Airgeep II VZ-8P (B)

In 1957, Piasecki Aircraft received a Transportation Research Command contract to develop a VTOL "flying jeep" research vehicle for low-altitude operation at speeds up to 70 mph. Using tandem three-bladed ducted rotors, conventional helicopter-type controls, and room for one passenger in addition to the pilot, the first Airgeep, designated VZ-8P by the Army, made its initial flight in October 1958. The second Army vehicle, the VZ-8P (B) Airgeep II, made its first non-tethered flight in the summer of 1962 and differed from the first model by having a bend in the middle that tilted the rotors to reduce drag in forward flight, twin linked 400 hp engines so one could drive both rotors if the other failed, and ejection seats for both the pilot and co-pilot/gunner. Although intended to operate only a few feet above the ground, both Airgeeps could fly at altitudes of several thousand feet and were found to be stable and relatively capable aircraft, but the Army ultimately judged the flying jeep concept ill-suited to field operations and abandoned it in favor of conventional helicopters.

Newport News, Virginia · United States