Flettner Fl 185

Last updated
Fl 185
Flettner-185.jpg
RoleAutogyro/helicopter
ManufacturerFlettner
Designer Anton Flettner
First flight 1936
Number built1

The Flettner Fl 185 was an experimental German gyrodyne developed by Anton Flettner, a machine which could fly both as a helicopter and as a gyroplane.

Contents

Design and development

This aircraft was developed in 1936 with support of the Kriegsmarine . It was powered by a 160 horsepower (120 kW) BMW-Bramo Sh 14 A radial piston engine with forced-air cooling, mounted at the nose. The engine drove a 12 m diameter main rotor and two auxiliary propellers mounted on outriggers attached to the fuselage.

At take-off or when hovering, the auxiliary propellers worked in opposition to each other and served to cancel the torque of the main rotor, [1] a function handled by a single, variable-pitch tail rotor on contemporary helicopters. In forward flight, however, both propellers worked to provide forward thrust while the rotor autorotated, as in a twin-engined autogyro. [1] The landing gear consisted of a nose-wheel, two smaller stabilising wheels under the outriggers and a tail skid. Only one prototype was constructed.

Specifications (Fl 185)

Data from [2]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Ford, Roger (2013). Germany's Secret Weapons of World War II. London, United Kingdom: Amber Books. p. 224. ISBN   9781909160569.
  2. "Flettner Fl 185" . Retrieved 20 December 2012.

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References

Further reading