| G.111/G.11E | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Breguet G.111 in flight | |
| Role | Experimental twin rotor helicopter |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Breguet Aviation |
| Designer | Louis Charles Breguet |
| First flight | 21 May 1949 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Breguet G.111 or alternatively, G.11E was a French passenger coaxial rotors helicopter flown soon after World War II. Only one was built, development ceasing when funding ran out.
Louis Breguet designed his first helicopter, the Breguet-Richet Gyroplane, in 1908 but his 1935 Gyroplane Laboratoire was much more successful. It had no tail rotor but instead had co-axial contra-rotating rotors. After World War II Breguet was approached by the Société Francaises du Gyroplane (SFG, English: French Gyroplane Society) for a helicopter capable of carrying several passengers. Breguet developed his wartime studies of a project named the G.34 into the two-passenger Breguet G.11E, otherwise known as the Société Francaises du Gyroplane G.11E. [1]
Though a much larger aircraft, the G.11E used the same coaxial, three blade twin rotor layout as on the Gyroplane Laboratoire. It was initially powered by a fan cooled 179 kW (240 hp) Potez 9E nine cylinder radial engine mounted amidships, under the concentric rotor shafts. There was 6.5:1 speed reduction gearing between the engine and the rotor drive. [1] [2] The rotors are built around tapered tube spars, which carry ribs and are Dural clad at the leading edges and with alloy over 3-ply elsewhere. They are mounted on flapping hinges and have drag hinge dampers. The control column alters cyclic pitch via a pair of swashplates and pedals make torque corrections and control yaw by changing the relative collective pitch of the two rotors. A mechanical inertial governor limited rotor accelerations; the pilot could increase the collective pitch over that set by the governor but not below it, emergencies apart. [2]
The G.11E's fuselage has a tapered, oval section. The forward part is a light alloy monocoque containing the well glazed cockpit, accessed by two sliding doors. The rear fuselage is a steel tube structure, covered in fabric, bearing a tall T-tail with a moving, one-piece tailplane which corrected the cyclic pitch via the control column to prevent once per revolution pitch oscillations. A wide track undercarriage has main wheels mounted on horizontal V-struts from the fuselage bottom and with a single bracing strut to the mid-fuselage on each side. [1] [2]
The first flight was made on 21 May 1949 but tests showed that the G.11E was underpowered, so a decision was made to replace the Potez engine with a bigger nine-cylinder radial, a 336 kW (450 hp) Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior. The type name was changed to G.111 and some re-design accompanied the power increase; the rotor diameter was increased by 1.00 m (3 ft 3 in) and the fuselage lengthened by 480 mm (1 ft 7 in) to include two more seats so that four passengers could be carried. Empty and maximum weights increased to 1,476 kg (3,254 lb) and 1,476 kg (3,254 lb) respectively. [1]
The G.111 began flight tests in 1951 but these were not completed as SFG were declared bankrupt the following year.
Data fromGaillard (1991) p.91. [1]
General characteristics
Performance
Related lists
The Focke-Wulf Fw 61 is often considered the first practical, functional helicopter, first flown in 1936. It was also known as the Fa 61, as Focke began a new company—Focke-Achgelis—in 1937.
The Yakovlev Yak-24 is a Soviet twin-engine, tandem rotor, transport helicopter developed by Yakovlev in the 1950s. The Yak-24 saw limited use in the Soviet Air Force, and the exact number produced and duration of service are unknown due to inconsistencies in data.
The WZ.X was the Polish reconnaissance aircraft designed in the mid-1920s and manufactured in the Centralne Warsztaty Lotnicze (CWL) - Central Aviation Workshops in Warsaw. It was the first combat aircraft of own design built in Poland, in a small series.
The Fairey Jet Gyrodyne is a British experimental compound gyroplane built by the Fairey Aviation Company that incorporated helicopter, gyrodyne and autogyro characteristics. The Jet Gyrodyne was the subject of a Ministry of Supply (MoS) research contract to gather data for the follow-up design, the Rotodyne.
The Gnome-Rhône 14K Mistral Major was a 14-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial engine. It was Gnome-Rhône's major aircraft engine prior to World War II, and matured into a highly sought-after design that would see licensed production throughout Europe and Japan. Thousands of Mistral Major engines were produced, used on a wide variety of aircraft.
The Gyroplane Laboratoire was an early helicopter. Its designer, Frenchman Louis Breguet, had already experimented with rotorcraft in 1909; however, he chose to concentrate on airplanes until the end of the 1920s. In 1929 he announced a set of patents which addressed the flight stabilization of rotorcraft, and, in 1931, Breguet created the Syndicat d'Etudes de Gyroplane, together with Rene Dorand as technical director. Their goal was the development of an experimental helicopter, the Gyroplane Laboratoire.
The Fairey FB-1 Gyrodyne is an experimental British rotorcraft that used single lifting rotor and a tractor propeller mounted on the tip of the starboard stub wing to provide both propulsion and anti-torque reaction.
The Breguet-Richet Gyroplane was an early French experimental quadcopter rotary-wing aircraft developed by Breguet Aviation.
The Potez 62 was a French twin-engine civil airliner, designed by Henry Potez in 1934. The French military adapted this airframe two-years later to create the Potez 650.
The SNCAC NC.211 Cormoran was a large four-engined military transport aircraft for passengers and cargo designed and built by SNCAC from 1945.
The de Bothezat helicopter, also known as the Jerome-de Bothezat Flying Octopus, was an experimental quadrotor helicopter built for the United States Army Air Service by George de Bothezat in the early 1920s, and was said at the time to be the first successful helicopter. Although its four massive six-bladed rotors allowed the craft to fly successfully, it suffered from complexity, control difficulties, and high pilot workload, and was reportedly only capable of forward flight in a favorable wind. The Army canceled the program in 1924, and the aircraft was scrapped.
The Avian 2/180 Gyroplane was a two-seat, single-engine autogyro built in Canada in the 1960s. Several prototypes were built but production was not achieved.
The Hafner A.R.III Gyroplane was a British 1930s experimental autogyro designed by Austrian Raoul Hafner, and built by the A.R.III Construction Company at Denham, Buckinghamshire.
The Bernard 160 was a three engine, multi-role monoplane designed in the early 1930s to meet a French government call for aircraft suited to policing and medical duties in its African colonies. Two prototypes were built and tested, but no further orders were placed.
The GT-Gyroplanes Kruza (Cruiser) is an Australian autogyro, designed by brothers Geoff and Alistair Morrison and produced by GT-Gyroplanes of Moama, New South Wales. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.
The Potez 220 was a prototype French twin-engined, three-seat reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraft. Two examples were built in 1939, but no production followed.
The SNCAC NC.2001 Abeille was a single engine, twin intermeshing rotor helicopter designed and built in France in the late 1940s. Three were completed but only one flew, development ending when SNCAC was closed.
The Nord 1700 Norélic or SNCAN N.1700 Norélic was a French helicopter with several novel control features. Only one prototype was built, though it was intended to lead to series production.
The SNCASE SE-3110 or Sud-Est SE-3110 was a French two seat experimental helicopter with unusual twin, angled tail rotors, first flown in 1950. After brief tests SNCASE decided to concentrate on a closely related but single-tail-rotor design.
The Rigault-Deproux RD-3 was a tourism gyroplane built by the French company Rigault-Deproux in the 1960s.
