Gyrodynes and Heliplanes
Encyclopedia
A Gyrodyne is a rotorcraft
with a rotor system that is normally driven by its engine for takeoff and landing—hovering like a helicopter
and has either one or two propeller
s mounted on wingtips, for propulsion and for torque correction. In response to a Royal Navy request for a helicopter, Dr. James Allan Jamieson Bennett designed the gyrodyne whilst serving as the chief engineer of the Cierva Autogiro Company
. The gyrodyne was envisioned an intermediate type of rotorcraft, its rotor operating parallel to the flightpath to minimize axial flow with one or more propellers providing propulsion.
There is controversy over the correct usage of the term gyrodyne stemming from the difference between the description in Bennett's patent, the use of the term as a trademark
by the Gyrodyne Company of America
, the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) classification of rotorcraft, and the terms compound helicopter and compound gyroplane frequently used to describe similar aircraft. In recent years, a related concept has been promoted under the name heliplane. Originally used to market gyroplanes built by two different companies, the term has been adopted to describe a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program to develop advances in rotorcraft technology with the goal of overcoming the current limitations of helicopters in both speed and payload.
, Dr. James Allan Jamieson Bennett, Chief Engineer of the Cierva Autogiro Company, in 1936 conceived an intermediate type of rotorcraft, which he named "gyrodyne" and which was tendered to the British Government in response to an Air Ministry
specification. In 1939, Bennett was issued a patent from the UK Patent Office, assigned to the Cierva Autogiro Company. On 23 August 1940, the Autogiro Company of America, licensees of the Cierva Autogiro Company, Ltd., filed a corresponding patent application in the United States
. On 27 April 1943, Patent# 2,317,340 was issued, assigned to the Autogiro Company of America. The patents describe a gyrodyne as:
Bennett's concept described a shaft-driven rotor, with anti-torque and propulsion for translational flight provided by one or more propellers mounted on short or stub wings. With thrust being provided by the propellers at cruise speeds, power would be provided to the rotor only to overcome the profile drag of the rotor, operating in a more efficient manner than the freewheeling rotor of an autogyro
in autorotation
. Bennett described this flight regime of the gyrodyne as an "intermediate state", requiring power to be supplied to both the rotor and the propulsion system.
as the FB-1 Gyrodyne
commencing in 1945. Fairey's development efforts were initially led by Bennett, followed by his successor Dr. George S. Hislop. George B.L. Ellis and Frederick L. Hodgess, engineers from the pre-WW2 Cierva Autogiro Company, Ltd., joined Bennett at Fairey Aviation. The first Fairey Gyrodyne prototype crashed during a test flight, killing the crew. The second Gyrodyne prototype was rebuilt as the Jet Gyrodyne
and used to develop a pressure-jet rotor drive system later for the Rotodyne transport compound gyroplane. At the tip of each stub wing were rearward-facing propellers which provided both yaw control and propulsion in forward flight. The Jet Gyrodyne flew in 1954, and made a true transition from vertical to horizontal flight in March 1955.
This led to the prototype Fairey Rotodyne
, which was developed to combine the efficiency of a fixed-wing aircraft at cruise with the VTOL
capability of a helicopter to provide short haul airliner
service from city centres to airports. It had short wings that carried turboprop engines for forward propulsion and up to 40% of the aircraft's weight in forward flight. The rotor was driven by tip-jets for take-off and landing and translational flight up to 80 mph. Despite considerable commercial and military interest worldwide in the prototype Type Y Rotodyne for air transport, Fairey decided to develop a larger and more powerful Type Z Rotodyne which, together with withdrawal of British Government support in 1962, resulted in the termination of the project. With the end of the Fairey Aviation programs, gyrodyne development came to a halt, although several similar concepts continued to be developed.
was developed as a rotorcraft with tip jets to provide vertical take off capability. The aircraft also had wings and a propeller mounted on the rear of the fuselage between twin tailbooms with two small anti-torque rotors mounted at the end. The second prototype of XV-1 became the world's first rotorcraft to exceed 200 mph in level flight on 10 October 1956. No more were built and the XV-1 project was terminated in 1957.
successfully flew its technology demonstrator aircraft. The aircraft is a compound autogyro with a high-inertia rotor and wings optimized for high-speed flight. In 2005, the aircraft demonstrated flight at mu-1, with the rotor tip having airspeed equal to the aircraft's forward airspeed, without any vibration or control issues occurring. The high-inertia rotor allowed the aircraft to hover for a brief moment during landing, even though the rotor is unpowered, and a prerotating gearbox allows the rotor to be accelerated for an autogyro-style jump takeoff.
with wings reduced to stubs sufficient to carry the undercarriage and a rotor powered by tip ram-jets.
DARPA is funding a project under the "Heliplane" name to develop the gyrodyne concept. Aircraft developed for the project will use a rotor for take-off and landing vertically, and hovering, together with substantial wings to provide most of the required lift at cruise, combining the large cargo capacity, fuel efficiency, and high cruise speed of fixed-wing aircraft with the hovering capabilities of a helicopter. The project is "..a multi-year $40-million, four-phase program. Groen Brothers Aviation
is working on phase one of that program, a 15-month effort...(it) combines the "gyroplane" ..with a fixed-wing business jet. The team is using the A700, in the very-light-jet class, which was developed by Adam Aircraft Industries."
to the Gyrodyne Company of America in 1950. The company was not involved in gyrodyne development, but instead produced a turbine-engined, remotely-piloted drone helicopter, with coaxial rotors, for the United States Navy
, designated as the QH-50 DASH.
Rotorcraft
A rotorcraft or rotary wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine that uses lift generated by wings, called rotor blades, that revolve around a mast. Several rotor blades mounted to a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The International Civil Aviation Organization defines a rotorcraft...
with a rotor system that is normally driven by its engine for takeoff and landing—hovering like a helicopter
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...
and has either one or two propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
s mounted on wingtips, for propulsion and for torque correction. In response to a Royal Navy request for a helicopter, Dr. James Allan Jamieson Bennett designed the gyrodyne whilst serving as the chief engineer of the Cierva Autogiro Company
Cierva Autogiro Company
The Cierva Autogiro Company was a British developer of autogyros established in 1926.It was set up to further the designs of Juan de la Cierva with the financial backing of James George Weir, a Scottish industrialist and aviator.-History:...
. The gyrodyne was envisioned an intermediate type of rotorcraft, its rotor operating parallel to the flightpath to minimize axial flow with one or more propellers providing propulsion.
There is controversy over the correct usage of the term gyrodyne stemming from the difference between the description in Bennett's patent, the use of the term as a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
by the Gyrodyne Company of America
Gyrodyne Company of America
The Gyrodyne Company of America was founded in 1946 by Peter J. Papadakos , using the assets he bought from the bankrupt Bendix Helicopter Company that was developing a one-man synchronized co-axial rotor helicopter....
, the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(FAA) classification of rotorcraft, and the terms compound helicopter and compound gyroplane frequently used to describe similar aircraft. In recent years, a related concept has been promoted under the name heliplane. Originally used to market gyroplanes built by two different companies, the term has been adopted to describe a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program to develop advances in rotorcraft technology with the goal of overcoming the current limitations of helicopters in both speed and payload.
History
In BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Dr. James Allan Jamieson Bennett, Chief Engineer of the Cierva Autogiro Company, in 1936 conceived an intermediate type of rotorcraft, which he named "gyrodyne" and which was tendered to the British Government in response to an Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
specification. In 1939, Bennett was issued a patent from the UK Patent Office, assigned to the Cierva Autogiro Company. On 23 August 1940, the Autogiro Company of America, licensees of the Cierva Autogiro Company, Ltd., filed a corresponding patent application in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. On 27 April 1943, Patent# 2,317,340 was issued, assigned to the Autogiro Company of America. The patents describe a gyrodyne as:
Bennett's concept described a shaft-driven rotor, with anti-torque and propulsion for translational flight provided by one or more propellers mounted on short or stub wings. With thrust being provided by the propellers at cruise speeds, power would be provided to the rotor only to overcome the profile drag of the rotor, operating in a more efficient manner than the freewheeling rotor of an 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...
in autorotation
Autorotation
In aviation, autorotation refers to processes in both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. The term means significantly different things in each context....
. Bennett described this flight regime of the gyrodyne as an "intermediate state", requiring power to be supplied to both the rotor and the propulsion system.
Early development
The Cierva Autogiro Company, Ltd., C.41 gyrodyne pre-WW2 design study was updated and built by Fairey AviationFairey Aviation
The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Greater London and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Greater Manchester...
as the FB-1 Gyrodyne
Fairey FB-1 Gyrodyne
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Charnov, Dr. Bruce H. Retrieved: 18 May 2007.* Green, William and Gerald Pollinger. The Observer's Book of Aircraft, 1958 edition...
commencing in 1945. Fairey's development efforts were initially led by Bennett, followed by his successor Dr. George S. Hislop. George B.L. Ellis and Frederick L. Hodgess, engineers from the pre-WW2 Cierva Autogiro Company, Ltd., joined Bennett at Fairey Aviation. The first Fairey Gyrodyne prototype crashed during a test flight, killing the crew. The second Gyrodyne prototype was rebuilt as the Jet Gyrodyne
Fairey Jet Gyrodyne
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Charnov, Dr. Bruce H. The Fairey Rotodyne: An Idea Whose Time Has Come – Again? Retrieved: 18 May 2007.* Green, William and Pollinger, Gerald...
and used to develop a pressure-jet rotor drive system later for the Rotodyne transport compound gyroplane. At the tip of each stub wing were rearward-facing propellers which provided both yaw control and propulsion in forward flight. The Jet Gyrodyne flew in 1954, and made a true transition from vertical to horizontal flight in March 1955.
This led to the prototype Fairey Rotodyne
Fairey Rotodyne
The Fairey Rotodyne was a 1950s British compound gyroplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation and intended for commercial and military applications...
, which was developed to combine the efficiency of a fixed-wing aircraft at cruise with the VTOL
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off and land vertically. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors...
capability of a helicopter to provide short haul airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
service from city centres to airports. It had short wings that carried turboprop engines for forward propulsion and up to 40% of the aircraft's weight in forward flight. The rotor was driven by tip-jets for take-off and landing and translational flight up to 80 mph. Despite considerable commercial and military interest worldwide in the prototype Type Y Rotodyne for air transport, Fairey decided to develop a larger and more powerful Type Z Rotodyne which, together with withdrawal of British Government support in 1962, resulted in the termination of the project. With the end of the Fairey Aviation programs, gyrodyne development came to a halt, although several similar concepts continued to be developed.
Similar developments
In 1954, the McDonnell XV-1McDonnell XV-1
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Connor, R. and R. E. Lee. . 24 September 2001. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC. Accessed 4 December 2007....
was developed as a rotorcraft with tip jets to provide vertical take off capability. The aircraft also had wings and a propeller mounted on the rear of the fuselage between twin tailbooms with two small anti-torque rotors mounted at the end. The second prototype of XV-1 became the world's first rotorcraft to exceed 200 mph in level flight on 10 October 1956. No more were built and the XV-1 project was terminated in 1957.
Compound autogyro
In 1998, Carter Aviation TechnologiesCarterCopter
The CarterCopter is an experimental compound autogyro developed by Carter Aviation Technologies to demonstrate slowed rotor technology. On 17 June 2005, the CarterCopter became the first rotorcraft to achieve mu-1 , an equal ratio of airspeed to rotor tip speed, but crashed on the next flight and...
successfully flew its technology demonstrator aircraft. The aircraft is a compound autogyro with a high-inertia rotor and wings optimized for high-speed flight. In 2005, the aircraft demonstrated flight at mu-1, with the rotor tip having airspeed equal to the aircraft's forward airspeed, without any vibration or control issues occurring. The high-inertia rotor allowed the aircraft to hover for a brief moment during landing, even though the rotor is unpowered, and a prerotating gearbox allows the rotor to be accelerated for an autogyro-style jump takeoff.
Heliplane
In 1954, Kayaba built an aircraft named the Heliplane. The Heliplane was a Cessna 170Cessna 170
|-See also:-External links:* *...
with wings reduced to stubs sufficient to carry the undercarriage and a rotor powered by tip ram-jets.
DARPA is funding a project under the "Heliplane" name to develop the gyrodyne concept. Aircraft developed for the project will use a rotor for take-off and landing vertically, and hovering, together with substantial wings to provide most of the required lift at cruise, combining the large cargo capacity, fuel efficiency, and high cruise speed of fixed-wing aircraft with the hovering capabilities of a helicopter. The project is "..a multi-year $40-million, four-phase program. Groen Brothers Aviation
Groen Brothers Aviation
Groen Brothers Aviation, Inc. is a U.S. corporation that designs vertical takeoff and landing rotorwing gyroplanes and gyrodynes....
is working on phase one of that program, a 15-month effort...(it) combines the "gyroplane" ..with a fixed-wing business jet. The team is using the A700, in the very-light-jet class, which was developed by Adam Aircraft Industries."
Trademark
"Gyrodyne" was granted as a trademarkTrademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
to the Gyrodyne Company of America in 1950. The company was not involved in gyrodyne development, but instead produced a turbine-engined, remotely-piloted drone helicopter, with coaxial rotors, for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, designated as the QH-50 DASH.
Examples
- Fairey Aviation Company (UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
)- Fairey FB-1 GyrodyneFairey FB-1 Gyrodyne|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Charnov, Dr. Bruce H. Retrieved: 18 May 2007.* Green, William and Gerald Pollinger. The Observer's Book of Aircraft, 1958 edition...
- Fairey Jet GyrodyneFairey Jet Gyrodyne|-See also:-Bibliography:* Charnov, Dr. Bruce H. The Fairey Rotodyne: An Idea Whose Time Has Come – Again? Retrieved: 18 May 2007.* Green, William and Pollinger, Gerald...
- Fairey RotodyneFairey RotodyneThe Fairey Rotodyne was a 1950s British compound gyroplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation and intended for commercial and military applications...
(1957)
- Fairey FB-1 Gyrodyne
- KamovKamovKamov is a Russian rotor-winged aircraft manufacturing company that was founded by Nikolai Il'yich Kamov, who started building his first rotor-winged aircraft in 1929, together with N. K. Skrzhinskii...
(USSRSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
)- Kamov Ka-22Kamov Ka-22|-See also:...
(1959)
- Kamov Ka-22