FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1586.PDF
3io FLIGHT SEPTEMBER T8TH. 1947 Radlett Releases in our the small helicopter will have its own field of usefulness, real commercial operation will only be achieved by machines with a useful load of one-and-a-half tons or over. The policy ot the Cierva Autogiro Co. will therefore in future be to design and build large helicopters, and the two models shown at Radlett represent two such types now being designed and built. The larger of the two, known as the W.n or "Air Horse," will have a dis- posable load in the neighbourhood of 4 tons. It may be recollected that "Air Horse" was the name given originally to the W.io. a full description of which was published issue of July 4th last year. A full-scale mock-up of that machine was built, and the engine was to be a Merlin XXXII. The W.i 1 may be said to be evolved from that scheme, but very many alterations have been made, both to the fuselage shape and to the outriggers which carry the three rotors. In the W.n the original cantilever beams have been replaced by braced structures, and the fuselage shape is as shown in the picture of the model. It is hoped that if all goes well the W.i 1 may be ready for test nights next spring. In the W.i2, a much smaller The transmission from engine to main rotor and torque-compensating airscrew in the Fairey Gyrodyne. machine, the three-rotor arrangement has been retained, but the power plant is divided into two units, each mounted in the side of the fuselage in such a way as to be readily accessible on the ground, while during flight the engineer can reach many of the accessories likely to need attention .- Two versions of the W.12 are contemplated: a passen- ger machine and a freight-carrier. The fuselage is of ample proportions, and in the passenger version the cabin will be in the rear portion, aft of the engine room. There will be seats for 12 passengers, and soundproofing of the fire- wall between cabin and engine room, as well as of the cabin itself, is expected to afford real comfort. In the engine room there is, as already mentioned, suffi- cient space to inspect transmission and ancillary equip- Similar to but smaller than the W.I I is the W.12, with a pay had of 11 tons or 12 passengers. ment. The former is so arranged that all three rotors can be driven by either engine or by both, but in case of en- gine trouble the power loading and disc loading are such that the machine can not only maintain height on one engine but can actually climb, although it is not to be expected that the rate of climb will be spectacular. One of the problems of helicopter flight is the possi- bility of engine failure when within about a hundred feet of the ground. It takes some little time for the rotors to change from power-driven to autorotating flight. By having two engines, each capable of maintaining height, this risk is greatly reduced, but even if both engines should fail, the change-over to autorotation is performed auto- matically, and the long-travel undercarriage legs are capable of absorbing the energy of a high rate of descent. Thus the W.i2 should be a particularly safe aircraft. > Outwardly, the freighter version of the W.i2 is similar to the passenger machine, but the space inside has an un- obstructed cubic capacity of 490 cu ft, measuring lift 3in long by 7ft 7m wide and an average headroom of 6ft. For loading the freight, two large, double hinged doors are pro- vided in the after end of the fuselage. A built-in folding ramp allows of driving vans or private cars into the freight hold. In both the passenger and freight versions of the W.12, the pilot and co-pilot (if carried) occupy a roomy cockpit in the nose, with a raised canopy which affords a very good view in all important directions. They are seated just below the sloping member which carries the drive-shaft from the engines to the single front rotor, but the upward and rearward view is not greatly in- terfered with by this member. The Cierya W.I I three-rotor helicopter, here shown by a scale model, will have a disposable load of about 4 tons. Note the loading ramp. SECOND SHETLAND LAUNCHED A JOINT product of Short Bros,and Saunders-Roe, Shorts having made the hull and Saro thewing, the second Shetland ultra- long - range flying * boat waslaunched at Rochester on Monday. With a span of 150ft the Shetlandis the largest British aircraft and is capable of carrying seventypassengers and a crew, of eleven. The first Shetland was destroyedby fire while moored at Felixstowe. Four Bristol Centaurus engines willgive the second machine a top speed of 267 m.p.h. Engines of amore advanced type may eventu ally be fitted.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
