An autogyro (from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of
rotorcraft
A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The Internati ...
that uses an unpowered rotor in free
autorotation
Autorotation is a state of flight in which the main rotor system of a helicopter or other rotary-wing aircraft turns by the action of air moving up through the rotor, as with an autogyro, rather than engine power driving the rotor. Bensen, Ig ...
to develop
lift
Lift or LIFT may refer to:
Physical devices
* Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods
** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop
** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobil ...
. Forward
thrust
Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that syst ...
is provided independently, by an engine-driven
propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
. While similar to a
helicopter rotor
A helicopter main rotor or rotor system is the combination of several rotary wings (rotor blades) with a control system, that generates the aerodynamic lift force that supports the weight of the helicopter, and the thrust that counteracts aerody ...
in appearance, the autogyro's rotor must have air flowing across the rotor disc to generate rotation, and the air flows upwards through the rotor disc rather than down.
The autogyro was invented by Spanish engineer
Juan de la Cierva
Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu, 1st Count of la Cierva (; 21 September 1895 in Murcia, Spain – 9 December 1936 in Croydon, United Kingdom) was a Spanish civil engineer, pilot and a self taught aeronautical engineer. His most famous accomplish ...
in an attempt to create an aircraft that could fly safely at low speeds. He first flew one on 9 January 1923, at
Cuatro Vientos Airfield in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
.
The aircraft resembled the
fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinc ...
of the day, with a front-mounted engine and propeller. Cierva's autogyro is considered the predecessor of the modern
helicopter
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 ...
.
The success of the autogyro garnered the interest of industrialists and under license from Cierva in the 1920s and 1930s, the Pitcairn & Kellett companies made further innovations. Late-model autogyros patterned after
Etienne Dormoy's
Buhl A-1 Autogyro
The Buhl A-1 Autogiro was an autogyro optimised for air camera work designed and built from 1930. To this end, Etienne Dormoy designed the Buhl A-1, an autogyro
An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', i ...
and
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 ...
's designs feature a rear-mounted engine and propeller in a
pusher configuration
In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...
.
The term ''Autogiro'' was a
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
of the
Cierva Autogiro Company, and the term "Gyrocopter" (derived from helicopter) was used by E. Burke Wilford who developed the Reiseler Kreiser feathering rotor equipped gyroplane in the first half of the twentieth century. The latter term was later adopted as a trademark by
Bensen Aircraft
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 success ...
.
Principle of operation
![VPM M-16 engine and rotor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/VPM_M-16_engine_and_rotor.JPG)
An autogyro is characterized by a free-spinning rotor that turns because of the passage of air through the rotor from below.
The downward component of the total aerodynamic reaction of the rotor gives lift to the vehicle, sustaining it in the air. A separate propeller provides forward thrust, and can be placed in a puller configuration, with the engine and propeller at the front of the fuselage, or in a pusher configuration, with the engine and propeller at the rear of the fuselage.
Whereas a helicopter works by forcing the rotor blades through the air, drawing air from above, the autogyro rotor blade generates lift in the same way as a
glider
Glider may refer to:
Aircraft and transport Aircraft
* Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight
** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...
's wing,
by changing the angle of the air
[ as the air moves upwards and backwards relative to the rotor blade. The free-spinning blades turn by ]autorotation
Autorotation is a state of flight in which the main rotor system of a helicopter or other rotary-wing aircraft turns by the action of air moving up through the rotor, as with an autogyro, rather than engine power driving the rotor. Bensen, Ig ...
; the rotor blades are angled so that they not only give lift, but the angle of the blades causes the lift to accelerate the blades' rotation rate, until the rotor turns at a stable speed with the drag force and the thrust force in balance.
Because the craft must be moving forward with respect to the surrounding air in order to force air through the overhead rotor, autogyros are generally not capable of vertical takeoff (except in a strong headwind). A few types such as the Air & Space 18A
The Air & Space 18A is a gyroplane that was manufactured in the central United States between 1965 and 2000.
The Air & Space 18A is one of the last three gyroplanes issued a Standard Airworthiness Certificate (September 1961) by the United State ...
have shown short takeoff or landing.
Pitch control is achieved by tilting the rotor fore and aft
A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing vessel rigged mainly with sails set along the line of the keel, rather than perpendicular to it as on a square rigged vessel.
Description
Fore-and-aft rigged sails include staysails, Bermuda rigged sails, ga ...
, roll control by tilting the rotor laterally. The tilt of the rotor can be effected by means of a tilting hub (Cierva), a swashplate (Air & Space 18A
The Air & Space 18A is a gyroplane that was manufactured in the central United States between 1965 and 2000.
The Air & Space 18A is one of the last three gyroplanes issued a Standard Airworthiness Certificate (September 1961) by the United State ...
), or servo-flaps. A rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
provides yaw control. On pusher configuration autogyros, the rudder is typically placed in the propeller slipstream
A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or mustard) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving fluid, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is churning. The term sli ...
to maximize yaw control at low airspeed (but not always, as seen in the McCulloch J-2 __NOTOC__
The McCulloch J-2 was a small, two-seat autogyro with an enclosed cabin, one of only three designs of this type of aircraft to receive a type certificate in the United States. It was built by McCulloch Aircraft Corporation.
Design and d ...
, with twin rudders placed outboard of the propeller arc).
Flight controls
There are three primary flight controls: control stick, rudder pedals, and throttle
A throttle is the mechanism by which fluid flow is managed by constriction or obstruction.
An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases (by the use of a throttle), but usually decreased. The term ''throttle'' ...
. Typically, the control stick is termed the ''cyclic'' and tilts the rotor in the desired direction to provide pitch and roll control (some autogyros do not tilt the rotor relative to the airframe, or only do so in one dimension, and have conventional control surfaces to vary the remaining degrees of freedom). The rudder pedals provide yaw control, and the throttle controls engine power.
Secondary flight controls include the rotor transmission clutch, also known as a pre-rotator, which when engaged drives the rotor to start it spinning before takeoff, and collective pitch
A helicopter pilot manipulates the helicopter flight controls to achieve and maintain controlled aerodynamic flight. Changes to the aircraft flight control system transmit mechanically to the rotor, producing aerodynamic effects on the rotor bla ...
to reduce blade pitch before driving the rotor. Collective pitch controls are not usually fitted to autogyros, but can be found on the Air & Space 18A
The Air & Space 18A is a gyroplane that was manufactured in the central United States between 1965 and 2000.
The Air & Space 18A is one of the last three gyroplanes issued a Standard Airworthiness Certificate (September 1961) by the United State ...
, McCulloch J-2 __NOTOC__
The McCulloch J-2 was a small, two-seat autogyro with an enclosed cabin, one of only three designs of this type of aircraft to receive a type certificate in the United States. It was built by McCulloch Aircraft Corporation.
Design and d ...
and the Westermayer Tragschrauber; and can provide near 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-win ...
performance.
Pusher vs tractor configuration
Modern autogyros typically follow one of two basic configurations. The most common design is the pusher configuration, where the engine and propeller are located behind the pilot and rotor mast, such as in the Bensen "Gyrocopter
An autogyro (from Ancient Greek, Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift (force), lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an ...
". Its main advantages are the simplicity and lightness of its construction and the unobstructed visibility. It was developed by Igor Bensen in the decades following World War II, who also founded the popular rotorcraft association (PRA) to help it become more widespread.
Less common today is the tractor configuration. In this version, the engine and propeller are located at the front of the aircraft, ahead of the pilot and rotor mast. This was the primary configuration in early autogyros, but became less common after the advent of the autogyro. Nonetheless, the tractor configuration has some advantages compared to a pusher, namely greater yaw stability (as the center of mass is farther away from the rudder), and greater ease in aligning the center of thrust with the center of mass to prevent "bunting" (engine thrust overwhelming the pitch control).
History
Juan de la Cierva
Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu, 1st Count of la Cierva (; 21 September 1895 in Murcia, Spain – 9 December 1936 in Croydon, United Kingdom) was a Spanish civil engineer, pilot and a self taught aeronautical engineer. His most famous accomplish ...
was a Spanish engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
and aeronautical enthusiast. In 1921, he participated in a design competition to develop a bomber for the Spanish military. De la Cierva designed a three-engined aircraft, but during an early test flight, the bomber stalled and crashed. De la Cierva was troubled by the stall phenomenon and vowed to develop an aircraft that could fly safely at low airspeeds. The result was the first successful rotorcraft, which he named ''Autogiro'' in 1923. De la Cierva's autogyro used an airplane fuselage with a forward-mounted propeller and engine, an un-powered rotor mounted on a mast, and a horizontal and vertical stabilizer. His aircraft became the predecessor of the modern helicopter
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 ...
.
Early development
After four years of experimentation, Juan de la Cierva invented the first practical rotorcraft the autogyro (''autogiro'' in Spanish), in 1923. His first three designs ( C.1, C.2, and C.3) were unstable because of aerodynamic and structural deficiencies in their rotors. His fourth design, the C.4, made the first documented flight of an autogyro on 17 January 1923, piloted by Alejandro Gomez Spencer at Cuatro Vientos airfield in Madrid, Spain (9 January according to Cierva).[ De la Cierva had fitted the rotor of the C.4 with flapping hinges to attach each rotor blade to the hub. The flapping hinges allowed each rotor blade to flap, or move up and down, to compensate for ]dissymmetry of lift
Dissymmetry of lift (also known as asymmetry of lift or asymmetric lift) in rotorcraft aerodynamics refers to an unequal amount of lift on opposite sides of the rotor disc. It is a phenomenon that affects single-rotor helicopters and autogyros i ...
, the difference in lift produced between the right and left sides of the rotor as the autogyro moves forward. Three days later, the engine failed shortly after takeoff and the aircraft descended slowly and steeply to a safe landing, validating De la Cierva's efforts to produce an aircraft that could be flown safely at low airspeeds.
De la Cierva developed his C.6 model with the assistance of Spain's Military Aviation establishment, having expended all his funds on development and construction of the first five prototypes. The C.6 first flew in February 1925, piloted by Captain Joaquín Loriga
Joaquín Loriga Taboada (Lalín, 23 September 1895 – Cuatro Vientos Airport 18 July 1927) was a Galician aviation pioneer. In 1926 as a Captain promoted, together with two pilots and three mechanical engineers, and completed the first long-distan ...
, including a flight of from Cuatro Vientos airfield to Getafe
Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality.
Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...
airfield in about 8 minutes, a significant accomplishment for any rotorcraft of the time. Shortly after De la Cierva's success with the C.6, Cierva accepted an offer from Scottish industrialist James G. Weir to establish the Cierva Autogiro Company in England, following a demonstration of the C.6 before the British Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
at RAE Farnborough
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in me ...
, on 20 October 1925. Britain had become the world centre of autogyro development.
A crash in February 1926, caused by blade root failure, led to an improvement in rotor hub design. A drag hinge was added in conjunction with the flapping hinge to allow each blade to move fore and aft and relieve in-plane stresses, generated as a byproduct of the flapping motion. This development led to the Cierva C.8, which, on 18 September 1928, made the first rotorcraft crossing of the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
followed by a tour of Europe.
US industrialist Harold Frederick Pitcairn
Harold Frederick Pitcairn (June 20, 1897 – April 23, 1960) was an American aviation inventor and pioneer. He played a key role in the development of the autogyro and founded the Autogiro Company of America. He patented a number of innovations ...
, on learning of the successful flights of the autogyro, visited De la Cierva in Spain. In 1928, he visited him again, in England, after taking a C.8 L.IV test flight piloted by Arthur H.C.A. Rawson. Being particularly impressed with the autogyro's safe vertical descent capability, Pitcairn purchased a C.8 L.IV with a Wright Whirlwind engine. Arriving in the United States on 11 December 1928 accompanied by Rawson, this autogyro was redesignated C.8W.[ Subsequently, production of autogyros was licensed to a number of manufacturers, including the Pitcairn Autogiro Company in the U.S. and ]Focke-Wulf
Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG () was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It is one of the ...
of Germany.
In 1927, German engineer Engelbert Zaschka
Engelbert Zaschka (September 1, 1895 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany – June 26, 1955 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany) was a German chief engineer, chief designer and inventor. Zaschka is one of the first German helicopter pioneers and he is a ...
invented a combined helicopter and autogyro. The principal advantage of the Zaschka machine is in its ability to remain motionless in the air for any length of time and to descend in a vertical line, so that a landing could be accomplished on the flat roof of a large house. In appearance, the machine does not differ much from the ordinary monoplane, but the carrying wings revolve around the body.
Development of the autogyro continued in the search for a means to accelerate the rotor prior to takeoff (called prerotating). Rotor drives initially took the form of a rope wrapped around the rotor axle and then pulled by a team of men to accelerate the rotor – this was followed by a long taxi to bring the rotor up to speed sufficient for takeoff. The next innovation was flaps on the tail to redirect the propeller slipstream into the rotor while on the ground. This design was first tested on a C.19 in 1929. Efforts in 1930 had shown that development of a light and efficient mechanical transmission was not a trivial undertaking. In 1932 the Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro Company of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
Willow Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. A community in Philadelphia's northern suburbs, the population was 15,726 at the 2010 census. It is located in Upper Dublin Township, Abington To ...
, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
solved this problem with a transmission driven by the engine.
Buhl Aircraft Company
CA-6 Airsedan ''Spokane Sun God''
The Buhl Aircraft Company was a US aircraft manufacturer founded in Detroit in 1925 which remained in operation until 1933. Buhl designed and manufactured the Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster, the first aircraft to re ...
produced its Buhl A-1, the first autogyro with propulsive rear motor, designed by Etienne Dormoy and meant for aerial observation (motor behind pilot and camera). It had its maiden flight on 15 December 1931.
De la Cierva's early autogyros were fitted with fixed rotor hubs, small fixed wings, and control surfaces like those of a fixed-wing aircraft. At low airspeeds, the control surfaces became ineffective and could readily lead to loss of control, particularly during landing. In response, Cierva developed a direct control rotor hub, which could be tilted in any direction by the pilot. De la Cierva's direct control was first developed on the Cierva C.19 Mk. V and saw production on the Cierva C.30 series of 1934. In March 1934, this type of autogyro became the first rotorcraft
A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The Internati ...
to take off and land on the deck of a ship, when a C.30 performed trials on board the Spanish navy
The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...
seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...
''Dédalo'' off Valencia.
Later that year, during the leftist Asturias revolt in October, an autogyro made a reconnaissance flight for the loyal troops, marking the first military employment of a rotorcraft.
When improvements in helicopters made them practical, autogyros became largely neglected. Also, they were susceptible to ground resonance Ground resonance is an imbalance in the rotation of a helicopter rotor when the blades become bunched up on one side of their rotational plane and cause an oscillation in phase with the frequency of the rocking of the helicopter on its landing gear. ...
. They were, however, used in the 1930s by major newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
s, and by the United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
for the mail service between cities in the northeast.[
]
Winter War
During the Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
of 1939–1940, the Red Army Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
used armed Kamov
JSC Kamov (russian: Камов) is a Russian rotorcraft manufacturing company based in Lyubertsy, Russia.
The Kamov Design Bureau ( design office prefix Ka) has more recently specialised in compact helicopters with coaxial rotors, suitable for ...
A-7 autogyros to provide fire correction for artillery batteries
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to facil ...
, carrying out 20 combat flights. The A-7 was the first rotary-wing aircraft
A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The Internat ...
designed for combat, armed with one 7.62mm
The 7.62 mm caliber is a nominal caliber used for a number of different cartridges. Historically, this class of cartridge was commonly known as .30 caliber, the imperial unit and customary unit equivalent, and was most commonly used for i ...
PV-1 machine gun
PV-1 (''Pulemet Vozdushny'', airborne machine gun) is a Soviet air-cooled version of the Russian M1910 Maxim for mounting on aircraft. It was designed between 1926 and 1927. The first prototypes were produced and accepted into service in 1928.Ш ...
, a pair of 7.62mm DA machine guns, and 6 rockets
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
RS-82
RS-82 and RS-132 (Reaktivny Snaryad; Russian: Реактивный Снаряд; rocket-powered projectile) were unguided rockets used by Soviet military during World War II.
Development
Design work on RS-82 and RS-132 rockets began in the late 19 ...
, or four FAB-100 bombs.
World War II
The Avro Rota
Rota or ROTA may refer to:
Places
* Rota (island), in the Marianas archipelago
* Rota (volcano), in Nicaragua
* Rota, Andalusia, a town in Andalusia, Spain
* Naval Station Rota, Spain
People
* Rota (surname), a surname (including a list of people ...
autogyro, a military version of the Cierva C.30, was used by the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
to calibrate coastal radar stations during and after the Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
.
In World War II, Germany pioneered a very small gyroglider 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 poweri ...
, the 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 profi ...
"Bachstelze" (wagtail), towed by U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s to provide aerial surveillance.
The Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
developed the Kayaba Ka-1
The Kayaba Ka-1 and Ka-2 were Japanese autogyros, seeing service during World War II for artillery spotting.
Design and development
The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) developed the Ka-1 autogyro for reconnaissance, artillery-spotting, and anti-s ...
autogyro for reconnaissance, artillery-spotting, and anti-submarine uses. The Ka-1 was based on the Kellett KD-1
The Kellett KD-1 was a 1930s American autogyro built by the Kellett Autogiro Company. It had the distinction of being the first practical rotary-wing aircraft used by the United States Army and inaugurated the first scheduled air-mail service us ...
first imported to Japan in 1938. The craft was initially developed for use as an observation platform and for artillery spotting duties. The Army liked the craft's short take-off span, and especially its low maintenance requirements. Production began in 1941, with the machines assigned to artillery units for spotting the fall of shells. These carried two crewmen: a pilot and a spotter.
Later, the Japanese Army commissioned two small aircraft carriers intended for coastal antisubmarine
An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
(ASW) duties. The spotter's position on the Ka-1 was modified to carry one small depth charge. Ka-1 ASW autogyros operated from shore bases as well as the two small carriers. They appear to have been responsible for at least one submarine sinking.
With the beginning of German invasion in USSR June 1941, the Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
organized new courses for training Kamov
JSC Kamov (russian: Камов) is a Russian rotorcraft manufacturing company based in Lyubertsy, Russia.
The Kamov Design Bureau ( design office prefix Ka) has more recently specialised in compact helicopters with coaxial rotors, suitable for ...
A-7 aircrew and ground support staff. In August 1941, in accordance with the decision of Chief Artillery Directorate of the Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
, on the basis of the trained flight group and five combat-ready A-7 autogyros, the 1st autogyro artillery spotting aircraft squadron was formed, which was included into the strength of the 24th Army of the Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
, combat active in the area around Elnya near Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...
. From 30 August to 5 October 1941 the autogyros made 19 combat sorties for artillery spotting. Not one autogyro was lost in action, while the unit was disbanded in 1942 due to the shortage of serviceable aircraft.
Postwar developments
The autogyro was resurrected after World War II when Dr. 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 ...
, a Russian immigrant in the US, saw a captured German U-Boat's Fa 330 gyroglider and was fascinated by its characteristics. At work, he was tasked with the analysis of the British military "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 wi ...
" gyro glider designed by expatriate Austrian Raoul Hafner. This led him to adapt the design for his own purposes and eventually market the 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 ...
in 1955. Bensen submitted an improved version, the Bensen B-8M
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 t ...
, for testing to the 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 ...
, which designated it the X-25. The B-8M was designed to use surplus McCulloch
McCulloch is a Scottish surname. It's a variation of the Northern Irish surname McCullough. It's commonly found in Galloway.
Notable people with the surname include:
*Alan McCulloch (politician), New Zealand politician
*Alan McLeod McCulloch ( ...
engines used on flying unmanned target drone
A target drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle, generally remote controlled, usually used in the training of anti-aircraft crews.
One of the earliest drones was the British DH.82 Queen Bee, a variant of the Tiger Moth trainer aircraft operational ...
s.
Ken Wallis
Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis (26 April 1916 – 1 September 2013) was a British aviator, engineer, and inventor. During the Second World War, Wallis served in the Royal Air Force and flew 28 bomber missions over Germany; after the war ...
developed a miniature autogyro craft, the ''Wallis'' autogyro, in England in the 1960s, and autogyros built similar to Wallis' design appeared for a number of years. Ken Wallis' designs have been used in various scenarios, including military training, police reconnaissance, and in a search for the Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or mor ...
, as well as an appearance in the 1967 James Bond movie '' You Only Live Twice''.
Three different autogyro designs have been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
for commercial production: the Umbaugh U-18/Air & Space 18A
The Air & Space 18A is a gyroplane that was manufactured in the central United States between 1965 and 2000.
The Air & Space 18A is one of the last three gyroplanes issued a Standard Airworthiness Certificate (September 1961) by the United State ...
of 1965, the Avian 2/180 Gyroplane of 1967, and the McCulloch J-2 __NOTOC__
The McCulloch J-2 was a small, two-seat autogyro with an enclosed cabin, one of only three designs of this type of aircraft to receive a type certificate in the United States. It was built by McCulloch Aircraft Corporation.
Design and d ...
of 1972. All have been commercial failures, for various reasons.
Bensen Gyrocopter
The basic Bensen ''Gyrocopter'' design is a simple frame of square aluminium or galvanized steel tubing, reinforced with triangles of lighter tubing. It is arranged so that the stress falls on the tubes, or special fittings, not the bolts. A front-to-back keel mounts a steerable nosewheel, seat, engine, and a vertical stabilizer. Outlying mainwheels are mounted on an axle. Some versions may mount seaplane-style floats for water operations.
Bensen-type autogyros use a pusher configuration
In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...
for simplicity and to increase visibility for the pilot. Power can be supplied by a variety of engines. McCulloch drone engines, Rotax marine engines, Subaru automobile engines, and other designs have been used in Bensen-type designs.
The rotor is mounted atop the vertical mast. The rotor system of all Bensen-type autogyros is of a two-blade teetering design. There are some disadvantages associated with this rotor design, but the simplicity of the rotor design lends itself to ease of assembly and maintenance and is one of the reasons for its popularity. Aircraft-quality birch was specified in early Bensen designs, and a wood/steel composite is used in the world speed record holding Wallis design. Gyroplane rotor blades are made from other materials such as aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
and GRP-based composite.
Bensen's success triggered a number of other designs, some of them fatally flawed with an offset between the centre of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...
and thrust line, risking a Power Push-Over (PPO or bunt-over) causing death of the pilot and giving gyroplanes in general a poor reputation – in contrast to Cierva's original intention and early statistics. Most new autogyros are now safe from PPO.
21st-century development and use
In 2002, a Groen Brothers Aviation
Skyworks Global, formerly Groen Brothers Aviation, Inc. and then Groen Aeronautics Corporation, is an American autogyro research and development company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company was founded in 1986 by David Groen and his lat ...
's Hawk 4 provided perimeter patrol for the Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
and Paralympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. The aircraft completed 67 missions and accumulated 75 hours of maintenance-free flight time during its 90-day operational contract.
Worldwide, over 1,000 autogyros are used by authorities for military and law enforcement. The first US police authorities to evaluate an autogyro were the Tomball, Texas
Tomball ( ) is a city in Harris County in the U.S. state of Texas, a part of the Houston metropolitan area. The population was 12,341 at the 2020 U.S. census. In 1907, the community of Peck was renamed Tomball for local congressman Thomas Henry ...
, police, on a $40,000 grant from the United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
together with city funds, costing much less than a helicopter to buy ($75,000) and operate ($50/hour). Although it is able to land in 40-knot crosswinds, a minor accident happened when the rotor was not kept under control in a wind gust.
Since 2009, several projects in Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...
, Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
have been realized. In 2010, the first autogyro was handed over to the Kurdish Minister of Interiors, Mr. Karim Sinjari. The project for the interior ministry was to train pilots to control and monitor the approach and takeoff paths of the airports in Erbil
Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000.
Hu ...
, Sulaymaniyah
Sulaymaniyah, also spelled as Slemani ( ku, سلێمانی, Silêmanî, ar, السليمانية, as-Sulaymāniyyah), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, not far from the Iran–Iraq border. It is surrounded by the Azmar, Go ...
, and Dohuk
Duhok ( ku, دهۆک, translit=Dihok; ar, دهوك, Dahūk; syr, ܒܝܬ ܢܘܗܕܪܐ, Beth Nohadra) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It's the capital city of Duhok Governorate.
History
The city's origin dates back to the Ston ...
to prevent terrorist encroachments. The gyroplane pilots also form the backbone of the pilot crew of the Kurdish police, who are trained to pilot on Eurocopter
Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence Ai ...
EC 120 B helicopters.
In an 18-month period from 2009 to 2010, the German pilot couple Melanie and Andreas Stützfor undertook the first world tour by autogyro, in which they flew several different gyroplane types in Europe, southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and South America. The adventure was documented in the book "WELTFLUG – The Gyroplane Dream" and in the film "Weltflug.tv – The Gyrocopter World Tour
Weltflug.tv – The Gyrocopter World Tour is the title of a five-part documentary series by Melanie & Andreas Stuetz and of "Weltflug – Two high-flyers on five continents" by Andreas Stuetz.
Content
Blu-ray, DVD and book document the flight ...
".
Helicopter autogyration
If a helicopter suffers a power failure a pilot can adjust the collective pitch
A helicopter pilot manipulates the helicopter flight controls to achieve and maintain controlled aerodynamic flight. Changes to the aircraft flight control system transmit mechanically to the rotor, producing aerodynamic effects on the rotor bla ...
to keep the rotor spinning, generating enough lift to touch down and skid in a relatively soft landing.
Certification by national aviation authorities
UK certification
Some autogyros, such as the Rotorsport MT03, MTO Sport (open tandem), and Calidus (enclosed tandem), and the Magni Gyro M16C (open tandem) & M24 (enclosed side by side) have type approval by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the statutory corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the United Kingdom. Its areas of responsibility include:
* Supervising the issuing of pilots' licences, testing of e ...
(CAA) under British Civil Airworthiness Requirements CAP643 Section T.
Others operate under a permit to fly issued by the Popular Flying Association
The Light Aircraft Association (LAA) is the representative body in the United Kingdom for amateur aircraft construction, and recreational and sport flying. It oversees the construction and maintenance of homebuilt aircraft, under an approval from t ...
similar to the US experimental aircraft certification. However, the CAA's assertion that autogyros have a poor safety record means that a permit to fly will be granted only to existing types of autogyro. All new types of autogyro must be submitted for full type approval under CAP643 Section T. Beginning in 2014, the CAA allows gyro flight over congested areas.
In 2005, the CAA issued a mandatory permit directive (MPD) which restricted operations for single-seat autogyros, and were subsequently integrated into CAP643 Issue 3 published on 12 August 2005.
The restrictions are concerned with the offset between the centre of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...
and thrust line, and apply to all aircraft unless evidence is presented to the CAA that the CG/Thrust Line offset is less than 2 inches (5 cm) in either direction. The restrictions are summarised as follows:
*Aircraft with a cockpit/nacelle
A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...
may be operated only by pilots with more than 50 hours solo flight experience following the issue of their licence.
*Open-frame aircraft are restricted to a minimum speed of , except in the flare.
*All aircraft are restricted to a Vne
In aviation, V-speeds are standard terms used to define airspeeds important or useful to the operation of all aircraft. These speeds are derived from data obtained by aircraft designers and manufacturers during flight testing for aircraft type- ...
(maximum airspeed) of
*Flight is not permitted when surface winds exceed or if the gust spread exceeds
*Flight is not permitted in moderate, severe or extreme turbulence and airspeed must be reduced to if turbulence is encountered mid-flight.
These restrictions do ''not'' apply to autogyros with type approval under CAA CAP643 Section T, which are subject to the operating limits specified in the type approval.
United States certification
A certificated autogyro must meet mandated stability and control criteria; in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
these are set forth in ''Federal Aviation Regulations
The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs comprise Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). A wide variety ...
Part 27: Airworthiness Standards: Normal Category Rotorcraft''.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
issues a Standard Airworthiness Certificate
A standard certificate of airworthiness is a permit for commercial passenger or cargo operation, issued for an aircraft by the civil aviation authority in the state/nation in which the aircraft is registered. For other aircraft such as crop-spraye ...
to qualified autogyros. Amateur-built or kit-built aircraft are operated under a Special Airworthiness Certificate in the Experimental category. Per FAR 1.1, the FAA uses the term "gyroplane" for all autogyros, regardless of the type of Airworthiness Certificate.
World records
In 1931, Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...
(USA) flew a Pitcairn PCA-2
The Pitcairn PCA-2 was an autogyro (designated as "autogiro" by Pitcairn) developed in the United States in the early 1930s.Taylor 1989, p.735 It was Harold F. Pitcairn's first autogyro design to sell in quantity. It had a conventional design fo ...
to a women's world altitude record of 18,415 ft (5,613 m).
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
Ken Wallis
Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis (26 April 1916 – 1 September 2013) was a British aviator, engineer, and inventor. During the Second World War, Wallis served in the Royal Air Force and flew 28 bomber missions over Germany; after the war ...
(UK) held most of the autogyro world records during his autogyro flying career. These include a time-to-climb, a speed record of 189 km/h (111.7 mph), and the straight-line distance record of . On 16 November 2002, at 89 years of age, Wallis increased the speed record to 207.7 km/h (129.1 mph) – and simultaneously set another world record as the oldest pilot to set a world record.
Until 2019, the autogyro was one of the last remaining types of aircraft which had not yet circumnavigate
Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth.
The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magel ...
d the globe. The 2004 Expedition Global Eagle
Expedition Global Eagle was the first attempt in history to circumnavigate the globe using an autogyro.[Muscat, Oman
Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the Capital (political), capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Muscat (governorate), Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the t ...](_blank)
, to Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
. The attempt was finally abandoned because of bad weather after having covered .
, Andrew Keech (USA) holds several records. He made a transcontinental flight in his self-built Little Wing Autogyro
The Little Wing Autogyro is a series of conventional one and two place autogyros with a tractor engine layout using modern engines and produced by Little Wing Autogyros, Inc. of Mayflower, Arkansas.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's ...
"Woodstock" from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Kitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, Dare County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of what is known as North Carolina's Outer Banks. The population was 3,708 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 Census. It was establ ...
, to San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, in October 2003, breaking the record set 72 years earlier by Johnny Miller
John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ra ...
in a Pitcairn PCA-2. He also set three world records for speed over a recognized course. On 9 February 2006 he broke two of his world records and set a record for distance, ratified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
(FAI): Speed over a closed circuit of without payload: ,[FAI Record ID #13113 – Speed over a closed circuit of 500 km without payload]
" ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
(FAI).'' Retrieved: 12 September 2014. speed over a closed circuit of without payload: ,[FAI Record ID #13115 – Speed over a closed circuit of 1000 km without payload]
" ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
(FAI).'' Retrieved: 12 September 2014. and distance over a closed circuit without landing: .[FAI Record ID #13111 – Speed over a closed circuit without landing]
" ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
(FAI).'' Retrieved: 12 September 2014.
On 7 November 2015, the Italian astrophysicist and pilot Donatella Ricci
Donatella Ricci (Italian pronunciation Do'natɛlla Ree-chee / riːʧi) born in Rome, is an Italian astrophysicist, sport pilot of ultralight aircraft, holder of the world altitude record with gyroplane, hot air balloon, autogyro, helicopter pil ...
took off with a MagniGyro M16 from the Caposile aerodrome in Venice, aiming to set a new altitude world record. She reached an altitude of 8,138.46 m (26,701 ft), breaking the women's world altitude record held for 84 years by Amelia Earhart. The following day, she increased the altitude by a further 261 m, reaching 8,399 m (27,556 ft), setting the new altitude world record with an autogyro. She improved by 350 m (+4.3%) the preceding record established by Andrew Keech in 2004.
Norman Surplus
Norman Surplus (7 February 1963 – 19 April 2022) was a pilot from Northern Ireland who circumnavigated the globe in an autogyro, nicknamed "Roxy". His trip began in 2010 and ended on 28 June 2019. In 2010, during the first leg of his trip, Sur ...
, from Larne in Northern Ireland, became the second person to attempt a world circumnavigation by gyroplane/autogyro type aircraft on 22 March 2010, flying a Rotorsport UK MT-03 Autogyro, registered G-YROX. Surplus was unable to get permission to enter Russian airspace from Japan, but he established nine world autogyro records on his flight between Northern Ireland and Japan between 2010 and 2011. FAI world records for autogyro flight.[Norman Surplus (GYROX) list on FAI]
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
G-YROX was delayed (by the Russian impasse) in Japan for over three years before being shipped across the Pacific to the state of Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, USA. From 1 June 2015, Surplus flew from McMinnville, Oregon
McMinnville is the county seat of and largest city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. The city is named after McMinnville, Tennessee. As of the 2019 census, the city had a population estimate of 34,743.
McMinnville is at the confluence of ...
, across the continental USA, through northern Canada/Greenland and in late July/August made the first crossing of the North Atlantic by autogyro aircraft to land back in Larne, Northern Ireland
Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid an ...
on 11 August 2015. He established a further 10 FAI World Records during this phase of the circumnavigation flight.
After a nine-year wait (since 2010), permission to fly U.K. registered gyroplanes through the Russian Federation was finally approved, and on 22 April 2019, Surplus and G-YROX continued eastwards from Larne, Northern Ireland, to cross Northern Europe and rendezvous with fellow gyroplane pilot James Ketchell piloting Magni M16 Gyroplane G-KTCH. Flying in loose formation the two aircraft made the first Trans-Russia flight by gyroplane together to reach the Bering Sea
The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...
. To cross the Bering Strait, the two aircraft took off from Provideniya Bay, Russia on 7 June 2019 and landed at Nome, Alaska
Nome (; ik, Sitŋasuaq, ) is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of Alaska, United States. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. It had a population of 3,699 recorded ...
on 6 June having also made the first gyroplane crossing of the international date line
The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South and North Poles and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific O ...
. After crossing Alaska and western Canada, on 28 June 2019, Surplus piloting G-YROX, became the first person to circumnavigate the world in a gyroplane upon returning to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon, USA.
Over the nine years it had taken Surplus to finally complete the task, G-YROX flew through 32 countries.
The first physical circumnavigation of the globe by an Autogyro, Oregon to Oregon, had taken Surplus and G-YROX, 4 years and 28 days to complete, after being dogged by long diplomatic delays in gaining the necessary permission to fly across Russian Federation Airspace. However, as the flight had been severely stalled and interrupted en-route by lengthy delays it was no longer deemed eligible for setting a first, continuously flown, speed record around the world and so this task was then left to James Ketchell to complete, by setting a first official speed record flight around the world for an Autogyro type aircraft, some three months later.
Subsequently, on 22 September 2019, Ketchell was awarded the world record from the Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
as the first circumnavigation of the world in an autogyro and from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
for the first certified "Speed around the World, Eastbound" circumnavigation in an E-3a Autogyro. He completed his journey in 175 days.
See also
* CarterCopter
The CarterCopter is an experimental compound autogyro developed by Carter Aviation Technologies in the United States to demonstrate slowed rotor technology. On 17 June 2005, the CarterCopter became the first rotorcraft to achieve mu-1 (μ=1), an ...
/ Carter PAV
The Carter PAV (Personal Air Vehicle) is a two-bladed, compound autogyro developed by Carter Aviation Technologies to demonstrate slowed rotor technology. The design has an unpowered rotor mounted on top of the fuselage, wings like a convention ...
* ELA Aviación
* Fairey Rotodyne
The Fairey Rotodyne was a 1950s British compound gyroplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation and intended for commercial and military uses.[Gyrodyne
A gyrodyne is a type of VTOL aircraft with a helicopter rotor-like system that is driven by its engine for takeoff and landing only, and includes one or more conventional propeller (aircraft), propeller or jet engines to provide forward thrust d ...]
* PAL-V
PAL-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle) is a Dutch company that is involved in the development of a commercial flying car, the PAL-V Liberty. It is a compact two-person aircraft that can travel on public roads.
References
External links
*
{{ ...
* Piasecki Aircraft
The Piasecki Aircraft Corporation (PiAC) is a manufacturer of aircraft, principally advanced rotorcraft. It was founded by American vertical flight pioneer Frank Piasecki to develop compound helicopters and other advanced rotorcraft after he was ...
References
*
*
*
Further reading
*
Development of the Autogiro : A Technical Perspective
: J. Gordon Leishman: Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
, New York, 2003.
Jeff Lewis' in-depth history of the Autogyro
Popular Rotorcraft Association
(United States)
*
*
{{Authority control
*
Aircraft configurations
Spanish inventions
Vehicles introduced in 1923