The Fairey Rotodyne was a compound helicopter of unprecedented size
at the time of it's first flight on 6 Nov. 1957, having originally been
ordered by the then British Ministry of Supply, later the ministry of Aviation, in
August of 1953.
A development of the earlier
Fairey Gyrodyne prototypes,
which had established a number of British helicopter records, the Rotodyne
featured a large rotor powered by air bled from two wingtip mounted Napier
Eland turboprops, using the rotor for vertical take-offs, landings and
hovering, while full power was applied to the tractor propellers of the turbo
props for forward flight.
The first flight using the tractor propellers was on 10 April 1958, while on
January 5th 1959, the Rotodyne established a
helicopter speed record over a closed circuit of 307 km/h. The prototype
Rotodyne was a three-crew, forty-passenger machine, itself a remarkable
achievment for it's day but on the acquisition of Fairey, Westland Aircraft
proposed to develop the Rotodyne into a production aircraft capable of
carrying between 57 and 75 passengers and using two of the new 5,250 shp
Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprops to give a cruising speed of 370 km/h, and the
ability to carry up to 6.700 Kgs of freight including standard-width British
Army vehicles.
However, an initial order for twelve production Rotodynes for
the Royal Air Force did not materialize, and after initial interest from
British European Airways, the state owned domestic service and European
international airline, did not develop into a firm order, the project was
abandoned in February 1962
First Flight : November 6, 1957
Engines: 2 * 2.800 hp Napier Eland NEL7 Cruise Speed: 300 km/h Range: 700 km Weight: Max: 14.900 Kgs Rotor Span: 27.43 m Length: 17.88 m Height: 6.76 m Disc Area: 591 m2
