 1950. With a tail-sitting configuration like that of the Lockheed XFV-1 Salmon and the Convair XFY-1 Pogo, the N-63 was Northrop's unbuilt submission to a US Navy specification for a VTOL fighter to be based on convoy cargo ships for point air defense. Using the same XT40 turboprop engine and a prop spinner-mounted radar as the Lockheed and Convair designs, the N-63 used an unusual Y-layout for the wings and tail which gave it a very stable ground footprint.
 
Two 20mm cannons were placed in each wingtip pod and the landing gear consisted of very light and simple but strong compressible struts in the tail, wing tip gun pods and in a telescoping tail cone.
 
In 1951 Lockheed and Convair were selected to build flying prototypes with Northrop's submission losing as the third-place entry. Ultimately, the VTOL tail sitter projects were cancelled in 1955 as technologically immature, operationally cumbersome, and lacking in the performance of contemporary jet fighters of the day."

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