Berliner Helicopter
Encyclopedia
The Berliner Helicopters were a series of experimental helicopter
s built by Henry Berliner
between 1922 and 1925. The helicopters had only limited controllability but were the most significant step forward in helicopter design in the USA until the production of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 helicopter in 1940. The 1922 flights of the Berliner and the de Bothezat H1
were the first by manned helicopters.
, an inventor famous for his invention of the flat gramaphone record, had experimented with intermeshing helicopters as early as 1907. The initial design was underpowered and called for a lighter engine. Berliner developed a 36 hp five cylinder rotary engine with the Adams-Farwell
Company from Dubuque, Iowa
, producing the first rotary engine used for aircraft. Berliner later spun off the Gyro Motor Company from this work. A test rig was flown in 1908, followed by two other upgrades before Berliner focused on his other businesses.
In 1919, Emile Berliner's son, Henry Berliner, left the Army Air Service as an aerial photographer to work with his father on helicopter designs.
By 1922 Henry founded the Berliner Aircraft Company
with a focus on conventional aircraft. The Berliner Helicopter was successfully demonstrated throughout the 1920s but interest was lost due to its limited controllability and engine-out abilities compared to the autogyro
and conventional aircraft.
article of the time supposed that his invention would be used as a "flying torpedo" more capable than an aeroplane at holding rich cities for ransom.
In 1918 Henry and Emile patented a single rotor helicopter design that was not built. Henry Berliner's first effort was updating a new unmanned coaxial test rig. He followed on with a 570 lb, 80 hp Le Rhône engine powered, test rig that required assistants for stabilization. The rig could lift 900 lb. His test rig with two wheels and handlebars, resembled a wheelbarrow with a engine mounted in it, with a tall vertical shaft driving two counter-rotating propellers.
In 1922 Berliner developed a helicopter based on a surplus Nieuport 23 fuselage with a 220 hp radial engine driving two wing mounted counter-rotating rotors. The rotorshafts could tilt slightly forward and backward relative to each other to control yaw. The pitch of the aircraft was controlled by a small tail mounted propeller with a variable pitch mechanism. Roll control was from a small set of adjustable wing mounted louvers in the rotor slipstream. High speed forward flight was also stabilized by a conventional rudder and elevator control at the rear of the aircraft.
In 1923, the Helicopter incorporated triplane wings to allow for gliding in case of an engine failure. The last example built in 1924 featured a biplane configuration with 20 ft (6.1 m) rotors and a 1,850 lb gross weight.
in Maryland
for most of his flight testing. A 1922 model with a single wing was able to hover at about 10 feet. The 1923 model was demonstrated at speeds up to 40 mph with poor roll control. On February 23, 1924 a test flight reached 15 feet (4.6 m) in altitude and 40 mph in forward speed. The next day it was demonstrated in front of Navy officials and the press. That same year testing of the Berliner Helicopter was moved to McCook Field
, in Dayton, Ohio
. McCook Field was the U.S. Army Signal Corps.' experimental test and development field. There it was flown by Air Service test pilot Harold R. Harris
among others, achieving stable hovers of up to 15 feet. A helicopter hangar was constructed at the field for the craft, and is believed to be the world's first dedicated helicopter hangar.
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s built by Henry Berliner
Henry Berliner
Henry Adler Berliner was a United States aircraft and helicopter pioneer. Sixth son of inventor Emile Berliner, he was born in Washington, D.C....
between 1922 and 1925. The helicopters had only limited controllability but were the most significant step forward in helicopter design in the USA until the production of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 helicopter in 1940. The 1922 flights of the Berliner and the de Bothezat H1
De Bothezat helicopter
|-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Lambermont, Paul Marcel. Helicopters and autogyros of the world. London: Cassell, 1958....
were the first by manned helicopters.
Development
Emile BerlinerEmile Berliner
Emile Berliner or Emil Berliner was a German-born American inventor. He is best known for developing the disc record gramophone...
, an inventor famous for his invention of the flat gramaphone record, had experimented with intermeshing helicopters as early as 1907. The initial design was underpowered and called for a lighter engine. Berliner developed a 36 hp five cylinder rotary engine with the Adams-Farwell
Adams-Farwell
Adams-Farwell was a brass era American automobile manufacturer from Dubuque, Iowa, founded by Herbert and Eugene Adams and Fay Oliver Farwell at the end of the 19th century....
Company from Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
, producing the first rotary engine used for aircraft. Berliner later spun off the Gyro Motor Company from this work. A test rig was flown in 1908, followed by two other upgrades before Berliner focused on his other businesses.
In 1919, Emile Berliner's son, Henry Berliner, left the Army Air Service as an aerial photographer to work with his father on helicopter designs.
By 1922 Henry founded the Berliner Aircraft Company
Berliner-Joyce Aircraft
Berliner-Joyce Aircraft was an American aircraft manufacturer. It was founded on 4 February 1929 when Henry Berliner and his 1922 company, Berliner Aircraft Company of Alexandria, Virginia, joined with Temple Nach Joyce....
with a focus on conventional aircraft. The Berliner Helicopter was successfully demonstrated throughout the 1920s but interest was lost due to its limited controllability and engine-out abilities compared to the autogyro
Autogyro
An autogyro , also known as gyroplane, gyrocopter, or rotaplane, is a type of rotorcraft which uses an unpowered rotor in autorotation to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller, similar to that of a fixed-wing aircraft, to provide thrust...
and conventional aircraft.
Design
Emile Berliner named all his counter-rotating Helicopters "gyrocopters" (gyrocopter was later used to describe a rotary-winged vehicle that operated on different principles). The first test rig was powered by two 30 hp Adams-Farwell rotary engines. The second example capable of lifting a person was powered by a single 60 hp engine. Emile initially intended his helicopter to have floats and to be used at low levels over water in case of an engine failure that would cause a forced landing. A Popular MechanicsPopular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...
article of the time supposed that his invention would be used as a "flying torpedo" more capable than an aeroplane at holding rich cities for ransom.
In 1918 Henry and Emile patented a single rotor helicopter design that was not built. Henry Berliner's first effort was updating a new unmanned coaxial test rig. He followed on with a 570 lb, 80 hp Le Rhône engine powered, test rig that required assistants for stabilization. The rig could lift 900 lb. His test rig with two wheels and handlebars, resembled a wheelbarrow with a engine mounted in it, with a tall vertical shaft driving two counter-rotating propellers.
In 1922 Berliner developed a helicopter based on a surplus Nieuport 23 fuselage with a 220 hp radial engine driving two wing mounted counter-rotating rotors. The rotorshafts could tilt slightly forward and backward relative to each other to control yaw. The pitch of the aircraft was controlled by a small tail mounted propeller with a variable pitch mechanism. Roll control was from a small set of adjustable wing mounted louvers in the rotor slipstream. High speed forward flight was also stabilized by a conventional rudder and elevator control at the rear of the aircraft.
In 1923, the Helicopter incorporated triplane wings to allow for gliding in case of an engine failure. The last example built in 1924 featured a biplane configuration with 20 ft (6.1 m) rotors and a 1,850 lb gross weight.
Operational history
In 1908 a test rig designed by John Newton Williams with coaxial propellers reached heights of 3 feet. Berliner used the historic College Park AirportCollege Park Airport
College Park Airport is a public airport located in the City of College Park, in Prince Georges County, Maryland, USA. It is the world's oldest continuously operated airport.-History:...
in Maryland
Aviation in Maryland
Maryland's first aeronautical event was the flight of 13 year old Edward Warren from Baltimore in Peter Carne's tethered hot air balloon in 1784.- Events :* 1909 On 9 October, Wilbur Wright demonstrated "Miss Columbia", the first U.S...
for most of his flight testing. A 1922 model with a single wing was able to hover at about 10 feet. The 1923 model was demonstrated at speeds up to 40 mph with poor roll control. On February 23, 1924 a test flight reached 15 feet (4.6 m) in altitude and 40 mph in forward speed. The next day it was demonstrated in front of Navy officials and the press. That same year testing of the Berliner Helicopter was moved to McCook Field
McCook Field
McCook Field was an airfield and aviation experimentation station operated by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps and its successor the United States Army Air Service from 1917-1927...
, in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
. McCook Field was the U.S. Army Signal Corps.' experimental test and development field. There it was flown by Air Service test pilot Harold R. Harris
Harold R. Harris
Harold Ross Harris was a notable American test pilot and U.S. Army Air Force officer who held 26 flying records. He made the first flight by American pilots over the Alps from Italy to France, successfully tested the world's first pressurized aircraft, was the first airman to safely escape an...
among others, achieving stable hovers of up to 15 feet. A helicopter hangar was constructed at the field for the craft, and is believed to be the world's first dedicated helicopter hangar.
Survivors
- Berliner Helicopter No.5 is owned by the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. It is on display at the College Park Air Museum in Maryland. This is the same aircraft test flown by the U.S. Army Signal Corp. at McCook Field in the 1920s.
Variants
- Test Rig - First flown July 11, 1908 able to lift twice its weight.
- Aeromobile - A single 36 square feet (3.3 m²) propeller helicopter powered by a 55 hp engine without anti-torque mechanisms. It was capable of lifting 360 lb.
- 1909 Coaxial configuration designed by Berliner and J. Newton Williams.
- 1919 Unmanned coaxial test rig.
- 1919 Manned coaxial test rig.
- 1922 Berliner Helicopter - Based on a Nieuport 23 fuselage.
- 1923 Berliner Helicopter No. 5 "helicoplane" - Triplane wings added.
- 1924 Berliner Helicopter - Biplane with high incidence wings.