Cierva CR Twin

Last updated

CR Twin
Cierva Grasshopper.JPG
Cierva Grasshopper III on display at the Helicopter Museum (Weston).
RoleUtility helicopter
Manufacturer Cierva Autogiro Company / Rotorcraft Ltd
DesignerJ S Shapiro
First flight18 August 1969
Number built3

The Cierva CR Twin (originally designated CR LTH.1 and also known as the Grasshopper III) was a five-seat utility helicopter that first flew in the UK in 1969. It was a joint development between Cierva Autogiro Company and Rotorcraft now a subsidiary of Cierva, based on the dynamic systems of the latter company's Grasshopper design. A new, highly streamlined pod-and-boom fuselage was married to the Grasshopper's coaxial rotor system, and the new aircraft registered G-AWRP first flew on 18 August 1969.

Contents

Two further prototypes followed, G-AXFM later in 1969 and G-AZAU in 1971, this latter example fitted with 210 hp Continental IO-360-D engines in place of the Rolls-Royce Continental O-300 units of the first two machines. Financial backing could not be obtained for further development, and the project was abandoned by 1975. The first prototype is preserved at The Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare.

Variants

Specifications

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1971-72 [1]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related Research Articles

Saunders-Roe Skeeter Type of aircraft

The Saunders-Roe Skeeter was a two-seat training and scout helicopter that was developed and produced by British manufacturer Saunders-Roe ("Saro") of Cowes and Southampton, in the United Kingdom.

Aerotécnica AC-12 Type of aircraft

The Aerotécnica AC-12Pepo is a Spanish two-seat light helicopter manufactured in 1956 by Aerotécnica.

Aerotécnica AC-14 Type of aircraft

The Aerotécnica AC-14 was a Spanish five-seat light helicopter of the 1950s, designed by Jean Cantinieau, based on enlarging his Nord Norelfe design.

Agusta A.115 1961 Italian light helicopter prototype

The Agusta A.115 was a prototype helicopter flown in 1961 in Italy. It was essentially a Bell 47J-3 with an unclad, tubular tail boom, and powered by a Turbomeca Astazou II turboshaft engine. No production ensued.

Agusta A.101 Type of aircraft

The Agusta A.101 was a large prototype transport helicopter developed in Italy during the 1960s. Despite prospective orders from the Italian armed forces, no buyers emerged and the project was abandoned in 1971.

Agusta A.103 1959 Italian prototype light helicopter

The Agusta A.103 was an Italian prototype single-seat light helicopter flown in October 1959. The pilot was enclosed by a perspex bubble with the engine at the rear and the tail rotor carried on an enclosed boom.

Agusta A.104 1960 Italian prototype light helicopter

The Agusta A.104 Helicar was an Italian prototype light commercial helicopter first flown in December 1960.

The AISA GN was a prototype four-seat autogyro developed in Spain between 1971 and 1982. it featured an extensively-glazed cabin fitted with a pusher engine and tricycle undercarriage. A separate tail fin was carried at the end of two booms mounted to stub wings. The prototype was developed with a 200 hp engine. The aircraft suffered from an extremely prolonged development, but finally took to the air on 20 July 1982. Shortly thereafter, however, it was damaged and finally abandoned.

Fairey FB-1 Gyrodyne Type of aircraft

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.

MBB Bo 209 Monsun Two-seat light single engine aircraft developed in Germany in1968 by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm

The MBB Bo 209 Monsun is a two-seat light aircraft that was developed in West Germany in the late 1960s.

Doman LZ-5 Utility helicopter prototype

The Doman LZ-5 was a utility helicopter developed in the United States in the early 1950s by Doman Helicopters Inc. of Danbury, Connecticut. Despite the procurement of international manufacturing agreements, no series production of the aircraft ever occurred, and only three prototypes were built. Two of these were purchased by the United States Army as the YH-31, but eventually becoming VH-31.

Cierva C.8

The Cierva C.8 was an experimental autogyro built by Juan de la Cierva in England in 1926 in association with Avro. Like Cierva's earlier autogyros, the C.8s were based on existing fixed-wing aircraft fuselages – in this case, the Avro 552.

Robin HR100

The Robin HR100 is a French four-seat light monoplane, designed by Chris Heintz and built by Avions Pierre Robin as metal-winged version of the Robin DR253 Regent.

Maule M-4 American light aircraft

The Maule M-4 is an American four-seat cabin monoplane designed by Belford Maule and built by the Maule Aircraft Company.

HTM Skytrac Type of aircraft

The HTM Skytrac was a light utility helicopter developed in Germany in the 1960s and 70s. A later four-seat version was known as the Skyrider. Despite achieving certification from the German aviation authorities and firm orders from customers, the Skytrac was never produced in series.

Kellett XR-10

The Kellett XR-10 was a military transport helicopter developed in the United States in the 1940s that only flew in prototype form. It was designed in response to a USAAF Technical Instruction issued for the development of a helicopter to transport passengers, cargo, or wounded personnel within an enclosed fuselage. Kellett's proposal followed the general layout that the company was developing in the XR-8, with twin intermeshing rotors, and was accepted by the Air Force on 16 October over proposals by Sikorsky, Bell, and Platt-LePage.

The Scheutzow Model B or Scheutzow Bee was a two-seat utility helicopter developed in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Omega BS-12 was a utility helicopter with high ground clearance designed to carry loads behind the cabin at, or near, the center of gravity.

The VTOL Aircraft Phillicopter is a 1970s Australian light utility helicopter designed and built by VTOL Aircraft of Newcastle West, New South Wales.

Filper Research Beta

The Filper Research Beta series of 100A/200A/300/400A variants was an American tandem rotor helicopter program. The unusual design was the first helicopter using the "Gyroflex" system and was developed and funded by Filper Research, which was primarily a research unit at the Filper Corporation canning company.

References

Notes
  1. Taylor 1971, pp.186-187.
Bibliography