From an information panel on site:
Aircraft that could transition from vertical to high-speed level flight first appeared in the 1950s, employing various aerodynamic principles, but the tilt-wing CL-84 was the most advanced of the so-called convertiplanes.
Its innovative engineering was reflected in the flight control system. this system allowed the pilot to used the stick and rudder pedals in the conventional manner to manoeuvre the aircraft, without having to learn a whole new flying technique, whether flying horizontally with the wings locked down, or vertically with the wings rotated up, or in-between (transitional flight mode).
A unique control mixing box linked the ailerons, elevators, rudder and angle of the propeller blades, coordinating their movements and relationship to each other (control sharing) depending on the position of the wing.
Construction of the original prototype began in 1963 and was completed a year later. Hovering flight (1965) and flight in transitional mode (1966) were tested before the prototype was lost in a flying accident.
The government ordered three updated CL-84s for military evaluation in 1968, designated the CL-84-1. From 1972 to 1974, this version was demonstrated and evaluated in the United States aboard the aircraft carriers USS Guam and USS Guadalcanal, and at various other centres. These trials involved military pilots from the United States, the United-Kingdom and Canada.
Unfortunately, the first CL-84-1 was lost in a training accident during the trials when a propeller gear box failed but the pilots ejected safely.
Despite the aircraft being at the leading edge of technological innovation, there was little interest in the expensive development of V/STOL technology, particularly when helicopters could fulfil the VTOL role. The CL-84 never went into quantity production and the program died for lack of military customers. the Museum's example was the second of the three CL-84-1s produced, and made 196 flights totalling 169 flying hours. It was donated the the Museum by Canadair in 1984.
The following is from the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum's website:
A Canadian experimental twin-engine aircraft designed and manufactured by Canadair Limited between 1964 and 1972
Its tilt-wing permitted vertical and short-take-off-and-landing (V/STOL)
Produced as part of a 1950s and 1960s wave of interest in “convertiplanes” (aircraft with helicopter and airplane capabilities)
Its flight control system was designed by Karlis Irbitis, a brilliant Latvian engineer who came to Canada in 1948
Although four aircraft were built and three flight tested, production did not ensue: the market was not ready and the aircraft’s complex technology required further development
Convertiplanes only entered service in the first decade of this century
First flight was on May 7th, 1965
Artifact no.:
1984.1213
Manufacturer:
Canadair Ltd.
Manufacturer Location:
Canada
Manufacture Date:
1969
Registration no.:
CX8402 (CAF)
Acquisition Date:
1984
History:
The CL-84’s experimental “tilt-wing“ design was an attempt to produce an aircraft that would combine vertical take-off-and-landing with a low-speed, fixed-wing capability. Canadair broke new ground with this design. Four CL-84s were constructed. Even though two crashed through mechanical failure, with no loss of life, the design was considered a success. No production contracts were procured and work on the design was halted.
The Dynavert featured a wing that could be tilted through 90 degrees, complete with two engines swinging large propellers. Vertical take-off was accomplished with the wing tilted. The transition to normal winged flight was accomplished by slowly returning the wing to a horizontal position. This procedure was reversed for vertical landing.
Current Location:
Vertical Flight Exhibition, Canada Aviation and Space Museum
Provenance:
Donation from Canadair Ltd.
This CL-84, the third prototype, was manufactured by Canadair Limited in Montreal in 1969. Though it was ground tested in 1969, it did not fly until September 1972, when test flights involving Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom began.
Starting in Canada, testing moved in December 1972 to the U.S. Navy Test Center at Patuxent River, Maryland, where the aircraft remained for most of the next eighteen months. Test exercises included the first convertiplane transition from conventional to hovering flight under blind flying conditions, which took place on April 5, 1973. Trials were also carried out from helicopter carriers USS Guam and USS Guadalcanal. In all, 196 test flights were completed, totalling over 169 flying hours. Without a market for the aircraft, the program was abandoned in 1974.
Canadair stored the CL-84 over the next decade, donating it to the Museum in 1984. Airtech Canada Aviation Limited of Peterborough restored the aircraft between July 1993 and October 1994.
Technical Information:
Wing Span 0.6 m (34 ft 8 in)
Length 16.3 m (53 ft 7 1/2 in)
Height 5.2 m (17 ft 1 1/2 in)
Weight, Empty 3,980 kg (8,775 lb)
Weight, Gross 6,577 kg (14,500 lb)
Cruising Speed 497 km/h (309 mph)
Max Speed 517 km/h (321 mph)
Rate of Climb 1,280 m (4,200 ft) /min
Service Ceiling Unknown
Range 677 km (420 mi)
Power Plant two Lycoming T.53 Model LTC 1K-4C, 1500 hp, turboprop engines
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