Ryan XV-8
American experimental STOL aircraft
title: "Ryan XV-8" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1960s-united-states-experimental-aircraft", "tailless-delta-wing-aircraft", "ryan-aircraft", "parafoils", "single-engined-pusher-aircraft", "aircraft-with-fixed-quad-landing-gear"] description: "American experimental STOL aircraft" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_XV-8" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American experimental STOL aircraft ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| first_flight | 1961 |
| number_built | 1 |
| :: |
|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.
Specifications
References
References
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/xv-8.htm Folding frame for transport]
- [http://www.aerofiles.com/_ryan.html Specifications]
- {{usurped
- [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]
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