Aviation Vocabulary: Convertiplane (in pictures)

An aircraft that can take-off vertically, hover, and land like a rotorcraft while “flying purely as a fixed-wing aircraft, especially in its
higher speed ranges” is known as a convertiplane.

A notable example of a convertiplane is The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, which first flew in 1989 and entered service in 2007. This multi-use, tiltrotor aircraft has VTOL and STOL capabilities.

A convertiplane that merges VTOL and efficient forward flight is a tiltwing aircraft. Its rotating wing shifts from horizontal for conventional flight to vertical for VTOL, enabling smooth transitions without requiring forward airspeed. This design sets it apart from tiltrotors (an aircraft that has rotors at the end of each wing which can be oriented vertically for vertical takeoffs and landings, horizontally for forward flight, or to any position in between), which need forward flight to begin transitioning.

The X-50A Canard Rotor/Wing (CR/W) is a VTOL UAV developed by Boeing’s Phantom Works under a DARPA contract, combining helicopter and fixed-wing capabilities. Designed for vertical takeoff and speeds over 695 km/h, the first prototype was rolled out in May 2002, with future manned and unmanned models planned.

The Sikorsky S-72 was an experimental compound helicopter developed for NASA and the U.S. Army as a testbed for high-speed rotor and propulsion systems.

The McDonnell XV-1 was an experimental convertiplane created for the U.S. Air Force and Army to develop an aircraft that could take off and land vertically like a helicopter but achieve faster airplane speeds. It reached 200 mph, making it faster than previous rotorcraft, but the program was canceled due to the high noise from its tip-jets, technological complexity, and minimal performance gains.

The Harrier, or “Harrier jump jet,” is a family of jet-powered attack aircraft designed for vertical and short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). It was designed in the 1960s and was the only successful V/STOL design of its time. As it was intended to operate from car parks or forest clearings, it might be suitable for the dangerous altiports of Nepal like Lukla’s STOLport.

The F-35 Lightning II is a STOVL (Short take-off and vertical landing) multirole stealth fighter developed by Lockheed Martin. It has three variants: F-35A (CTOL), F-35B (STOVL), and F-35C (CV). In service with the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, the F-35 has been in production since 2006, with over 1,000 units built as of 2024.

The Bell V-280 Valor is a tiltrotor aircraft developed by Bell Helicopter for the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift program. It first flew on December 18, 2017, and was selected in December 2022 to replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk in the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program. Limited user tests are planned for 2027-2028, with deployment expected by 2031.

The Canadair CL-84 “Dynavert” was a V/STOL tiltwing monoplane developed by Canadair between 1964 and 1972. Four units were built, with three undergoing flight tests. Two crashed due to mechanical issues, but there were no fatalities. Despite success in trials, no customers placed orders for the aircraft.