Ryan XV-8

{{about|the US utility aircraft developed in the 1960's|the ground attack VTOL aircraft|AV-8 Harrier}}

{{Infobox aircraft

|name= XV-8 "Fleep"

|image= File:XV-8A_Fleep_Prototype_-_GPN-2000-001271.jpg

|caption= XV-8 "Fleep" tested in the Full Scale Tunnel at Langley, 1962

|type= Experimental STOL aerial utility vehicle

|manufacturer= Ryan Aeronautical Company

|designer=

|first_flight= 1961

|introduction=

|retired=

|status=

|primary_user=

|more_users=

|produced=

|number_built= 1

|variants=

}}

The Ryan XV-8 Flexible Wing Aerial Utility Vehicle (nicknamed Fleep, short for "Flying Jeep") was an improved version of the Flex-Wing. Both aircraft were built by Ryan Aeronautical Company in collaboration with NASA for the United States Air Force and the United States Army and tested in 1961 as a STOL patrol, reconnaissance, and light utility aircraft to transport people or freight when a more specialized aircraft is not required or available.

Design and development

The Fleep began as the Flex-Wing. The Flex-Wing had four-wheel landing gear, a smaller nose section behind which the pilot sat, and a single vertical tail/rudder.

The Fleep had tricycle landing gear, a larger nose section and a V tail/rudder. The wing was a fabric delta-shaped Rogallo wing with a foldable frame; the wing was attached to a pod-like cockpit on a four-wheeled cargo platform. It was tested with two tail configurations — vertical fin and V-tail. The aircraft wing could be folded into a relatively small package for transport.[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/xv-8.htm Folding frame for transport][http://www.aerofiles.com/_ryan.html Specifications]{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070817182221/http://www.strange-mecha.com/aircraft/VTOL/USAR-VTOL.htm Specifications]}}[http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/b253477.pdf DCIT performance report, 1964][https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211458/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/460405.pdf January 1965 performance report]