I was just looking at an article about tailsitter aircraft, and I wonder-how do they land? If they require a runway, wouldn't that defeat the design's entire purpose, as tailsitter-type aircraft were made to be used without a runway?
I was just looking at an article about tailsitter aircraft, and I wonder-how do they land? If they require a runway, wouldn't that defeat the design's entire purpose, as tailsitter-type aircraft were made to be used without a runway?
Tailsitters also had the disadvantage of disorienting the pilot while a bit while taking off and landing, since he was lying on his back rather than sitting upright.
You still can't see right underneath the aircraft in that position, the aircraft itself sits in the way.To mitigate this problem, couldn't a tail-sitting aircraft theoretically have the pilot lie in the prone position? This could also help with landings if the cockpit had a 360 degree view; the pilot would be able to see where he was landing. Would this possibly work for an aircraft of a tail-sitting configuration?
At least one was designed to use a hook and land on a platform, most though simply made a vertical landing, not easy without computer assistance or downward facing cameras.