Hiller ROE Rotorcycle
Hiller ROE | |
---|---|
A YROE-1 hovering in front of the Ames Hangar on 6 November 1963 | |
Role | ultralight helicopter
|
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Hiller Aircraft Saunders-Roe |
First flight | November 1956 |
Introduction | 1957 |
Retired | 1961 |
Primary user | United States Marine Corps |
Number built | 12 |
The Hiller ROE Rotorcycle was a single-seat
Development
The helicopter folded up and could be carried on a sled-like carrier by two people or could be air-dropped to pilots trapped behind enemy lines. The Marines did not accept the YROE due to its low performance, vulnerability to small-arms fire and the lack of visual references on the structure. This problem could cause the pilot to experience spatial disorientation at all but very low altitudes.[1] The YROE or ROE never saw military service.[4]
In 1954, the United States Navy′s Bureau of Aeronautics selected Hiller to build its proposed design of a one-man helicopter. The XROE Rotocycle completed flight testing in mid-1957.[5]
It was demonstrated at the
Production was by Saunders-Roe, which made five for the United States Marine Corps and five for Helicop-Air of Paris.[7]
A Porsche engine of 62 hp (46 kW) developed for the YROE completed trials by 1961.[8]
Variants
- XROE-1
- 2 prototypes built as Model 1033 at the Hiller Helicopter Plant in Palo Alto, California[4]
- The first flight in November 1956[9]
- YROE-1
- 5 test versions built by British Saunders-Roe company
One donated to the Smithsonian Institution after completion of its testing in 1961[9] - ROE-1
- 5 production built by Saunders-Roe (built ten production models, including the five YROE-1s)[9]
Specifications
Data from NASM : Hiller YROE-1 Rotorcycle,[9] Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59[10]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
- Height: 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
- Empty weight: 309 lb (140 kg)
- Gross weight: 562 lb (255 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 9.1 US gal (8 imp gal; 34 L)[citation needed]
- Powerplant: 1 × Nelson H-63 4-cylinder air-cooled 2-stroke horizontally-opposed piston engine, 40 hp (30 kW) [3]
- (later 43 hp (32 kW) Nelson YO-65-2)
- Main rotor diameter: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
- Main rotor area: 268.8 sq ft (24.97 m2) 2-bladed main rotor
- Blade section: NACA 0015[11]
Performance
- Maximum speed: 70 mph (110 km/h, 61 kn)
- Cruise speed: 52 mph (84 km/h, 45 kn)
- Range: 166 mi (267 km, 144 nmi) with 170 lb (77 kg) pilot and 86 lb (39 kg) of fuel[2]
- Service ceiling: 13,200 ft (4,000 m)
- Hover ceiling IGE: 9,200 ft (2,804 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,160 ft/min (5.9 m/s)
Survivors
- XROE-1, on display at Hiller Aviation Museum, San Carlos, California
- YROE-1, ser. no. 4021, on display at Hiller Aviation Museum
- YROE-1, on display at Washington, DC
- YROE-1, N4230U, ser. no. 4024, El Cajon, California[12]
- YROE-1, N777MV, ser. no. 4020, Minicopter Inc., Saginaw, Texas[13]
- YROE-1, third one in production on display at Evergreen Aviation Museum[14]
- XROE-1, repainted in blue, powered by a Rotax 503 and renamed "fantacopter", in working order at Bois-la-Pierre, France.[15]
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
- Notes
- ^ a b NASM: Hiller YROE-1 Rotorcycle
- ^ a b Hiller Museum: Rotocycle Archived 2009-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Apostolo, p. 68
- ^ a b Helicópteros:The Site
- ^ "Helicopters of the World: USA", Flight: 693, 15 May 1959
- ^ "Rotorcycle on View Here", The Washington Post and Times-Herald, Washington, D.C., Tuesday 1 April 1958, Volume 81, Number 117, page A8.
- ^ "From All Quarters" (PDF), Flight: 610, 11 May 1961
- ^ "VTOL International Survey", Flight: 638, 11 May 1961
- ^ a b c d "Hiller YROE-1 Rotorcycle". National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ^ Bridgman, Leonard, ed. (1958). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59. London: Jane's All the World's Aircraft Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 315.
- ^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ AirportData: N4230U
- ^ AirportData: N777MV
- ^ "SkyControl: YROE-1". Archived from the original on 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ "Hiller XROE-1". Archived from the original on 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
- Bibliography
- Apostolo, Giorgio. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters. New York: Bonanza Books. 1984. ISBN 978-0-517-43935-7.