A rotor kite or gyrokite is an unpowered, rotary-wing aircraft. Like an

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

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 attribu ...

, it relies on

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobil ...

created by one or more sets of rotors in order to fly. Unlike a helicopter, gyrokites and rotor kites do not have an engine powering their rotors, but while an autogyro has an engine providing forward thrust that keeps the rotor turning, a rotor kite has no engine at all, and relies on either being carried aloft and dropped from another aircraft, or by being towed into the air behind a car or boat or by use of ambient winds for the kiting. As of 2009, no country in the world requires a license to pilot such a craft.

History

* Thomas Ansboro of

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

patented an autorotating-winged rotor kite in 1891. * Walter Van Wie filed a patent for a ''Revolving Kite'' in 1909 claiming "certain new and useful Improvements" in revolving kites" * 1933: Filed: July 11, 1933
US2074327
by De Courcy and Schwarz for ''Kite''. * 1936: Filed: Aug 1, 1936
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by Carl B. Chupp for ''Aerial Device''. Research into rotor kites or gyrokites was deepened during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and one type in particular, the

Focke Achgelis Fa 330 The Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 ''Bachstelze'' ( en, Wagtail) was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see further. Development Because of their low pr ...

, reached active service, being towed behind German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s as an aerial observation platform. In the United Kingdom, Raoul Hafner designed the Rotachute as a means of deploying

paratroop A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Wor ...

s, and a larger version, the

Rotabuggy The Hafner Rotabuggy (formally known as the Malcolm Rotaplane and as the "M.L. 10/42 Flying Jeep") was a British experimental aircraft that was essentially a Willys MB combined with a rotor kite, developed with the intention of producing a way of ...

, was trialled as a means of air-dropping a

jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motors ...

, but neither of these aircraft progressed past the experimental stage. Plans to similarly equip a tank never left the drawing board. During the 1950s, rotor kites were developed as recreational aircraft, largely due to the efforts of Dr.

Igor Bensen Igor Vasilevich Bensen (russian: И́горь Васи́льевич Бенсен; April 1, 1917 – February 10, 2000) was a Russian-American engineer. He founded Bensen Aircraft, a US company which produced a successful line of gyroglide ...

in the United States, whose Bensen Aircraft Corporation produced a series of such aircraft, dubbed "gyrogliders" by Bensen. These were marketed as plans or kits for building at home, beginning with the

B-5 B5, B05, B-5 may refer to: Biology * ATC code B05 (''Blood substitutes and perfusion solutions''), a therapeutic subgroup of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System * Cytochrome ''b''5, ubiquitous electron transport hemoprotein ...

and culminating with the B-8 by the end of the decade. The Bensen designs became so ubiquitous that the term "gyroglider" is sometimes used to refer to any rotor kite, regardless of manufacturer. In the 1960s, a B-8 gyroglider was evaluated by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

as a "Discretionary Descent Vehicle", to provide a more controllable alternative than a parachute for a pilot ejecting from a stricken aircraft.

Manned rotor kites

* Bensen Aircraft Corporation **

Bensen B-5 The Bensen B-5 was a small rotor kite developed by Igor Bensen in the United States and offered and marketed for home building in 1954. Dubbed the "Gyro-Glider", it was the first of several such designs that would be sold by Bensen Aircraft Corpor ...

Bensen B-6 The Bensen B-6 was a small rotor kite developed by Igor Bensen in the United States in the early 1950s and marketed for home building. It was a minimalist design based on Bensen's B-5 and consisting of little more than a seat mounted on wooden ski ...

** Bensen B-7 ** A person from Russia named Shumeyko built and flew a gyro hang glider in the 1990s. ** Stephan Nitsch designed and built a manned rotor kite hang glider; he used the term "Autogiro" for the rotor kite hang glider. *

Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 The Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 ''Bachstelze'' ( en, Wagtail) was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see further. Development Because of their low pr ...

* Hafner Rotachute *

Hafner Rotabuggy The Hafner Rotabuggy (formally known as the Malcolm Rotaplane and as the "M.L. 10/42 Flying Jeep") was a British experimental aircraft that was essentially a Willys MB combined with a rotor kite, developed with the intention of producing a way o ...

Unmanned rotor-kites

* Sky Chopper
Sky Windpower

References

External links

Explanation of Gyrogliders

Bensen Gyrogliders

Bensen Aircraft Organization
{{Kites *

History

Manned rotor kites

Unmanned rotor-kites

See also

References

External links