Hiller XH-44
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The Hiller XH-44 Hiller-Copter (''Experimental Hiller, 1944'') is an American experimental helicopter designed by
Stanley Hiller Stanley Hiller Jr. (November 15, 1924 – April 20, 2006), was an American pioneering developer of the helicopter. Biography Stanley Hiller was born November 15, 1924, in San Francisco, California, to Stanley Hiller, Sr. and Opal Perkins. The fam ...
.


Design and development

Stanley Hiller became interested in helicopters in the late 1930s, when he saw pictures of the
Focke-Wulf Fw 61 The Focke-Wulf Fw 61 is often considered the first practical, functional helicopter, first flown in 1936. It was also known as the Fa 61, as Focke began a new company—Focke-Achgelis—in 1937. Design and development Professor Henrich Fock ...
and the
Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 The Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 (or S-46) is an American single-engine helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky. It had a single three-blade rotor originally powered by a 75 horsepower (56  kW) engine. The first "free" flight of the VS-300 was on 13 ...
. He bought every book on helicopter development that he could find, and in the early 1940s he began design work on the XH-44, at the age of 17. The XH-44 featured a pair of
contra-rotating Contra-rotating, also referred to as coaxial contra-rotating, is a technique whereby parts of a mechanism rotate in opposite directions about a common axis, usually to minimise the effect of torque. Examples include some aircraft propellers, res ...
rotors which, in its original form, was powered by a 65 hp
Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
engine (de-rated from its original 90 hp). The engine was later swapped for a 125 hp Lycoming engine. It was the first successful
coaxial rotor Coaxial rotors or coax rotors are a pair of helicopter rotors mounted one above the other on concentric shafts, with the same axis of rotation, but turning in opposite directions (contra-rotating). This rotor configuration is a feature of helicop ...
helicopter to be built in the United States, as well as the first helicopter to use all-metal rotor blades.


Operational history

The XH-44 tipped over on its first tethered test flight with Hiller at the controls, resulting in minor damage. On July 4, 1944, the XH-44 made its first untethered flight at the University of California's football stadium at
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...
. The helicopter made an appearance during a public demonstration at
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
on August 30, 1944. The success of the XH-44 caught the attention of
Henry J. Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...
, who funded further development of Hiller's rotor system. Hiller donated the XH-44 to the Smithsonian
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 ...
in 1953. The helicopter was restored in 1974, and in 1997 it was lent back to Hiller and displayed at the
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 ...
. The original XH-44 is no longer displayed at the Hiller Aviation Museum, although a replica is currently on display at the museum.


Specifications (XH-44)


See also


References

{{Hiller aircraft Hiller aircraft 1940s United States helicopters Single-engined piston helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1944 Coaxial rotor helicopters