Gyrodynes and Heliplanes

Encyclopedia : G : GY : GYR : Gyrodynes and Heliplanes

For the company, see Gyrodyne Company of America

A Gyrodyne is an intermediate form of heavier-than-air aircraft having some of the characteristics of a helicopter and some of an autogyro. The most famous and successful Gyrodyne was the Fairey Rotodyne.

Gyrodynes and heliplanes

Classically, a Gyrodyne had a rotor, and flew like a helicopter or autogyro. It did not need a tail rotor, normally required to provide a torque to counterbalance the rotating effect of the engine that powers the main rotor, but in the FB-1 Gyrodyne the countertorque was provided from the propellor driving the craft forward. The subsequent Jet Gyrodyne rotor was powered by jets at the tips of the rotor during vertical take-off rather than taking it from an engine and so there was no counter-torque required at all.

In modern times, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the USA describes a gyrodyne as a "rotor wing" aircraft that powers its rotor for takeoff and landing, but en route, flies in autorotation, like a gyroplane, without power to the rotor. Forward thrust is provided by engine driven propellers. Being able to fly in autorotation gives the gyrodyne all of the advantages and simplicity of a gyroplane.

The newer idea of a Heliplane extends this concept. A Heliplane flies not like an autogyro, but like a fixed-wing aircraft - with wings that provide most of its lift at cruise.

Examples

Flettner (Germany)
* The Flettner 184 helicopter/autogyro
* "Avia" Helicopter Developments - the [Flettner 184] (1935)
* "Avia" Helicopter Developments - the [Flettner 185] (1938)

Focke-Wulf
* Focke-Wulf Fw Triebflugel - a WW2 German design that used a jet powered rotor in place of wings.

Fairey Aviation (UK)
* Fairey Gyrodyne and [Jet Gyrodyne] (1954)
* Fairey Rotodyne (1957)

Lockheed
* XH-51
* AH-56 Cheyenne (1967)

[Groen Brothers Aviation]
* Gyrodyne and Heliplane [concepts] (2005)

Piasecki Aircraft Corporation
* [World's First Autonomous Autogyro] (2006)

[Raven]

External links

The Fairey Rotodyne: An Idea Whose Time Has Come – Again? [Detailed History]
[The Royal Air Force Museum catalogue of Gyrodynes]
Gyrodyne Company of America (USA) - producers of helicopters under the band-name "Gyrodyne"
[Model 2C] - contra-rotating rotor helicopter (1952)
[Rotorfly Heliplane - RC Model]

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.