Rotor kite

Last updated
A Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 rotor kite FA-330 Bachstelze2.jpg
A Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 rotor kite

A rotor kite or gyrokite is an unpowered, rotary-wing aircraft. Like an autogyro or helicopter, it relies on lift created by one or more sets of rotors in order to fly. Unlike a helicopter, gyrokites and rotor kites do not have an engine powering their rotors, but while an autogyro has an engine providing forward thrust that keeps the rotor turning, a rotor kite has no engine at all, and relies on either being carried aloft and dropped from another aircraft, or by being towed into the air behind a car or boat or by use of ambient winds for the kiting. As of 2009, no country in the world requires a license to pilot such a craft.[ citation needed ]

Contents

History

Research into rotor kites or gyrokites was deepened during World War II, and one type in particular, the Focke Achgelis Fa 330, reached active service, being towed behind German U-boats as an aerial observation platform. In the United Kingdom, Raoul Hafner designed the Rotachute as a means of deploying paratroops, and a larger version, the Rotabuggy, was trialled as a means of air-dropping a jeep, but neither of these aircraft progressed past the experimental stage. Plans to similarly equip a tank never left the drawing board.

During the 1950s, rotor kites were developed as recreational aircraft, largely due to the efforts of Dr. Igor Bensen in the United States, whose Bensen Aircraft Corporation produced a series of such aircraft, dubbed "gyrogliders" by Bensen. These were marketed as plans or kits for building at home, beginning with the B-5 and culminating with the B-8 by the end of the decade. The Bensen designs became so ubiquitous that the term "gyroglider" is sometimes used to refer to any rotor kite, regardless of manufacturer. In the 1960s, a B-8 gyroglider was evaluated by the United States Air Force as a "Discretionary Descent Vehicle", to provide a more controllable alternative than a parachute for a pilot ejecting from a stricken aircraft.

Manned rotor kites

Unmanned rotor-kites

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autogyro</span> Rotorcraft with unpowered rotor

An autogyro, or gyroplane, is a class of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. While similar to a helicopter rotor in appearance, the autogyro's unpowered rotor disc must have air flowing upward across it to make it rotate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan de la Cierva</span> Spanish engineer and count (1895–1936)

Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu, 1st Count of la Cierva was a Spanish civil engineer, pilot and a self-taught aeronautical engineer. His most famous accomplishment was the invention in 1920 of a rotorcraft called Autogiro, a single-rotor type of aircraft that came to be called autogyro in the English language. In 1923, after four years of experimentation, De la Cierva developed the articulated rotor, which resulted in the world's first successful flight of a stable rotary-wing aircraft, with his C.4 prototype.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Focke-Wulf Fw 61</span> First practical, functional helicopter, first flown in 1936

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Focke-Achgelis</span> Defunct German helicopter manufacturer

Focke-Achgelis & Co. G.m.b.H. was a German helicopter company founded in 1937 by Henrich Focke and Gerd Achgelis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrich Focke</span> German aviation pioneer

Henrich Focke was a German aviation pioneer from Bremen and also a co-founder of the Focke-Wulf company. He is best known as the inventor of the Fw 61, the first successful German helicopter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bensen B-8</span> Small, single-seat autogyro

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache</span> 1940 helicopter series by Focke-Achgelis

The Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache was a helicopter developed by Germany during World War II. A single 750-kilowatt (1,010 hp) Bramo 323 radial engine powered two three-bladed 11.9-metre (39 ft) rotors mounted on twin booms on either side of the 12.2-metre-long (40 ft) cylindrical fuselage. Although the Fa 223 is noted for being the first helicopter to attain production status, production of the helicopter was hampered by Allied bombing of the factory, and only 20 were built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotorcraft</span> Heavier-than-air aircraft which generates lift over rotating wings

A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines a rotorcraft as "supported in flight by the reactions of the air on one or more rotors".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Focke-Achgelis Fa 330</span> Type of rotary-wing kite

The Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 Bachstelze was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see further.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raoul Hafner</span>

Raoul Hafner, (1905–1980) FEng, FRAes, was an Austrian-born British helicopter pioneer and engineer. He made a distinctive contribution to the British aerospace industry, particularly in the development of helicopters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hafner Rotabuggy</span> Type of aircraft

The Hafner Rotabuggy was a British experimental aircraft that was essentially a Willys MB combined with a rotor kite, developed with the intention of producing a way of air-dropping off-road vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bensen B-7</span> Type of aircraft

The Bensen B-7 was a small rotor kite developed by Igor Bensen in the United States in the 1950s and marketed for home building. It was a refined to be a slightly larger version of the B-6, replacing the skids with a tricycle undercarriage, and adding a single large fin to the rear of the aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igor Bensen</span>

Igor Vasilevich Bensen was a Russian-American engineer. He founded Bensen Aircraft, a US company which produced a successful line of gyrogliders and autogyros.

The Bensen B-5 was a small rotor kite developed by Igor Bensen in the United States and offered and marketed for home building in 1954. Dubbed the "Gyro-Glider", it was the first of several such designs that would be sold by Bensen Aircraft Corporation over the following decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Focke-Achgelis Fa 225</span> Experimental German WWII rotary-wing glider

The Focke-Achgelis Fa 225 was an experimental single-seat rotary wing glider built in Nazi Germany by Focke-Achgelis in 1942. Only a single example was constructed.

The Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment (AFEE) was a branch of the British Air Ministry, that researched and developed non-traditional airborne applications, such as gliders, rotary wing aircraft, and dropping of personnel and equipment by parachute, in the period 1942–1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hafner Rotachute</span> Type of aircraft

The Hafner H.8 Rotachute was a British 1940s experimental one-man rotor kite designed by Raoul Hafner.

References

  1. Patent US464412
  2. US966143
  3. Gyro Hang Glider Tow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JrT8bKQB0A
  4. "Shumeiko gyro hang glider".
  5. "Stephan Nitsch - 23.06.1956 - 09.08.2008". www.jumpnfly.de.vu. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2022.