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Rotor Kite
A rotor kite or gyrokite is an unpowered, rotary-wing aircraft. Like an autogyro or helicopter, it relies on lift created by one or more sets of rotors in order to fly. Unlike a helicopter, gyrokites and rotor kites do not have an engine powering their rotors, but while an autogyro has an engine providing forward thrust that keeps the rotor turning, a rotor kite has no engine at all, and relies on either being carried aloft and dropped from another aircraft, or by being towed into the air behind a car or boat or by use of ambient winds for the kiting. As of 2009, no country in the world requires a license to pilot such a craft. History * Thomas Ansboro of Glasgow, Scotland patented an autorotating-winged rotor kite in 1891. * Walter Van Wie filed a patent for a ''Revolving Kite'' in 1909 claiming "certain new and useful Improvements" in revolving kites" * 1933: Filed: July 11, 1933US2074327by De Courcy and Schwarz for ''Kite''. * 1936: Filed: Aug 1, 1936US2181477by Carl B. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hafner Rotabuggy
The Hafner Rotabuggy (formally known as the Malcolm Rotaplane and as the "M.L. 10/42 Flying Jeep") was a British experimental aircraft that was essentially a Willys MB combined with a rotor kite, developed with the intention of producing a way of air-dropping off-road vehicles. Design and development It was designed by Raoul Hafner of the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment (AFEE) after their development of the Rotachute enjoyed some success. The prototype was built by the R. Malcolm & Co. Ltdlater ML Aviation (also producer of the Malcolm hood) at White Waltham in 1942. Air Ministry specification 10/42 for a "Special Rotating Wing Glider" was used to identify the project.Meekcoms/Morgan 1994, p. 306 Initial testing showed that a Willys MB could be dropped from heights up to without damage to the vehicle. A diameter rotor was attached, along with a tail fairing and fins, but no rudders. Two men were required to pilot the aircraft: one to drive it as an automobile, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hafner Rotachute
The Hafner H.8 Rotachute was a British 1940s experimental one-man rotor kite designed by Raoul Hafner. Background The Rotachute was the eventual development of a concept devised by Raoul Hafner, an Austrian engineer who specialised in rotary wing design, and who had moved to the UK in 1933 to continue his research and development work. In 1940, he proposed the use of a single-place strap-on rotor kite in place of a conventional parachute, to deliver a soldier accurately to a battlefield. The proposal was made to the Air Ministry in the light of a shortage of silk for parachute manufacture. Hafner was briefly interned as an alien, but was released to pursue the feasibility of the idea at the Central Landing Establishment (CLE) located at RAF Ringway. In October 1940, work began on design and construction of rotor systems and scale models of rotor kites. The first models were made of wood and fabric, ballasted to represent a pilot, and had a rotor span of about 3 ft (0.91 m). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Focke-Achgelis Fa 330
The Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 ''Bachstelze'' ( en, Wagtail) was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see further. Development Because of their low profile in the water, submarines could not see more than a few miles over the ocean. To solve this, the German admiralty considered a number of different options, including a folding seaplane (Arado Ar 231). In the end, they chose the Fa 330, a simple, single-seat autogyro kite with a three-bladed rotor. The Fa 330 could be deployed to the deck of the submarine by two people and was tethered to the U-boat by a 150 m (500 ft) cable. The airflow on the rotors as the boat motored along on the surface would spin them up. The kite would then be deployed behind the U-boat with its observer-pilot aboard, raising him approximately 120 meters above the surface and allowing him to see much farther — about 25 nautical miles (46 km) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bensen B-7
The Bensen B-7 was a small rotor kite developed by Igor Bensen in the United States in the 1950s and marketed for home building. It was a refined to be a slightly larger version of the B-6, replacing the skids with a tricycle undercarriage, and adding a single large fin to the rear of the aircraft. The B-7 was first towed aloft on 17 June 1955, and on 6 December that year, Bensen flew a motorized version designated the B-7M, a fully autonomous autogyro. The prototype B-7M crashed three days later with Bensen at the controls. Although the machine was soon repaired and in the air again, the incident set Bensen to work on further refinements to the design that would eventually lead to the B-8. Variants ''Data from:'' Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59 ;B-7:The basic gyro-glider ;B-7B Gyro-boat: A Gyro-glider mounted on a standard sailing dinghy hull. ;B-7W Hydro-glider :The B-7W "Hydroglider" was a gyrocopter designed to be towed from a motorboat at 10-20 mph. The B-7W w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bensen B-6
The Bensen B-6 was a small rotor kite developed by Igor Bensen Igor Vasilevich Bensen (russian: И́горь Васи́льевич Бенсен; April 1, 1917 – February 10, 2000) was a Russian-American engineer. He founded Bensen Aircraft, a US company which produced a successful line of gyrogliders ... in the United States in the early 1950s and marketed for home building. It was a minimalist design based on Bensen's B-5 and consisting of little more than a seat mounted on wooden skids and with a two-blade rotor mounted on a tubular framework above it. Small fins for directional stability were mounted at the rear of the skids. The pitch of the rotors was fixed, but a handlebar allowed them to be tilted for directional control. The B-6 was intended to be towed aloft behind a car or boat. The machine became airborne at 19 mph (31 km/h), and with 300 ft (90 m) of tow rope, could achieve a maximum altitude of 150 ft (46 m). The rope could be detached t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control. The United States Air Force is a military service branch organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force through the Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bensen B-8
The Bensen B-8 is a small, single-seat autogyro developed in the United States in the 1950s. Although the original manufacturer stopped production in 1987, plans for homebuilders are still available as of 2019. Its design was a refinement of the Bensen B-7, and like that aircraft, the B-8 was initially built as an unpowered rotor-kite. It first flew in this form in 1955, and on 6 December a powered version, designated B-8M (M for motorised) first flew. The design proved to be extremely popular and long-lasting, with thousands of sets of plans sold over the next thirty years. Design and development The B-8's design is extremely minimalist, with not much more to the aircraft than a pilot's seat, a single tailfin, a rotor, and (in powered versions) the powerplant. In May 1968 a B-8 and B-8M were studied by the USAF under the Discretionary Descent Vehicle (DDV) program as the X-25B and X-25A respectively. In this scheme, it was proposed to integrate combat aircraft ejection seats ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bensen B-5
The Bensen B-5 was a small rotor kite developed by Igor Bensen in the United States and offered and marketed for home building in 1954. Dubbed the "Gyro-Glider", it was the first of several such designs that would be sold by Bensen Aircraft Corporation over the following decades. The B-5 was built around a cruciform frame of aluminum tube. Landing wheels were fitted to three points of this cross, and a mast was fitted above its centre to support the rotor hub. The fourth arm of the cross provided a mounting for a large, plywood fin and rudder, reminiscent of that of the Raoul Hafner's Rotachute that had shaped Bensen's thinking about rotor kite design. The aircraft was intended to be towed behind a car, and could be built at home from easily obtained materials in about three to four weeks. The B-5 was also the model converted to the Bensen Mid-Jet The Bensen Mid-Jet (a pun on "Midget jet") was a small helicopter developed by Igor Bensen in the United States in the early 195 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bensen Aircraft Corporation
The Bensen Aircraft Corporation was established by Dr. Igor Bensen at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina in 1952 to develop and market a variety of helicopters and autogyros of Bensen's own design. History The most successful product was the Bensen B-8 that first flew in 1955 and remained in production until the company closed down in 1987. Aircraft See also * Gyrocopter * Gyroglider A rotor kite or gyrokite is an unpowered, rotary-wing aircraft. Like an autogyro or helicopter, it relies on lift created by one or more sets of rotors in order to fly. Unlike a helicopter, gyrokites and rotor kites do not have an engine poweri ... References Notes Bibliography * External links Bensen Aircraft Foundation archives{{Bensen aircraft Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States Defunct helicopter manufacturers of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in North Carolina Manufacturing companies established in 1952 [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Igor Bensen
Igor Vasilevich Bensen (russian: И́горь Васи́льевич Бенсен; April 1, 1917 – February 10, 2000) was a Russian-American engineer. He founded Bensen Aircraft, a US company which produced a successful line of gyrogliders (rotor kites) and autogyros. Early life and education He was born in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, and eventually reached the United States in 1937. He began studies at age 17 while in Belgium, won a scholarship to study in the US three years later. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1940, later becoming a Registered Professional Engineer. Career Bensen flew his first towed gyroglider in 1954. He founded the Popular Rotorcraft Association (PRA) in 1962, a non-profit interest group for owners and homebuilders of autogyros and helicopters, based in Mentone, Indiana. He was the group's president from 1962 to 1971. Honors and awards He received an hon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willys MB
The Willys MB and the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army Truck, -ton, 4×4, Command Reconnaissance, commonly known as the Willys Jeep, Jeep, or jeep, and sometimes referred to by its List of U.S. military vehicles by supply catalog designation#G500 to G599, supply catalogue designation G503,According to its United States Army Ordnance Corps Supply Catalog designation, 'G-number', or SNL nr. — a group number for ordering parts, based on a List of U.S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation, Standard Nomenclature List. were highly successful American Off-road vehicle, off-road capable Military light utility vehicle, light military utility vehicles, built in large numbers to a single standardized design, for the United States and the Allies of World War II, Allied forces in World War II, World War II from 1941 until 1945. The jeep became the primary light-wheeled multi-role vehicle of the United States military and its allies, with President Eisenhower once c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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