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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0666.PDF
FLIGHT, 12 March 1954 Gyrodyne Model 24. (Right) Gyrodyne Model 35. Helicopters car. Upwards of fifty passengers would be carried for ranges greater than 100 miles. WESTLAND-SIKORSKY S-55 (WHIRLWIND) • As now in full production at the works of Westland Aircraft, Ltd., the S-55 is being offered with a choice of three power plants, one British and two American. The British unit is the new 14-cylinder Alvis Leonides Major of 800 h.p., and will become the standard power plant; alternatives are the Wright R-1300 Cyclone, a .seven- cylinder radial, likewise of some 800 h.p., and the Pratt and Whitney Wasp R-1340, a nine-cylinder unit of 600 h.p. This last- named engine has hitherto been generally installed in the American-built S-55s. Some measure of the efficiency of the S-55 design is the fact that, although it has three times the load-carrying capacity of the earlier S-51, its overall dimensions are very little larger; the rotor diameter—at 53ft—is only 4ft more, and the overall height only a few inches greater. In the construction of the semi-monocoque fuselage mag nesium alloys are used to a very great extent. The engine and its accessories are mounted in the nose rather than on the centre of gravity, as in the S-51, and access is gained through two non structural nose doors which fold back on vertical hinges. The dual-control cockpit is located high up above, and slightly behind, the engine. Arrangement of the main cabin around the centre of gravity and at a low level allows variations in loading without affecting the balance of the machine. Each of the four undercarriage wheels has individual hydraulic shock-absorption; the two nosewheels are fully castering and self-centring, and a skid protects the tail rotor in case of tail-down landings. All- metal amphibious flotation gear can be fitted if required. The normal fuel supply is 150 gallons, affording a range of about 400 nautical miles, but additional fuel and oil can be carried in auxiliary tanks and S-55s have already demonstrated a ferry range with these fitments of 1,000 miles. Leading data: rotor diam., 53ft; fuselage length, 42ft 2in; empty weight (including utility soundproofing and cabin heater), 4,833 lb; all-up weight, 7,200 lb; max. speed (take-off rating), 108 m.p.h. at 199 rotor r.p.m.; max. weak mixture cruising speed, 86 m.p.h. at 186 rotor r.p.m.; best rate of climb (max. continuous output), 680ft/min at 57 m.p.h.; max.-endurance air speed, 57 m.p.h.; range (150 gal), 330 nautical miles; service ceiling, 11,000ft; hovering ceiling, 5,100ft. S.E. HELIBUS • This 30-passenger project by the Societe Nationale de Constructions Aeronautiques du Sud-Est would be powered with two turbines and utilize S-55 rotors and rotor heads. (The company holds the manufacturing licence for the S-55, which it has dubbed the Joyeux Elephant.) RUSSIAN HELICOPTER (S-55 TYPE) • Just as the Russians were quick to produce a helicopter modelled along S-51/Bristol Sycamore lines, so, during 1953, appeared a later, larger machine evidently patterned on the Sikorsky S-55. One of the very few available photographs is reproduced herewith, and little can be added to what can be gathered from a study of this picture. BELL MODEL 61 (HSL-l) • The first helicopter to be specifically designed for anti-submarine work with the U.S. Navy, the HSL-l is now in production at Fort Worth, Texas. Carry ing detection and destruction equipment, it will serve both in the "hunter" and "killer" roles. The makers point out that the machine differs from the normal concept of helicopter configura tion in that its fuselage is much smaller than its engine—a Pratt and Whitney Double Wasp—would support. They add that the present power plant and rotor system have sufficient reserve to sustain a transport version with a much larger fuselage without compromise in safety. The reason for the relatively small fuselage of the present type is the necessity for below-deck stowage aboard aircraft carriers, and the same consideration dictated that the rotor blades should be arranged to fold. Because of its high degree of inherent stability, in combination with an automatic pilot developed by Bell, the HSL is fully capable of all-weather operation. Unofficially it is stated that it carries search radar, "dunking" sonobuoys, and over 4,000 lb of anti-submarine stores. BELL MODEL 200 (XV-3) • Little is known about this military project for a convertiplane, but it is believed to be fitted with a Pratt and Whitney Double Wasp engine of some 2,300 h.p. and to utilize the tilting-rotor principle. CONVERTAWINGS MODEL E • A projected tandem- winged, four-rotor, turbine-powered, short-haul helicopter—one of a series of machines of this layout proposed by Convertawings, Inc. GYRODYNE MODEL 24 • This is a project for a cargo helicopter of co-axial configuration, powered by twin turboprops with a combined output of 7,000 h.p. The crew would number three and, as the accompanying drawing shows, the machine would have a detachable cargo pack. Provisional data are: rotor diam. 11 Oft; empty weight, 21,630 lb; gross weight, 70,000 lb; max. speed at s.L, 116 m.p.h.; cruising speed at s.l., 90 m.p.h.; max. rate of climb at s.l., 1,000 ft/min. GYRODYNE MODEL 35 • Designed as a high-speed transport convertiplane, the Gyroliner, as this project is styled by the makers, would be powered, like the Model 24, with two turboprops. Seventy-two passengers and a crew of three would be carried in the streamlined fuselage and, as the photograph of the model shows, the counter-rotating rotors would each have only two blades. Provisional figures are: rotor diam., 88ft; gross weight, 77,500 lb; max. speed at s.l., 304 m.p.h.; cruising speed at s.L, 230 m.p.h.; max rate of climb at s.l., 2,350 ft/min; range, 500 miles. HUGHES XH-17 • With its single two-blade rotor measur ing over 125ft in diameter, the XH-17 is the world's largest helicopter of its configuration and, though little or nothing has been heard of it for many months past, it again figures in our review as an important milestone in the development of rotary- wing aircraft. Power is supplied by two General Electric J35 turbojets, which deliver gas pressure through ducts leading up the rotor shaft to feed tip-mounted GE33F burners. A tail rotor, shaft-driven from the main rotor, is fitted, and a tailplane allows considerable e.g. travel. The XH-17 is classed as a "heavy-lift" helicopter and its 27,000 lb payload is intended to be slung beneath the central nacelle; it might comprise such equipment as field artillery, sections of bridges and M.T. vehicles. The gross weight has been unofficially stated as 52,000 lb, max. speed 80 m.pJi., cruising speed 40 m.p.h., and range 40 miles. McDONNELL MODEL 78 (XHRH-l) • This large assault transport for the U.S. Marine Corps has been under develop ment since 1951. It has gas turbine power. McDONNELL MODEL 86 (XCH-l) • Intended as a "flying crane" for use by the U.S. Marine Corps, this machine will probably have a single large rotor, with McDonnell tip drive. PIASECKI PD-22 WORK-HORSE (H-21) • There are
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