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The Sud-Ouest Aviation (SNCASO) S.O. 4050 Vautour (French for vulture) is a French jet-powered multirole aircraft. The Vautour served as a bomber, ground attack, reconnaissance and interceptor aircraft. Developed and manufactured by aircraft company Sud Aviation, the Vautour was operated by France's Armée de l'Air, having been originally designed in response to a requirement for a jet aircraft for bombing, low-level attack and all-weather interception. The Vautour was used in the Force de frappe under the Commandement des forces aériennes stratégiques; each aircraft was suitable for the carriage of a nuclear weapon. The shortcomings of the type as a bomber, such as its lack of radar or other advanced navigation/attack systems, led to the type being replaced by the more capable Dassault Mirage IV. The Vautour never saw combat with the French Air Force. The only other user was the Israeli Air Force (IAF), for which the Vautour undertook various mission and roles, including combat. Vautours were used during the wars between Israel and its neighbors, including the Six-Day War and the War of Attrition. Only one air-to-air kill was recorded by a Vautour; the type was used more for bombing and ground strafing and was reportedly considered by Israel to be comparable to the Soviet-built Ilyushin Il-28 medium bombers used by its regional adversaries. During the early 1970s, the Israeli Vautours were replaced by Douglas A-4 Skyhawks. The Sud Aviation Vautour was a jet-propelled mid-sized combat aircraft, typically employed as a bomber and attack aircraft, as well as having some usage as an interceptor.[1] In terms of its basic configuration, it had a shoulder-wing monoplane configuration, furnished with a 35° swept wing and a "flying" tail. Power was provided by a pair of SNECMA Atar 101 turbojet engines, which were carried in pods located underneath the wings.[10] The Vautour was equipped with a bicycle-type landing gear configuration in which the main units were located upon the underside of the fore and aft fuselage, these were augmented by smaller stabilizing gear set into bottom of the engine pods. The internal space of the central fuselage was largely dedicated to a large 5 m (16 ft) weapons bay, along with substantial internal fuel tankage. The Vautour IIB bomber lacked any sort of radar arrangement or many of the contemporary navigational aids and attack systems that were installed upon several aircraft performing the same role during this era. Aiming of the armaments was performed by a bombardier, who would principally perform his bomb-aiming function using a Second World War-vintage American-built Norden bombsight. The navigator/bombardier position was within the nose section, which was glazed to provide external visibility.[3] Both the Vautour IIB and IIA models were restricted to performing missions only under clear-weather operations during daylight. The Vautour IIN interceptor model was not as restrictive, having some capacity to conduct both nighttime and adverse weather operations, having been furnished with a radar system. During its service in Israel, where the weather of the local climate was generally favorable and daylight missions commonplace, the Vautour's lack of advanced targeting and navigation equipment was found to be not a crippling limitation. However, when operated in Europe, these restrictions were considered to be a major disadvantage. As a result, the French AdA never deployed their single-seat Vautour IIA fleet in a frontline capacity; the majority of its IIB bombers were quickly converted to the improved Vautour IIBR standard, which was used to perform photo reconnaissance missions instead. The Vautour was capable of being equipped with various armaments. In Israeli service, it was typically armed with a pair of 30 mm cannons, as well as up to four removable underwing rocket pods, containing up to 19 air-to-ground rockets each; up to 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) of bombs or alternatively a maximum of 232 68 mm rockets could be accommodated internally in the bomb bay. 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) of bombs could also be mounted externally.[6] The Vautour IIB bomber could be used to carry nuclear weapons in addition to its conventional arsenal. The internal bomb bay of an aircraft could contain either one AN-11 or one AN-22 nuclear bomb; in AdA service, the primary carrier of nuclear weapons would quickly be changed to the newer and more capable Dassault Mirage IV, which supplemented and eventually replace the Vautour IIB bomber. For operational history and variants, click here.

The Composite Helicopters International KC 518 Adventourer is a composite fuselage, 5-6 place turbine kit helicopter. The KC 518 is a composite fuselage helicopter kit for amateur construction. The airframe uses a carbon fiber and kevlar composite fuselage with a shrouded tail rotor. An auxiliary fuel system can be installed. Variants Other versions with the same fuselage are KC630 with Rolls-Royce RR300 engine in 2017 (priced at US$970,000), KC640 with the RR250 in 2018, and KC650 with the Honeywell LTS101, expected to be certified by 2019. The rights to the KC630 were acquired by Innova Helicopters in 2017.

The Hiller YH-32 Hornet (company designation HJ-1) is an American ultralight helicopter built by Hiller Aircraft in the early 1950s. It was a small and unique design because it was powered by two Hiller 8RJ2B ramjet engines mounted on the rotor blade tips which weigh 13 lb (5.9 kg) each and deliver an equivalent of 45 hp (34 kW) for a total of 90 hp (67 kW). Versions of the HJ-1 Hornet were built for the United States Army and the United States Navy in the early 1950s. The Hiller Museum identifies the YH-32A, named the Sally Rand, as the first helicopter gunship. The Hiller HOE-1 became the first production ramjet helicopter, and the Army and Navy flew a small number of these aircraft for a short time to test and evaluate the technology. The Hiller HJ-1 Hornet was an early attempt to build a jet-powered helicopter using ramjets, with work beginning in 1948. Before that there had been experiments with the XH-26 Jet Jeep tip rotor pulse jets.The HJ-1 ramjet tipped rotor propels the rotor and the aircraft. Unlike a conventional helicopter, this mechanically simple design avoids the need for a tail rotor. Unfortunately, the tip speeds on helicopter rotor blades are subsonic, and ramjets are inefficient at subsonic speeds due to low compression ratio of the inlets. Therefore, the Hornet suffered from high fuel consumption and poor range. Also, the vehicle suffered from low translational speeds, and the ramjet tips were extremely noisy. In the event of power loss, autorotation was found to be difficult due to the drag from the ramjet nacelles. The vehicle exhibited powerful lifting capacity, and there was some hope for military uses, but the high noise, poor range, and high night-time visibility of the ramjet flames failed to attract sales. The first Hiller Hornets were not ready for delivery until late 1954, due to Hiller certificating the aircraft to Civil Aviation Authority standards rather than military specifications. Variants HJ-1 Company designation, one prototype. YH-32 United States Army, Similar to HJ-1 with two small v-shaped stabilizers, 14 built (2 prototypes and 12 production aircraft). YH-32A Two YH-32s modified for trials as an armed helicopter. XHOE-1 Three HJ-1s for evaluation by the United States Navy in 1951. Number built 18.

The Jetson ONE is a type of personal ultralight known as an eVTOL. It is a 102-horsepower battery-operated ultralight with eight electric motors. A Swedish startup company, Jetson, produces the personal ultralight, which is manufactured and tested in Arezzo, Italy. To fly the single-seat ultralight, the operator does not need a pilot licence or special training in the US. It is equipped with a parachute. Late 2017, Tomasz Patan built a working "proof of concept" of an electric VTOL personal flying vehicle with the goal of "making everyone a pilot." In 2018, Patan designed a personal flying car. The design was improved, and in 2021, Patan invented a new model called the Jetson ONE eVTOL. In 2022, the company offered the Jetson Ones for US$92,000 each. In 2022, the company began manufacturing the Jetson One in Poland. In 2022, the company moved production and testing of the Jetson ONE from Poland to a facility in Arezzo, Italy. The company's CEO is Stephan D'haene, and he announced that the company obtained approval from the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) to fly the aircraft in Italy's uncontrolled airspace. In 2023, the company announced that it had raised US$15 million to fund the project. They planned to begin delivering the next Jetson ONEs in 2024. The vehicle has a charger which can recharge in one hour at 230/240 V or two hours with 120 V power. Batteries may be removed and changed to avoid waiting for charging. The person piloting the ultralight must be less than 210 lb (95 kg). The ultralight is capable of flight even if one of the engines fails. It is equipped with lidar sensors to avoid obstacles. There is a rapid-deploying ballistic parachute, and the ultralight has a mode which allows the craft to hover without operating the controls. Joysticks control it, and it has a throttle lever to adjust power. The left controller operates the ultralight's altitude, and the right controls the direction.

The Handley Page Heyford was a twin-engine biplane bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It holds the distinction of being the last biplane heavy bomber to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Heyford was developed in response to Specification B.19/27 for a new heavy night bomber. Much of the design can be attributed to the work of George Volkert, Handley Page's lead designer. Unlike the company's preceding aircraft, the Heyford comprised metal construction instead of wood; it also had an unorthodox arrangement wherein the fuselage was joined to the upper wing rather than the lower one, which gave the aircraft a relatively nose-high orientation while on the ground. Considerable revision of the proposal occurred even after its submission, which was recognised as the Air Ministry's preferred option. A sole prototype, designated Handley Page HP.38, was produced, performing its maiden flight on 12 June 1930 and commencing service trials shortly thereafter. During November 1933, the first Heyfords entered service, being initially flown by No. 99 Squadron at RAF Upper Heyford; before the end of 1936, Bomber Command had a total of nine operational squadrons equipped with the Heyford. Despite forming a considerable portion of the RAF's bomber fleet during the mid-1930s, the Heyford had a relatively short service life as it was rapidly eclipsed by a new generation of monoplane bombers, such as the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and the Vickers Wellington. The replacement of the type had commenced during 1937 as more capable bombers were introduced during a major rearmament push for the RAF; the Heyford was formally declared obsolete in July 1939, barely two months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Despite this, the type continued to be used in secondary roles, being used as glider tugs, experimental aircraft, and trainers, into the 1940s. The Handley Page Heyford was a twin-engine biplane bomber designed for nighttime operations. It featured a relatively novel configuration in which the fuselage was attached to the upper wing – somewhat resembling the 1914-designed German Gotha G.I. This arrangement provided a favourable field of fire for its defensive weapons, which were positioned on the nose and dorsal sections, along with the ventral retractable "dustbin" turret, each of which were armed with a single .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis light machine gun. The wings of the Heyford were equal in both span and dihedral. The lower wing featured a thickened center section to accommodate the aircraft's single bomb bay. Automated wing tip slots improved the take-off performance considerably. Propulsion consisted of a pair of Rolls-Royce Kestrel engines, which each drove a set of fixed-pitch propellers. The Heyford featured a mixed construction; its wings were covered by fabric while the structure comprised a twin-bay metal frame, while the fuselage consisted of an aluminium monocoque forward section with a fabric-covered frame to the rear. It was operated by a crew of four, typically consisting of a pilot, a bomb aimer/navigator/gunner, a radio operator and a dorsal/ventral gunner. Open positions were provided for the pilot and both the nose and dorsal gunners. The Heyford was furnished with a fixed undercarriage that consisted of large, spat-covered wheels that were mounted at the leading edge of the lower wing. This arrangement enabled ground crews to safely attach bombs even as the engines were still running, but also had the consequence of positioning the pilot roughly 17 ft (5 m) above the ground. Another benefit of this nose-high angle was a relatively short and speedy take-off run. Variants H.P.38 Single prototype powered by two Rolls-Royce F.XIV engines and flown in June 1930. H.P.50 Heyford I Powered by 575 hp (429 kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel III engines: 15 built, serial numbers K3489-K3902 (last aircraft built as Mk.II prototype). H.P.50 Heyford IA Engine support changes, power-driven generator, four-blade propellers: 23 built, serial numbers K4021-K4043. H.P.50 Heyford II Powered by 640 hp (480 kW) Kestrel IV engines: 16 built, serial numbers K4863-K4878. H.P.50 Heyford III Supercharged 695 hp (518 kW) Kestrel VI engines: 70 built in two batches, serial numbers K5180-K5199 and K6857-K6906. For a total of 125 (including the prototype, J9130)

The Harbin Z-20 (Chinese: 直-20) is a series of Chinese medium-lift utility helicopter produced by the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG). It was first flown on 23 December 2013 and has a maximum takeoff weight in the range of 10 tonnes (22,000 lb). The Z-20 can operate from locations above 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in altitude as well as from the Liaoning aircraft carrier. It is regarded to be comparable in performance to the US-made Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, of which the civilian Sikorsky S-70C-2 variant has been used by the People's Liberation Army since 1984. The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has had a requirement for a high-altitude medium utility helicopter that can operate in the mountainous regions in China since the 1980s. In 1984, the PLAAF acquired 24 Sikorsky S-70C-2s with enhanced General Electric T700-701A engines from the US government. China was unable to purchase more Sikorsky aircraft following the fallout from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests that resulted in an EU and US arms embargo. This led to the development of an indigenous so-called "10-tonne helicopter project" that started in 2006, and the Z-20 made its first flight on 23 December 2013. Helicopter production in China received a massive boost after the 2008 Sichuan earthquakes highlighted the value of helicopters in humanitarian missions. In addition to the PLAAF, the Z-20 will likely be used by other services in the People's Liberation Army. It could fill the role of a multi-role naval helicopter for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) that is small enough to be interoperable across all PLAN vessels while still have a full suite of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities installed. The Z-20 has been tested carrying missiles on wing pylons. A stealth Z-20 variant has been indicated under development since 2015. One analyst said China could produce the stealth variant relatively easily because of their access to a modified MH-60 Black Hawk tail section, recovered by Pakistani security forces after a crash during the Bin Laden raid. In May 2021, the concept model of the stealthy Z-20 variant was public revealed. The model displayed a trapezoidal airframe, a shrouded main rotor hub, and an upper-facing ventilation system located on an enlarged tail boom. Variants Z-20 Base transport variant for PLA Army. Z-20T Assault Variant Armed assault variant featuring stub wings with two hardpoints each for weapons and targeting sensors, used by PLA Army. Z-20S Search and rescue (SAR) used by PLA Army. Equipped with FLIR, a searchlight under the fuselage, a hoist above the cabin door, a crash position indicator (CPI) underneath the tail boom, new ECM antennas above the LWR, and essential medical equipment inside the cabin. Z-20K PLAAF airborne corps variant. Z-20KA PLAAF airborne corps air assault variant, featuring additional hardpoints for weapons and EO sensors. Z-20KS PLAAF airborne corps combat search and rescue variant. Z-20J Naval utility/transport variant. Z-20F Naval ASW variant. Equipped with surface radar under nose, pylon for torpedoes, dipping sonar underbelly and bubble window for observation. Z-20 PAP variant for People's Armed Police (PAP). Z-21 A dedicated attack helicopter based on the Z-20 airframe. The Z-21 has a tail section and rotor configuration similar to the Z-20 but with a thinner fuselage. A tandem cockpit replaces the side-by-side seating on the original, and a 23 mm (0.91 in) autocannon is mounted below. A cheek fairing is added for additional ammunition and avionics. A mmW radar is mounted on top of the rotor mast. The engine is rated at 1,790 kW (2,400 shp) with exhaust direction is changed to upward-facing, reducing the infrared signature. Six hard points on the stub wings to provide more firepower than the Changhe Z-10. The helicopter was first observed in China in March 2024. For details of design, click here.