Kaman, Charles

Charles Kaman was trained as an aviation engineer at the Catholic University of Washington, worked for Hamilton Standard, and designed rotors for the first helicopters by Igor Sikorsky . In 1945, he left the post of chief aerodynamics specialist Hamilton in an independent business, having founded the company Kaman Aircraft. With an initial capital of $ 2,000, in two years Kaman built his first synchroopter helicopter, the Kaman K-125 , and in 1949 he received the first contracts from the US Department of Defense . In 1951 he lifted the first helicopter equipped with a gas turbine engine , in 1954 - a prototype with two gas turbine engines, in 1957 - the first unmanned helicopter. ^[one]

Helicopters

The first production car of Kaman was the training two - rotor K-240 - 29 units were built by 1959-1953 by order of the US Navy , which served until 1957. From 1951 until the end of his life, Kaman remained a “naval” designer - all of his production models were built by order of the Navy. The second production model, the two-rotor rescue HH-43 , was produced in 1959-1969 (a total of 365 units) and, in addition to the US Navy, served in the armed forces of six states.

The third production helicopter, UH-2 , was built in the usual way with a single main rotor, based on a prototype that won the 1956 naval competition for a multi-purpose ground and deck based machine. Due to extremely tense state tests, the car was not launched into the series until December 1962. The Seasprite version with the additional horizontal throttle engine was the fastest helicopter of its time (360 km / h), but it did not go into series. In 1964, the base Seasprite was officially recognized as the safest helicopter of the US armed forces. ^[2] In 1963, it was planned to launch an army version (UH-2 Tomahawk), but due to political changes after the assassination of President Kennedy, deliveries did not take place. The naval UH-2, which was produced in the SH-2 version until the mid-1980s, is still in service with NATO .

In December 1991, shortly after Kaman left the post of managing director of Kaman Aircraft, his latest design - the “ flying crane ” (syncopter) K-MAX , the only helicopter in the world designed from the ground up for the purpose of transporting goods on an external load, flew into the sky. ^[one]

Music and social activities

Kaman, professionally engaged in vibration problems, was a good amateur guitarist and independently made guitars, experimenting with various materials. The result of these experiments was the 1966 Ovation guitar, which combined a traditional wooden deck and a rounded resonator body made of modern polymers. ^[3] Kaman’s musical inventions included the manufacturing of carbon fiber guitar decks ^[4] , the construction of piano decks ^[5] , etc. The then-established Kaman Music guitar company eventually became an important part of the family’s business, and its profits were supported by helicopter unit during periods of lack of money. Thanks to this support, Kaman Helicopter Plants never reduced the number of employees who actually served in the “lifelong hiring” regime until 1993. Over time, Kaman Music bought up dozens of independent instrument manufacturers, and at the end of 2007 it was sold to Fender .

Since 1981, the Kaman couple have maintained the only New England charitable dog kennel - guide for the blind. ^[6]

According to the official statement of the current Kaman Corp. management, Charles Kaman has been “disabled” since 2001 and does not take part in the activities of enterprises bearing his name. ^[7]

• The American inventor of the synchroopter (Neopr.) Died . lenta.ru (2011-2-2). Date of treatment February 2, 2011. Archived March 2, 2012.