A tailsitter is a type of VTOL aircraft that launches and lands on its tail, something akin to a Buck Rogers type rocket, such as the McDonnell Douglas DC-X Delta Clipper. One of the most famous examples of this type of aircraft is the Ryan X-13 VertiJet. Among the prop-driven versions, were the Lockheed XFV-1 Pogo, and the Convair XFY-1 Pogostick. The German Luftwaffe had a tailsitter project as well, the Focke-Wulf Triebflügeljäger (Triebflügeljäger, or wing-driven fighter). This project was peculiar insofar as the wings were mounted diagonally on a rotating section of the fuselage and driven by small jet engines on the wingtips. The plane was supposed to be propelled by this wing rotation.

It cannot make conventional landings, and the entire body of the aircraft shifts from a vertical to a horizontal orientation and back again for standard flight.

List of Tailsitters

• Focke-Wulf Triebfluegeljaeger
• Ryan X-13 VertiJet
• Lockheed XFV-1 Pogo
• Convair XFY-1 Pogostick

See Also

• Tiltrotor
• Tiltwing
• VTOL