The Convertiplano is a cancelled

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian

convertiplane A convertiplane is defined by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI or World Air Sports Federation) as an aircraft which uses rotor power for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and converts to fixed-wing lift in normal flight. In the ...

project. It is based on the earlier

Focke-Achgelis Fa 269 The Focke-Achgelis Fa 269 was a tiltrotor VTOL aircraft project designed by Henrich Focke. Development Conceived as a single-seat fighter, the Fa 269 project resulted from a design study order issued by the Reich Air Ministry to Focke-Achgeli ...

Henrich Focke Henrich Focke (8 October 1890 – 25 February 1979) was a German aviation pioneer from Bremen and also a co-founder of the Focke-Wulf company. He is best known as the inventor of the Fw 61, the first successful German helicopter. Biograph ...

revived the design in the early 1950s on behalf of Brazil's Centro Técnico Aeroespacial (CTA), at the time the air force's technical center, who had contracted him to develop a

. The Convertiplano was built using the fuselage and wings of a

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 ...

Mk.XIV, serial RM874, acquired by the Brazilian Air Attaché's office in Brazil. Britain refused to supply the

Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba The Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba is a turboprop engine design developed in the late 1940s of around . It was used mostly on the Fairey Gannet anti-submarine aircraft developed for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. Design and development ...

engine originally selected and the design was altered to accept a mid-mounted

Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone is an American twin-row, supercharged, air-cooled, radial aircraft engine with 18 cylinders displacing nearly . Power ranged from 2,200 to over 3,700 hp (1,640 to 2,760 kW), depending on the model. ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

, as used in the

Lockheed Constellation The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its pre ...

, instead. This required a redesign of the transmission due to the increased weight and vibration. Some 40 workers and US$8 million were devoted to the project. The aircraft never entered service.

Specifications (Convertiplano)

Dimensions: * Wingspan: * Length: * Height: * Weight: Unknown Performance Data: * Top Speed: 310 mph (500 km/h) * Range: 943 miles (1,517 kilometers) estimated Thrust: *HC-I Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba ASMD.4 gas-turbine, 3,875 lbs (1,759 kgp) *HC-Ib Wright R-3350-DA3 Turbo Compound 18-cylinder radial, 3,250 hp (2,424 kW) *HC-II General Electric G.E. T-58 gas-turbines x 4, 3,000 lbs (1,360 kgp) Crew: 2 for HC-I and HC-Ib, with accommodation for 6 passengers in HC-II Armament: None.

Notes

{{reflist * "Focke Convertiplane"
''Flight'', 1955, p.214
A Contrução Aeronáutica no Brasil 1910/1975 (Aeronautic Construction in Brazil 1910–1975), by Roberto Pereira de Andrade, Editora Brasiliense, 1976 Origem, Institucionalização e Desenvolvimento das Atividades Espaciais Brasileiras (1940-1980) (Origin, Institutionalization and Development of Brazilian Space Activities (1940-1980)), by Paulo Augusto Sobral Escada, Universidade Estadual de Campinas Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, 2005. Comando-Geral de Tecnologia Aeroespacial, CTA: Ciência e Tecnologia para a Defesa Nacional (Aerospace Technology General Command, CTA: Science and Technology for National Defense), by Brig Eng Venâncio Alvarenga Gomes Subdiretor de Empreendimentos, 62^o Forumde Debates Projeto Brasil, 2008. "Uma Breve História das Atividades do Prof. Focke no Brasil" (A Brief History of Prof. Focke's Activities in Brazil) by Joseph Kovacs, ABCM Engenharia Associação Brasileira de Engenharia e Ciências Mecânicas, Volume 09 . Número 2. Abril . Setembro . 2003. "Aeronautics in Brazil," by Walter Bartels, AIAB Aerospace Industries Association of Brazil, 2006. "Professor Focke, Helicóptero e Convertiplano," (Professor Focke: Helicopter and Convertiplane) Gênios Desperdiçados do Brasil, Outubro de 2008. "Condições Gerais para Incorporação de Tecnologia à Economia Brasileira," (Terms for Merger of Technology in the Brazilian Economy) by José Monir Nasser, 3a. Conferência Nacional de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação – CT&I para o Desenvolvimento, Seminário Temático Preparatório, Brasília, 22 de Março de 2005. "Centro Técnico da Aeronáutica (Hoje: Comando-Geral de Tecnologia Aerospacial – CTA)," (Aeronautical Technical Center (Today: Aerospace Technology General Command - CTA)) by Mauro Gandra, Problemas Nacionais, Conferências Pronunciadas nas Reuniões Semanais do Conselho Técnico da Confederação Nacional do Comércio de Bens, Serviços e Turismo, 653, Vol. 55, Agosto 2009. "Cronologia do Desenvolvimento Científico, Tecnológico e Industrial Brasilerio 1938-2003,"(Chronology of Scientific, Technological and Industry in Brazil 1938–2003) Homenagem do Ministério Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior e do Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas Pelos 65 anos de Confederação Nacional da Indústria, Luiz Fernando Furlan, Ministro de Estado do Desenvolvimento Indústria e Comércio Exterior, 2005. Luftwaffe Confidential: Fundamentals of Modern Aeronautical Design, by Claudio Lamas de Farias and Daniel Uhr, Eqip Werbung & Verlag GmbH, 2012 Abandoned military aircraft projects of Brazil Focke-Achgelis aircraft 1950s experimental aircraft 1950s Brazilian experimental aircraft Tiltrotor aircraft Convertiplano Mid-engined aircraft Low-wing aircraft T-tail aircraft