The Hiller ROE Rotorcycle was a single-seat

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

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 ...

designed in 1953 for a military requirement. A total of 12 were produced for the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. And in 1954, the Hiller Helicopters was selected by the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and relate ...

to build this design of a one-man, foldable, self-rescue and observation helicopter.Hiller Museum: ''Rotocycle''
It featured a two-blade

rotor Rotor may refer to: Science and technology Engineering *Rotor (electric), the non-stationary part of an alternator or electric motor, operating with a stationary element so called the stator * Helicopter rotor, the rotary wing(s) of a rotorcraft ...

system. Its original empty weight was .Apostolo, p. 68

Development

The helicopter folded up and could be carried on a sled-like carrier by two people or could be air-dropped to pilots trapped behind enemy lines. The Marines did not accept the YROE due to its low performance, vulnerability to small-arms fire and the lack of visual references on the structure. This problem could cause the pilot to experience spatial disorientation at all but very low altitudes.NASM: ''Hiller YROE-1 Rotorcycle''
/ref> The YROE or ROE never saw military service. In 1954, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

′s

selected Hiller to build its proposed design of a one-man helicopter. The XROE Rotocycle completed flight testing in mid-1957. It was demonstrated at the

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

in Arlington,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, for military and other government officials in early April 1958. Production was by

Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. History The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took a co ...

, which made five for the

and five for Helicop-Air of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. A

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

engine of 62 hp (46 Kw) developed for the YROE completed trials by 1961.

Variants

;XROE-1 :2 prototypes built as Model 1033 at the Hiller Helicopter Plant in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...

Helicópteros:''The Site''
/ref> :The first flight in November 1956 ;YROE-1 :5 test versions built by British

company
One donated to the Smithsonian Institution after completion of its testing in 1961 ;ROE-1 :5 production built by Saunders-Roe (built ten production models, including the five YROE-1s)

Specifications

Survivors

* XROE-1, on display at

Hiller Aviation Museum The Hiller Aviation Museum is an aircraft history museum located at the San Carlos Airport in San Carlos, California. The museum was founded by Stanley Hiller in June 1998. and is endowed by members of the Hiller family. It specializes in North ...

San Carlos, California San Carlos (Spanish for "St. Charles") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population is 30,722 per the 2020 census. History Native Americans Prior to the Spanish arrival in 1769, the land of San Carlos was occupi ...

* YROE-1, ser. no. 4021, on display at Hiller Aviation Museum * YROE-1, on display at

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

* YROE-1, N4230U, ser. no. 4024,

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...

* YROE-1, N777MV, ser. no. 4020, Minicopter Inc.,

Saginaw, Texas Saginaw is a small city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and an Inner suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 24,310 in 2019. Saginaw is a Home rule municipality. History The town was renamed Saginaw in 1882 by Jarvis J. Green (after his ...

* YROE-1, third one in production on display at

Evergreen Aviation Museum The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is an aviation museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Its exhibits include the Hughes H-4 Hercules (''Spruce Goose'') and more than fifty military and civilian aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), and spacec ...

* XROE-1, repainted in blue, powered by a

Rotax 503 The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. As of 2011 the Ro ...

and renamed "fantacopter", in working order at Bois-la-Pierre,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Apostolo, Giorgio. ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters''. New York: Bonanza Books. 1984. .

External links

Hiller Aviation Museum: The First 100 Years of Aviation

NASA: ''FLIGHT TESTS OF A ONE-MAN HELICOPTER AND A COMPARISON OF ITS HANDLING QUALITIES WITH THOSE OF LARGER VTOL AIRCRAFT''

Photo: XROE-1 at Hiller Aviation Museum

Photo: YROE-1 (s/n 4021 at Hiller Aviation Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiller Yroe Military helicopters RO1E 1950s United States helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1956 Single-engined piston helicopters