Hawker P.1127
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| Hawker P.1127 | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Description | ||
| Role | VTOL | |
| Crew | 1 | |
| First flight | 1961 | |
| Entered service | n/a | |
| Manufacturer | Hawker Aviation | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 42 ft 6 in | 12.95 m |
| Wingspan | 22 ft 11 in | 6.99 m |
| Height | 10 ft 9 in | 3.28 m |
| Wing area | ft² | m² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 10,000 lb | 4,500 kg |
| Loaded | 15,000 lb | 6,800 kg |
| Maximum takeoff | 17,000 lb | 7,700 kg |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | Bristol Siddeley Pegasus | |
| Thrust | 15,000 lbf | 67 kN |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | Mach 0.97 | |
| 545 kt | 1010 km/h | |
| Combat range | miles | km |
| Ferry range | miles | km |
| Service ceiling | ft | m |
| Rate of climb | 20,000 ft/min | 100×60 m/min |
| Wing loading | lb/ft² | kg/m² |
| Thrust/weight | 0.40 lbf/lb | 3.9 N/kg |
| Avionics | ||
| Avionics | ||
| Armament | ||
| Payload | none built in | |
History
In 1957, the Bristol Engine Company informed Sidney Camm of Hawker that they had a project to combine their Olympus and Orpheus jet engines to produce a directable fan jet (an idea that had been approached theoretically by the Frenchman M. Wilbaut). Hawker took the planned engine as a basis for a plane that could meet the currentNATO specification for a Light Tactical Support Fighter. At the time there was no financial support for the development from the Treasury, but aid was found through the Mutual Weapon Development Project (MWDP) of NATO to keep the project running, in spite of the atmosphere post the 1957 Defence White Paper which was leading to cancellations of many other projects. By 1958, the British Air Staff showed some interest, but no further MWDP funds were available - much of the money was tied up for the Vickers Swallow swing-wing aircraft project. Some model work was done by NASA at Langley Field for the project. In April 1959 a formal request for the manufacture of prototypes was received and Hawker test pilots travelled to the US to gain VTOL experience on the Bell X-14.The first prototype P.1127 was delivered in July 1960 for static engine testing and joined in October that year by the actual Pegasus flight engine designed by Sir Stanley Hooker. The first tethered flight took place the same month, and free flight hover in November following which publicity photos were made available. NATO now had a requirement, NBMR-3, specificed for a VTOL aircraft, but one that was expected to have the performance of an aircraft like the F-4 Phantom along with the VTOL capability. Hawker drafted the P.1150, a supersonic P.1127 and the P.1154 which would meet NBMR-3. The latter was a winner of the NATo competition and development continued until cancelled at the point of prototype construction in 1965.
Four more prototypes were ordered and the first true (conventional take off) flight of the P1127 took place in February 1961. Its first complete VTOL to forward flight took place in September 1961. Through this period improved Pegasus engines were being delivered, the Pegasus 3 capable of 15,000 lbf (67 kN) of thrust. In 1963 a vertical landing was demonstrated on HMS Ark Royal, but later that year, the first prototype plane, XP831, crashed, without loss of life, at the Paris Air Show.
Nine evaluation aircraft were ordered, by that time the P1127 was the Kestrel. These equipped the Tripartite Evaluation Squadron formed at RAF West Raynham in Norfolk of 10 pilots from the RAF, USA and West Germany. One aircraft was lost but the remainder transferred to the US for evaluation by the Army, Air Force and USMC.
In mid 1966, the Harrier was ordered by the RAF, the first preproduction aircraft flying the following year.
At the time of the development of the P.1127, Hawker had started on a design for a supersonic version, the Hawker P.1154.
References
Related content
Related development: Hawker-Siddeley HarrierComparable aircraft: Bell X-14 - Hawker-Siddeley Harrier Hunting H126
Designation sequence: P.1052- P.1081 - P.1072 - P.1127 - Kestrel - Harrier - P.1128 - Hawker P.1150 - P.1154
Related lists: List of VTOL aircraft
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