Ryan XV-5 Vertifan Fan-in-Wing V/STOL Research Aircraft Family
The Ryan XV-5 Vertifan family comprised two initial XV-5A aircraft and the later XV-5B modification, developed with General Electric for the U.S. Army. Two J85 turbojets supplied gas to two wing lift fans and a smaller nose fan for pitch control. The XV-5A first flew in 1964 and validated the gas-driven fan-in-wing V/STOL concept, while exposing high pilot workload, a narrow conversion corridor, and abrupt pitch changes during transition. The modified XV-5B first flew in 1968 with wider-track landing gear, linked stabilizer and diverter-valve actuators, improved fuel management, and cockpit changes. NASA used it to study steep terminal approaches, powered-lift control, and aircraft noise.
Future launches and major activity directly linked to this vehicle family.
Identity
- Aliases
- Ryan XV-5ARyan XV-5BXV-5A VertifanXV-5B VertifanVertifan
- Family Name
- Ryan XV-5 Vertifan
- Full Name
- Ryan XV-5 Vertifan Fan-in-Wing V/STOL Research Aircraft Family
- Roles
- militaryresearchexperimentaltechnology_demonstrator
- Status
- retired
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- powered_lift
- Crew Capacity
- 2
- Operating Modes
- land
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- vtol
- Description
- The Ryan XV-5 Vertifan family comprised two initial XV-5A aircraft and the later XV-5B modification, developed with General Electric for the U.S. Army. Two J85 turbojets supplied gas to two wing lift fans and a smaller nose fan for pitch control. The XV-5A first flew in 1964 and validated the gas-driven fan-in-wing V/STOL concept, while exposing high pilot workload, a narrow conversion corridor, and abrupt pitch changes during transition. The modified XV-5B first flew in 1968 with wider-track landing gear, linked stabilizer and diverter-valve actuators, improved fuel management, and cockpit changes. NASA used it to study steep terminal approaches, powered-lift control, and aircraft noise.
- First Flight Year
- 1,964
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 2
- Placement
- fuselage
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Stage
- airframe
- Variant Notes
- NASA identifies two J85 turbojets powering the XV-5A/B lift-fan system; the engines supplied gas to two wing fans and a forward fuselage pitch fan.
- Name
- XV-5A/XV-5B GE J85 fan-in-wing installation
- Notes
- The exact evidence names the installed engines as J85 without a model suffix, so the canonical GE J85 propulsion-family row is used.
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 15, 2026 at 03:55:17 UTC
- Updated Time
- October 29, 2026 at 15:27:25 UTC