Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly - Aeroplane

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The Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly was an observation aircraft designed and built by Ryan Aeronautical for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A single-engined parasol wing monoplane, it was designed for optimum STOL capability, but although three prototypes proved highly successful in testing, the Stinson YO-49 was judged superior and no production contract was placed.

YO-51 Dragonfly

Role	Army observation and liaison Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Ryan Aeronautical
First flight	1940
Primary user	United States Army Air Corps
Number built	3

Design

The design of the YO-51 Dragonfly was typical for aircraft of its type, being optimised for the observation and liaison role, with emphasis on the ability to operate out of the smallest possible airfields.[1] The Dragonfly was a high-wing braced parasol monoplane with fixed tailwheel landing gear, a two-seat open cockpit, and full-span slots and Fowler flaps for STOL capability.[2] It was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney R-985-21 Wasp Junior radial engine.[3]

At gross weight, the YO-51 could, without flaps, take off after a run of 400 feet, while with full flaps the takeoff run would be only 75 feet, or just four feet more than twice its own length.[4] The Dragonfly was capable of maintaining level flight at speeds as low as 30 miles per hour (48 km/h),[5] and was claimed as being capable of landing in a distance shorter than the length of the aircraft itself.[6]

Operational history

Nicknamed the "flying motorcycle",[7] three YO-51 aircraft were acquired by the United States Army Air Corps to take part in a fly-off evaluation against the Stinson YO-49 and Bellanca YO-50 to supply a new observation and liaison aircraft for use by the USAAC.[8] The YO-51 was the heaviest of the three aircraft evaluated.[9]

Although the Dragonfly was considered satisfactory during its flight testing,[10] conducted at Wright Field in Ohio,[11] the Stinson machine won the production contract, and no further YO-51s were built.[12]

Specifications

Data from Donald 1997[3]

General characteristics

Crew: two (pilot and observer)
Length: 35 ft 6 in (10.82 m)
Wingspan: 52 ft (16 m)
Height: 11 ft 1 in (3.38 m)
Gross weight: 4,206 lb (1,908 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-985-21 Wasp Junior radial, 440 hp (330 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 129 mph (208 km/h, 112 kn)
Cruise speed: 107 mph (172 km/h, 93 kn)
Stall speed: 30 mph (48 km/h, 26 kn)

Armament

None

References

Notes

Penfield 1941, p.31.
Foottit, H. R. (February 1942). "The Fowler Flap". Flying and Popular Aviation. Chicago: Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. 30 (2): 71.
Donald 1997, p.794.
Fowler 1948, p.79.
Rowe 2006, p.22.
Wilson, Gill Robb (July 1954). "Genealogy of American Aircraft". Flying. Chicago: Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. 55 (1): 23.
"U. S. Army's "Flying Motorcycle"". The Boston Globe. Boston, MA. May 25, 1941. p. C1.
Pattillo 2001, p.137.
Adcock 2005, p.5.
"The Dragonfly---Army's Newest Observation Plane". The Milwaukee Sentinel. Milwaukee, WI. February 23, 1940. p. 2.
"Army Tests New B-17C". The New York Times. New York. November 17, 1940. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
Merriam 2002, p.26.

Bibliography

Adcock, Al (2005). US Liaison Aircraft in action. Aircraft in Action. Vol. 195. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications. ISBN 978-0897474870.
Donald, David (1997). Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Orbis Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0760705925.
Fowler, Harlan Davey (1948). Fowler Flaps for Airplanes: An engineering handbook. Los Angeles: Wetzel Publishing Co. ASIN B0007EA17Q.
Merriam, Ray, ed. (2002). World War II Journal #15: U.S. Military Aircraft of World War II. Bennington, VT: Merriam Press. ISBN 1576381676.
Pattillo, Donald M. (2001). Pushing the Envelope: The American Aircraft Industry. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0472086719.
Penfield, Thomas (1941). Wings for America: Fighting Planes of the U. S. A. Chicago: Rand McNally & Co. ASIN B004BVUSC4.
Rowe, Frank Joseph (2006). The Helio Courier Ultra C/stol Aircraft: An Illustrated Developmental History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786422890.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to YO-51 Dragonfly.

O-51 Dragonfly at Dave's Warbirds

v t e Aircraft produced by Ryan Aeronautical
Commercial	Standard J Cloudster M-1 M-2 Brougham Foursome S-C S-T Navion
Fighters	FR XF2R
Observation	L-10 YO-51
Trainers	NR YPT-16 PT-20 PT-21 PT-22 PT-25
Drones/Missiles	Firebee AAM-A-1 Firebird AQM-34 YQM-98 Model 147
Special purpose	NYP (Spirit of St. Louis)
Experimental/ Research	X-13 VZ-3 XV-5 XV-8

United States observation aircraft designations, USAAC/USAAF and Tri-Service systems

USAAC/USAAF sequence
(1924–1942)

O-1
O-2
O-3
O-4
O-5
O-6
O-7
O-8
O-9
O-10
O-11
O-12
O-13
O-14
O-15
O-16
O-17
O-18
O-19
O-20
O-21
O-22
O-23
O-24
O-25
O-26
O-27
O-28
O-29
O-30
O-31
O-32
O-33
O-34
O-35
O-36
O-37
O-38
O-39
O-40
O-41
O-42
O-43
O-44
O-45
O-46
O-47
O-48
O-49
O-50
O-51
O-52
O-53
O-54
O-55
O-56
O-57
O-58
O-59
O-60
O-61
O-62
O-63

Tri-service sequence
(1962–present)

O-1
O-2
O-3
O-4¹
O-5
O-6

Related designations	OV-1 OV-10 OV-12

¹ Unconfirmed

На других языках

- [en] Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly

[fr] Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly

Le Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly[Note 1] était un prototype d'avion d'observation conçu pour l'US Army Air Corps (USAAC) dans les années 1940.

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