McDonnell XV-1

McDonnell XV-1 during the wind tunnel tests at the NACA

The McDonnell XV-1 was an autogyro that had a switchable blade tip drive on the main rotor at the start.

history

The experimental aircraft was developed in the early 1950s by Kurt Hohenemser and Friedrich von Doblhoff at McDonnell Aircraft Corporation in order to research technically possible speeds during rotor flight. The speed of classic helicopters in straight flight is limited by the one-sided loss of lift as the rotor blades move back when they turn. Propulsion was provided by a normal piston engine (a radial engine R-975 from Continental Motors ) that propelled a propeller behind the fuselage. At the start, however, the engine output was coupled to two compressors. The tail unitwas carried by two outriggers. The XV-1 flew for the first time on February 11, 1954 without being tethered. On October 10, 1955, an autogyro exceeded 200 mph (320 km / h) for the first time. Two machines were built before the program was discontinued in 1957.

Web links

Commons : McDonnell XV-1  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Smithsonian Institution: McDonnell XV-1 Convertiplane (accessed September 8, 2011)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Franklin D. Harris: An Overview of Autogyros and The McDonnell XV-1 Convertiplane, NASA / CR-2003-212799 p. 27 online (PDF; 14.2 MB)