Fairey Rotodyne is a British rotorcraft developed by Fairey Aviation . Intended for civil and military transport use. Passed successful tests in 1957-1959. The program was closed in 1962.
| Rotodyne | |
|---|---|
 Fairey Rotodyne Horizontal Flight Computer Model | |
| Type of | passenger rotorcraft |
| Developer | Fairey aviation |
| First flight | November 6, 1957 |
| End of operation | 1962 |
| Status | the program is closed |
| Units produced | one |
| Base model | Fairey FB-1 Gyrodyne |
Content
Design
The rotorcraft was equipped with a four-blade main rotor and a short airplane-type wing, on which two turboprop engines with pulling screws were mounted. The drive of the rotor is jet, by means of engines on the tips of the blades, where fuel and compressed air from the compressor were supplied. The rotor drive was used only in helicopter mode - for vertical take-off, landing and hovering: in the cruise flight mode, the rotor rotated in autorotation mode. Propulsive thrust in this case was created by pulling propellers.
The rotorcraft powerplant was two Napier Eland NEL3 TVDs, one on each wing. These engines set the propellers into rotation and were also used to drive the rotor. On take-off and landing, the power from the engines was transmitted through the clutch to a compressor that generated compressed air. Compressed air, in turn, was supplied to the jet engines at the tips of the blades through a system of pipelines, where it was mixed with fuel and burned, creating a thrust for spinning the rotor. Such a drive ensured the absence of a reactive moment of the bearing rotor, which made it possible to abandon its compensation system. To control yaw at low speeds and hovering, a differential change in the pitch of the pulling screws was used. After vertical take-off, a horizontal speed set was made, then (at a speed of about 60 mph), the drive of the main rotor was switched off and all the power was transmitted to the pulling propellers. The controls in the cockpit were similar to those of a helicopter: a cyclic pitch knob, a common pitch knob and track control pedals.
Development and testing
The predecessor of this rotorcraft was the Fairey FB-1 Gyrodyne - the first aircraft made according to the rotorcraft scheme (a rotorcraft can be considered a combination of a helicopter and a gyroplane). The experimental FB-1 set a world speed record in its class in 1948, but after the crash with the death of the pilot, the design was changed in favor of the installation of a rotor with a jet drive. The second FB-1 Jet Gyrodyne was already equipped with such a rotor, as well as two engines to create horizontal traction.
Fairey explored various layout options for gyrodynes, and in 1954 the British Department of Supply entered into a pilot contract with the company (serial number XE521).
The device made its first successful transition from vertical to horizontal flight on April 10, 1958. On January 5, 1959, the Rotodyne set a world speed record in the class of convertiplanes - 307.2 km / h on a closed route of 100 km. In addition to significant speed, the device showed an advantage in terms of safety: it could perform stable hovering with one idle engine with a feathering screw. The prototype made several landings in the gyroplane mode with the rotor drive off. The jet rotor drive and overall layout of the device provided significant advantages of the device over helicopters, in particular, horizontal flight speed up to 324 km / h, which certainly exceeded the speed of helicopters of that time.
In the described period of time among air carriers, interest in air transportation with the delivery of passengers directly to the city center, bypassing busy suburban airports, increased. The Rotodyne could take off vertically from a helipad in the city, then, turning off the rotor drive, go into horizontal flight at a speed of about 280-300 km / h (for example, flying from London to Paris) and perform a helicopter landing at a similar destination helipad. In cruising mode, due to the autorotation of the rotor, its overall step could be small, which reduced drag, and 50% of the lift was created by the wing. The rotorcraft made a good impression on potential customers. The device was demonstrated and flew at air shows in Paris and Farnborough. In tests, the rotorcraft carried cargo on an external sling. There were several flights over London with takeoff and landing on the heliport Battersea Heliport in the city center.
The British European Airways airline expressed its readiness to purchase six rotorcraft with a prospect of up to twenty, which greatly contributed to the development of the project (it should be said that the BEA put forward the conditions of purchase - an improvement of the prototype in the direction of increasing cargo capacity, speed and a number of other parameters). The British Royal Air Force ordered 12 military transport vehicles, New York Airways ordered five aircraft, and the US Army 200 ordered (licensed production was planned at the Kaman Helicopters factory in Bloomfield). Representatives of Canada and Japan expressed interest. However, at the same time, a shortcoming of the apparatus was revealed, which reduced its attractiveness for civilian air carriers - the high noise of a jet rotor. This drawback was significant, given the noise standards for the apparatus operated from helipads in the city.
Project Closure
In 1959, the British government, in order to reduce costs, reduced the number of contractors for the production of aircraft, which, in turn, forced many manufacturers to merge with other firms and form larger enterprises. Fairey Aviation (formerly a division of Bristol) and Saunders-Roe became part of Westland . This led to difficulties in the production of engines for rotorcraft . In the latest configuration (model Y, customer - BEA), the Rotodyne rotorcraft was to be equipped with a Rolls-Royce Tyne theater engine (5,250 hp / 3,910 kW), carry 57-75 passengers or about 8 tons cargo with a cruising speed of 370 km / h. It was promised government funding in the amount of about 5 million pounds. However, for a number of reasons, the British Royal Air Force refused to purchase the device. At the same time, problems with the power plant appeared: Tyne engines did not provide sufficient power for the apparatus with increased speed and carrying capacity, and Rolls-Royce was denied the necessary funding for this part of the program, according to the company, and was invited to carry out design studies on new engines at its own expense . At the same time, it turned out that, despite some developer successes, the noise of the jet bearing rotor could not be reduced to acceptable (for urban operation) limits.
The final point in the fate of Rotodyne was set by BEA's refusal to purchase the device. In the absence of civilian and military orders, government funding for the program was discontinued in early 1962. Immediately after that, the developer, Westland , closed the Rotodyne program.
Flight Performance (Model Y)
Crew : 2
Capacity: 48 (up to 75 in perspective) passengers
Length: 17.9 m
Height: 6.76 m
Diameter of the bearing rotor: 27.4 m
Rotor load: 25 kg / m²
Area swept by the rotor: 591 m²
Take-off weight: 15,000 kg, maximum - 17,000 kg
Powerplant :
4 × jet engines on the tips of the rotor blades
2 × theater Napier Eland, each 2,800 hp (2,100 kW)
Maximum speed : 343 km / h
Range: 830 km
Sources
- Charnov, Dr. Bruce H. From Autogiro to Gyroplane: The Amazing Survival of an Aviation Technology . Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2003. ISBN 978-1-56720-503-9 .
- Gibbings, David. Fairey Rotodyne . Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-7524-4916-6 .
- Winchester, Jim, ed. “Fairey Rotodyne.” Concept Aircraft (The Aviation Factfile). Rochester, Kent, UK: Grange Books plc, 2005. ISBN 1-84013-809-2 .