Brock KB-2 Freedom Machine | |
---|---|
Ken Brock at Oshkosh 2001 | |
Role | Autogyro |
National origin | United States of America |
Manufacturer | Ken Brock Mfg |
Designer | Ken Brock |
First flight | 1970 |
Developed from | Brock KB-1 Gyroplane |
The KB-2 Freedom Machine is an autogyro designed by Ken Brock based on the designs of the Bensen B-8. [1] [2]
Ken Brock was an early innovator in homebuilt gyrocopters starting with his first ride in 1957. [3] Brock set to work on building and marketing a series of homebuilt gyroplanes with the KB-1 and later the KB-2. [4]
Ken Brock used his KB-2 design for years in airshow acts and completed several world records. In 1971 he completed the first coast-to-coast autogyro flight from Long Beach, California to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. [5]
A 1970 demonstrator KB-2 is in the EAA Airventure Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Data from EAA
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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The Bensen B-8 is a small, single-seat autogyro developed in the United States in the 1950s. Although the original manufacturer stopped production in 1987, plans for homebuilders are still available as of 2019. Its design was a refinement of the Bensen B-7, and like that aircraft, the B-8 was initially built as an unpowered rotor-kite. It first flew in this form in 1955, and on 6 December a powered version, designated B-8M first flew. The design proved to be extremely popular and long-lasting, with thousands of sets of plans sold over the next thirty years.
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