Ryan X-13 Vertijet Vertical Take-off
Reddit / u/Side-History
A Flying Dorito
Before we had the AV-8B Harrier and the F-35 Lightning, we had to make do with the Ryan X-13 Vertijet – also known as Model 69.
This experimental VTOL jet plane’s main objective was to demonstrate the capability of a jet to vertically takeoff, land, hover, and transition to horizontal forward flight.
X-13s took off from a big vertical platform fitted on the back of a truck, where it hung from a hook. During landings, the aircraft would have to be hung on the hook again as it had no landing gear. If you want to see how the Vertijet lands, you can fast forward to around the 1:40 mark of this video below:
Fun fact: During its first few flight tests, the X-13 had no canopy and looked like this:
