The Hiller YH-32 Hornet (company designation HJ-1) was an American

ultralight helicopter 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 aile ...

built by

Hiller Aircraft Hiller Aircraft Company was founded in 1942 as Hiller Industries by Stanley Hiller to develop helicopters. History Stanley Hiller, then seventeen, established the first helicopter factory on the West Coast of the United States, located in Berkel ...

in the early 1950s. It was a small and unique design because it was powered by two

Hiller 8RJ2B Hiller may refer to: * Hiller (surname) * Hiller, Pennsylvania * Hiller Aircraft Corporation: ** Hiller Hornet ** Hiller Flying Platform ** Tanner-Hiller Airport ** Hiller Aviation Museum ** Hiller X-18 ** Fairchild Hiller FH-227 The Fai ...

ramjet A ramjet, or athodyd (aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of airbreathing jet engine that uses the forward motion of the engine to produce thrust. Since it produces no thrust when stationary (no ram air) ramjet-powered vehicles require an ass ...

engines mounted on the rotor blade tips which weigh each and deliver an equivalent of for a total of . Versions of the HJ-1 Hornet were built for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and 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 ...

in the early 1950s. The Hiller Museum identifies the YH-32A, named the ''Sally Rand'', as the first

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 ...

gunship A gunship is a military aircraft armed with heavy aircraft guns, primarily intended for attacking ground targets either as airstrike or as close air support. In modern usage the term "gunship" refers to fixed-wing aircraft having laterally-mo ...

Design and development

The Hiller HJ-1 Hornet was an early attempt to build a jet-powered helicopter using ramjets. Before that there had been experiments with the

XH-26 Jet Jeep The American Helicopter XH-26 Jet Jeep (known as the XA-8 by its manufacturer) was an experimental tip jet helicopter developed in 1951 by the American Helicopter Company to meet a United States Army and Air Force (USAF) request for a collapsibl ...

tip rotor pulse jets. The HJ-1 ramjet tipped rotor propels the rotor and the aircraft. Unlike a conventional helicopter, this mechanically simple design avoids the need for a tail rotor. Unfortunately, the tip speeds on helicopter rotor blades are subsonic, and ramjets are inefficient at subsonic speeds due to low compression ratio of the inlets. Therefore, the Hornet suffered from high fuel consumption and poor range. Also, the vehicle suffered from low translational speeds, and the ramjet tips were extremely noisy. In the event of power loss, autorotation was found to be difficult due to the drag from the ramjet nacelles. The vehicle exhibited powerful lifting capacity, and there was some hope for military uses, but the high noise, poor range, and high night-time visibility of the ramjet flames failed to attract sales.

Operational history

The HJ-1 was evaluated by the United States Army as the YH-32, and the

as the XHOE-1. In 1957 two YH-32s were modified as the YH-32A for trials as armed helicopters. All the fibreglass cockpit fairings were removed and the tail was modified. The tests were successful in proving the viability of the helicopter as a weapons platform, but due to marginal performance, no further conversions or orders were placed. Also, versions were sent to the U.S. Army's DRC to be evaluated in one of their contests involving the research and development of a light weight, air droppable helicopter for air rescue and reconnaissance, and for a portable, easily put together, and fuel efficient 1 man observation and transport copter. It was competing against the Jet Jeep and its pulse jets. Overall the YH-32 won out over the Jet Jeep, but the concept was considered obsolete, and later the program was canceled.

Variants

;HJ-1 :Company designation, one prototype. ;YH-32 :United States Army, Similar to HJ-1 with two small v-shaped stabilizers, 14 built (2 prototypes and 12 production aircraft). ;YH-32A :Two YH-32s modified for trials as an armed helicopter. ;XHOE-1 :Three HJ-1s for evaluation by the United States Navy in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

Aircraft on display

* 138652 – XHOE-1 on static display at the

Udvar-Hazy Center The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous e ...

of the

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. * 53-4663 – YH-32 in storage with the

Classic Rotors Museum Classic Rotors is a flying aviation museum specializing in helicopters and other rotorcraft, located at the Ramona Airport in Ramona, California, United States. History The museum was founded in 1992 by Mark DiCiero, after he built and learned t ...

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. * 55-4965 – YH-32 in storage at the

United States Army Aviation Museum The United States Army Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located on Fort Rucker near Daleville, Alabama. It has the largest collection of helicopters held by a museum in the world.Phillips 1992, p. 37.Purner 2004, p. 204. The museum features ...

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. * 55-4969 – YH-32 on static display at the

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. * 55-4973 – YH-32 airworthy at

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. * c/n 15 – YH-32 on display at the Classic Rotors Museum in

Ramona, California Ramona is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 20,292 at the 2010 census. The name ''Ramona'' also refers to an unincorporated community (with some plans to incorporate) that includes both the ...

. * Unknown ID – HJ-1 on static display 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 ...

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 ...

. * Unknown ID – YH-32A on static display at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California.

Specifications (YH-32)

Notes

Bibliography

* Andrade, John. ''U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Hinckley, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. . * Apostolo, Giorgio. ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters.'' New York: Bonanza Books, 1984. . * Display information at

. *''Flight'
page 725
2 November 1956

External links

Hiller Aviation Museum: The First 100 Years of Aviation

Video of Hiller HJ-1 Hornet hovering
{{USN helicopters Military helicopters H-32 Hornet Ramjet-powered aircraft 1950s United States helicopters YH-32 Tipjet-powered helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1950