Focke-Wulf Triebflügel

**This article has outdated images/information.** You can help by updating it!

 HP
 Armour
 Turn Rate
 Weapon
 Fire Damage
 Fire RPM
 Fire Range
 Max speed

## History

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf\_Triebfl%C3%BCgel

It was designed as a vertical takeoff and landing starter to be used as an interceptor for local defense of key areas that had little or no airfields.

A completely new concept was used for the Focke-Wulf Triebflügel. Accordingly, no wings provided for the lift, but all the lift and thrust were to be generated by a rotor / propeller arrangement that made up a third of the entire aircraft length. The powered wing would have been located approximately in the middle of the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, between the cockpit and the horizontal stabilizer. Before take-off, the aircraft should stand vertically on its tail, in this position the rotors worked like a helicopter. When flying horizontally, they would work more like a giant propeller. The three rotor blades should be mounted in a ring arrangement on a segment that can be freely rotated in the fuselage. A ramjet engine would have been provided at the end of each rotor blade, a so-called blade tip drive. In order to set the rotors in motion until the ramjet engines function, simple start-up rockets should be used at the rotor tips. If the speed had then been high enough to start the ramjet engines by means of airflow, the empty jump-start rockets would be thrown off. The angle of attack of the rotor blades could be varied in order to adapt to the flight attitude and speed and the required lift. The arrangement of the ramjet engines at the ends of the rotor blades results in no reaction torque and no counter-rotation of the fuselage. The fuel should be carried in fuselage tanks and directed through the center of the rotating ring and along the rotors to the ramjet engines.

A cross-shaped tail unit at the rear of the fuselage consisting of four tail units with a movable aileron, which would also have functioned as a combined vertical tail unit and elevator, formed the rear of the Focke-Wulf powered wing. The horizontal stabilizer would have been a means for the pilot to control the tilt of the fuselage in the same direction as the direction of rotation of the rotor, which would be caused by the centrifugal force of the rotor ring. Influencing the pitch, roll and yaw moments in flight was also provided by this tail unit construction. A single large sprung wheel at the far end of the fuselage formed the main landing gear. Four small trailing wheels on extendable struts were placed at the end of each empennage to stabilize the aircraft on the ground so that it could be moved on the ground. The main landing gear and the support wheels were covered by aerodynamic landing gear panels during flight.

When taking off, the rotors would be angled so that they generate more lift, just like a helicopter or, more precisely, an aircraft helicopter. As soon as the aircraft had reached a sufficient height, it would be angled into horizontal flight. A slight angle of attack is necessary for horizontal flight so that the rotors provide the required downward thrust as well as the forward thrust. As a result, the four machine guns in the front fuselage are angled slightly downward with respect to the center line of the fuselage. The rotors are the only components that generate lift in level flight.

To land, the aircraft is pulled up until it is vertical in the air, then the thrust is throttled until the aircraft begins to sink backwards until it touches the ground with the landing gear. This would have been a delicate and probably dangerous maneuver, since the pilot is sitting in the cockpit looking up and the floor behind him cannot see directly in this position (at most limited by a rearview mirror). In contrast to some other aileron aircraft, the pilot seat was fixed in the direction for forward flight. The rotating rotor would also reduce the rear view.

There is speculation that a prototype has been completed and prepared to act against Allied bombers, but could not be used because Germany surrendered a day later.

This design of the Focke-Wulf Triebflügel was unique among the VTOL designs from the 20th century, and also unique in comparison to other German projects. Some early design studies for the Roton (rocket) in the 1990s showed Roton with a rotor system, similar to that of a helicopter, with which Roton was supposed to land again.

In the 1950s, the U.S. built a rear starter prototype (the Lockheed XFV-1 and Convair XFY-1), but these were powered by conventional turboprops, with counter-rotating propellers in the nose to counteract the torque. They also used conventional wings for lift, their cross-shaped tails with integrated landing gear were largely comparable to that of the Focke-Wulf Triebflügel.

## In the Game

The Focke Wulf Triebflügel was first seen in Demo 5 and was one of the first VTOL units (possibly the only one) to be in the game. The powered wing has no airfield, which also made it special for the demos in this regard, because until the full version of the game, all planes had their own airfield. The Triebflügel is ideal as an interceptor. It is fast and makes short work of  airplanes. However, this aircraft has a particular disadvantage, at least in demo 5. For some reason it cannot land again, which means that it will run out of gas at some point and it will crash because it cannot refuel.

### Pro

* jet powered aircraft = very fast
* a good fighter
* AA guns and piston Fighters have a hard time getting him out from the sky

### Contro

* cannot land for any reason, which is why he runs out of fuel at some point
* can't confuse ground targets making it not inactive agents ground targets.

## Gallery

2 Triebflügel take offthe dogfightopen fireVictory