The Dornier Do 29 was an experimental aircraft developed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke and the ''

Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt The German Aerospace Center (german: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany ...

'' (German Aviation Laboratory) in the 1950s, used to test a tilting-propeller system for

short takeoff and landing A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh condition ...

( STOL) aircraft. The concept was proved to be successful in flight testing; however, no further development of the system or aircraft was proceeded with, and at the conclusion of its test program the Do 29 was retired.

Design and development

During the Second World War,

Heinrich Focke Henrich Focke (8 October 1890 – 25 February 1979) was a German aviation pioneer from Bremen and also a co-founder of the Focke-Wulf company. He is best known as the inventor of the Fw 61, the first successful German helicopter. Biography ...

Focke-Achgelis Focke-Achgelis & Co. G.m.b.H. was a German helicopter company founded in 1937 by Henrich Focke and Gerd Achgelis. History Henrich Focke was ousted in 1936 from the Focke-Wulf company, which he had cofounded in 1924, due to shareholder pressure ...

, a manufacturer of

helicopters A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

, developed a design for a short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft that would utilise a system of pusher propellers, one on each wing in a pusher configuration, to provide downward thrust and enhance lift.Goebel, Greg
"Dornier Civil Aircraft"
. ''VectorSite'', April 2010. Accessed 2010-06-10. Designated Fa 269, the design was not developed due to the state of the war. In the 1950s, however, a renewed interest in STOL and

VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-wi ...

aircraft led to a re-evaluation of Focke's concept, and Dornier was given a contract to develop an aircraft capable of demonstrating the tilting-propeller system. The aircraft, given the designation Do 29, was based on the Do 27 light transport, modified with twin

Lycoming GO-480 The Lycoming O-480 is a family of six-cylinder, horizontally opposed fixed-wing aircraft engines of 479.6 cubic inch (7.86 L) displacement, made by Lycoming Engines. The engine is a six-cylinder version of the four-cylinder Lycoming O-320. Desig ...

engines mounted below the wings. These engines drove three-bladed, pusher propellers, that were capable of being tilted downwards to an angle of up to 90 degrees, and the engines were coupled so that symmetrical thrust could be maintained in the event of an engine failure. The forward fuselage was also modified with a helicopter-like cockpit. A

Martin-Baker Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Limited is a British manufacturer of ejection seats and safety-related equipment for aviation. The company's origins were originally as an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection s ...

ejection seat In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rock ...

was provided for pilot escape in the event of an emergency.

Testing

Dornier Do 29 from right Dornier Museum 2009-09-27

Two examples of the Do 29 were constructed, while a third was planned but not built, with the first prototype flying on 12 December 1958.Luftwaffe
Projekte: Do 29
In: ''Geschichte der Luftwaffe.'' Bundeswehr. Accessed 2009-06-15. In the following flight testing, the propeller system was not rotated further than 60 degrees as opposed to its nominal 90 degree capability, but the aircraft proved to be highly successful, with a stalling speed of and exceptional short-field performance. Despite this, however, the tilting-propeller system was not further pursued after the end of the flight test program.

Aircraft on display

One of the Do 29 prototypes survived the program, and is displayed in the Dornier Museum in Germany.

Operators

; *

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

Specifications (Do 29)

Dornier Do 29 engine from right Dornier Museum 2009-09-27

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * Winchester, Jim, ed. ''Aviation Factfile: Concept Aircraft''. San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press.

External links

*http://www.1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Visschedijk/6709.htm {{Authority control Do 029 1950s German experimental aircraft Tiltrotor aircraft Twin-engined pusher aircraft High-wing aircraft STOL aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1958