For Sale: Autogiros

For Sale Autogiros

One day in August 1929 the crowds at the National Air Races in Cleveland tittered with amused wonderment to see a winged windmill plump itself down like a weary old hen in midfield. Since then the U. S. public has known, more or less vaguely, that the weird machine was an autogiro; that it was supposed to rise almost vertically, descend slowly and vertically; that it was undergoing some sort of experiments at the hands of its inventor, Senor Juan de la Cierva and its U. S. promoter, Harold F. Pitcairn, manufacturer of airplanes. But it was still a strange and dubious invention, remote from any popular notion of practical flying -- until last week when two things happened: 1) Autogiro Co. of America advertised to the public that autogiros may now be bought, and 2) Detroit News bought and received the first commercial autogiro in the world. Next month one will be taken by Standard Oil Co. of New York and one by Horizon Co., subsidiary of Silver Brook Anthracite Co. specially formed to operate the ship because the coal company's rules forbid its officers to fly. Last month the Navy ordered one for experiment (TIME, Feb. 9). Some purport to see in the autogiro the means of putting aviation on a new basis, viz, the long-dreamed of "flying for everybody." The autogiro can take off from a space no larger than 100 ft., land on a spot considerably smaller, practically anywhere. It can fly 120 m. p. h. or 20 m. p. h., maintaining perfect stability in either case. If the motor should "conk," the autogiro would behave exactly as if the pilot had deliberately shut off the power for a landing : it would settle earth ward at 14 ft. per sec. (slower than the drop of a man with a parachute), while the pilot maneuvered toward a flat space -- say 50 ft. square (a front lawn, perhaps) for a perfect landing. And what is all-important, those operations are much simpler than piloting an airplane. Even the novice could do little damage unless he flew the autogiro directly into collision, or landed it on a church steeple, powerline, or crowded street. First complete description of the autogiro, with technical details, appeared last week in the March issue of FORTUNE.

The Machine. An autogiro has a fuselage and tail surfaces like that of the conventional airplane; also it has the usual motor & propeller in its nose, and uncommonly wide landing gear. But in place of a wing is an abortive stub with upturned tips, affixed as on a low-wing monoplane, to provide lateral stability, to carry the ailerons and to provide a mounting for the undercarriage. The real supporting surfaces (i. e. wings) are embodied in four great rotating blades, or vanes, affixed to an upright tripod. It is this rotor that gives the ship its windmill appearance and that accounts for its amazing stability. Because the blades are turned not by the engine but simply by the wind induced by the ship's motion, the rotor is not a propeller, and the autogiro is not to be confused with a helicopter. Rotation of the rotors cannot stop so long as the craft is in the air.

At takeoff, the rotor is started turning by a self-starter, a clutch device which draws 10 h. p. from the engine. In a few seconds the blades are turning 120 r. p. m. and the autogiro may begin to rise with a run of between 10 ft. and 100 ft. In full forward flight the rotor provides about 80% of the lift; in vertical descent, practically 100%. The autogiro need not drop vertically, may approach a landing in a normal airplane glide.

Important feature of the rotor is the freedom of each blade to move, by hinges, up and down or laterally during rotation. At rest, the blades droop downward at a slight angle. Light cables keep them from collapsing entirely. In flight the upward pressure of air might be expected to shoot the blades upward like the ribs of an umbrella turned inside out by the wind, but centrifugal force holds them firmly, lending them a strength far exceeding the strength of their own materials. But all four blades cannot behave in the same manner at the same time while the autogiro is flying at 100 m. p. h. The advancing blade, having the forward speed of the ship added to its own rotational speed, would have a tendency to lift, like any airplane wing, throwing the craft off balance. The receding blade, losing forward speed, would contribute to the same effect by drooping. Hence, the hinging allows the blades to work up and down freely without tipping the machine. Until that principle of "articulation" was worked out and applied by Senor de la Cierva in 1923, after four years of labor, his autogiros would scuttle along the ground, but they would not fly.

The principal objection to the autogiro as it stands today must be considered without thought of the element of safety in the craft. It is the three-fold interlocking item of price, speed, fuel cost. The autogiro flies somewhat slower and at a greater fuel consumption than an ordinary airplane of the same price. However, the designers declare that the possibilities of streamlining and other refinements have barely been touched. Inventor. Chubby, wealthy Juan de la Cierva, 37, is son of a Spanish statesman and lawyer. His father has been Minister of War, Minister of the Interior, last week was appointed Minister of Public Works in the newly formed Aznar Cabinet. The younger de la Cierva, at 15, built with two young friends what he believes was the first successful airplane ever to be constructed in Spain. In 1919 he built the second tri-motor in the world. It flew well, but a test pilot unaccustomed to such craft banked it too low, side slipped it into a heap of wreckage. Then it was that Senor de la Cierva determined that aviation would need a ship that could be flown slow as well as fast, low as well as high, in safety. In all the crack-ups that attended experimentation -- and they were not numerous -- no one was seriously hurt, not even before de la Cierva learned how to build a rotor that would not fly itself to pieces. Promoter. In sharp contrast to the flamboyant, drum-beating promoter who caused the disastrous aviation "boom" of three years ago, stands Harold F. Pitcairn, 34. Lean, conservative, outwardly humorless, he is third son of the late John Pitcairn, founder of Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. The elder Pitcairn, a follower of the Swedish philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg, gave land near the family home at Bryn Athyn, Pa. for the beautiful Swedenborgian Cathedral (New Jerusalem Church) which now stands there. All of the family maintain a lively interest in the church, and Harold received part of his schooling in its academy. Like de la Cierva, Harold Pitcairn learned to fly as a youngster, but he did not engage seriously in aviation until 1924. He founded Pit cairn Aircraft Co. at Willow Grove, Pa., and in 1925 went to Spain to discuss the autogiro with de la Cierva. In 1928 he brought the first autogiro to the U. S. and with part of the fortune which he realized from sale of his profitable New York-Atlanta airmail route to the Curtiss-Keys group, he purchased the right to develop the autogiro in. this country. Thereafter he and the inventor worked silently and exceedingly hard--and practically solely with Pitcairn money--to bring the autogiro to a point of commercial feasibility. They formed Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro Co., now Autogiro Co. of America, for engineering and development and to license other companies to manufacture the autogiro for sale. At present there are two licensees--Pitcairn Aircraft Inc. of Willow Grove, Pa. and Kellett Aircraft Co. of Philadelphia. Other companies are said to be negotiating for rights. The autogiros sold were built by Pitcairn. They are special three-place jobs, powered with a Wright 300 h. p. J-6 motor and capable of 125 m. p. h. The sale price was $15,000. The light two-place sport model to be offered the public will be somewhat slower, will cost between $6,000 and $7,000.

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