__NOTOC__ The Cierva C.3 was an experimental

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), gyroscope, gyrocopter or gyroplane, is a class of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. A gyroplane "means a rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine-d ...

built by

Juan de la Cierva Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu, 1st Count of la Cierva (; 21 September 1895 – 9 December 1936), was a Spanish civil engineer, pilot and a self-taught aeronautical engineer. His most famous accomplishment was the invention in 1920 of a rotorcr ...

in Spain in 1921. It was based on the fuselage of a Sommer monoplane, and was actually completed and tested before that aircraft. The C.3 utilised a single, three-bladed rotor in place of the coaxial double rotor tested on the C.1. A few short hops were achieved in testing and Cierva noted a tendency for the machine to want to roll over, thus alerting him to the problem of

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 ...

that he would have to overcome in order to build a successful rotary-wing aircraft. The C.3 was damaged and rebuilt four times before being abandoned without having flown, la Cierva returning to work on the C.2.

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