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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1546.PDF
704 FLIGHT, 2 November 1956 (Left and above) Westland Widgeon—recent subject of a "Flight" air test (October 12). Helicopters of the World . .. WESTLAND AIRCRAFT, LTD. - • • . • -. • -•-• Yeovil, Somerset.:" (XeovilllOO) Widgeon In dealing with this promis- ing new helicopter we can do no better than quote from the Editor's impressions, entitled "Widgeon in the Air," printed in our issue of October 12. "One does not need to look hard," he remarks, "to see that the Widgeon has many features in common with the familiar Dragonfly. It has the same central body and tail; the Alvis engine, undercarriage and tail rotor are unchanged, and the pylon supporting the rotor head is almost identical. There the similarity stops, for the head and blades are those of the larger Whirlwind, the blade span being cropped to suit the Widgeon. The cabin is much redesigned to give side-by-side seating—with dual con- trol if needed—in front, and a comfortable, three-abreast bench behind. Ambulance and other layouts are also possible. The flying controls, like those on the later Dragonflies and the Whirlwinds, are hyd- raulic servo-assisted, and, together with the Whirlwind head, they provide a marked increase in stability. The Dragon- fly's sensitivity over e.g. position has gone, and with it the need to add ballast in the nose or elsewhere, according to load. "The big differences in flying the Widgeon," ran the report, "seemed to me to be in its stability and the feel of its cyclic-pitch lever. The stick produces the expected results without delay and it is extremely light and sensitive to use. There is scarcely any relationship between the way it now functions and the way its counterpart worked on G-ALIK in early (Below) Westland Whirlwind.
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