WA-116 Agile | |
---|---|
Little Nellie, pictured with its creator Ken Wallis in the cockpit. | |
Role | Single-seat autogyro |
National origin | United Kingdom |
Manufacturer | Wallis Autogyros Limited |
Designer | Ken Wallis |
First flight | 2 August 1961 |
Number built | 10+ |
The Wallis WA-116 Agile is a British autogyro developed in the early 1960s by former Royal Air Force Wing Commander Ken Wallis. The aircraft was produced in a number of variants, one of which, nicknamed Little Nellie, was flown in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice . Little Nellie and another sixteen of his autogyros are currently on static display with his second cousin at Wallis & Son Land Rover showrooms in Barton, Cambs.
Wing Commander Ken Wallis, a former RAF pilot, developed a number of improvements to the autogyro design, including the offset gimbal rotor head which gives the autogyro hands-off stability. [1] Wallis' first prototype autogyro, registered G-ARRT, was first flown on 2 August 1961. [2]
In 1962, five WA-116s were built by Beagle Aircraft at Shoreham, three of which were for evaluation by the British Army Air Corps. Wallis flew one of these aircraft, XR942, at that year's Farnborough Air Show. [2]
In 1966, one of the Beagle-built WA-116s, registered G-ARZB, was modified for use in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice . [3] Little Nellie was named after legendary music hall performer Nellie Wallace. [4]
Few Wallis autogyros have been operated privately, with nearly all of them being used for research and demonstration flying by Wallis himself. [3] Wallis withdrew all his autogyros from use by anyone other than himself, after the crash of WA-117 G-AXAR at the 1970 Farnborough Air Show. [5]
Data from British Civil Aircraft since 1919 – Volume 3, [2] Flight 31 March 1966 : The Wallis Autogyros [8]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
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