The Saunders Helicogyre was a 1920s experimental helicopter designed by Vittorio Isacco and built by S.E. Saunders Limited for the British Air Ministry.

Design and development

Vittorio Isacco designed and built four different Helicogyre experimental helicopters between 1926 and 1935. In 1928

Air Ministry Specification This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry (AM) specifications for aircraft. A specification stemmed from an Operational Requirement, abbreviated "OR", describing what the aircraft would be used for. This in turn led to the specification ...

2/28 was issued to S.E Saunders for a prototype helicopter to the Helicogyre No. 3 design. The Helicogyre had a conventional 1920s tractor aircraft fuselage and main landing gear but had an extended tailskid to keep the fuselage horizontal. At the front of the fuselage was a

Armstrong Siddeley Genet The Armstrong Siddeley Genet was a five-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use built in the UK, first run in 1926. It developed 80 hp at 2,200 rpm in its final form and was a popular light aircraft powerplant. Followin ...

piston engine. Behind the cockpit was a braced post on which was fitted a four-bladed rotor, each rotor blade was fitted with a

Bristol Cherub The Bristol Cherub is a British two-cylinder, air-cooled, aircraft engine designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Introduced in 1923 it was a popular engine for ultralight and small aircraft in the 1930s. Variants ;Cherub I :Init ...

piston engine at the tip. The Helicogyre

serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

''K1171'' was completed in 1929 and delivered to the

Royal Aircraft Establishment 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 Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

at Farnborough by road. It was tested in the Balloon Shed,"Saunders Roe Skeeter"
''Flight'' 1956 p355 but ground tests were not completed and the programme was cancelled on 30 December 1931 without the Helicogyre having flown.

Operators

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References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{Saro aircraft 1920s British experimental aircraft 1920s British helicopters Helicogyre Four-engined piston helicopters

Design and development

Operators

See also

References