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Prior to World War II, aeronautical engineers sought to build aircraft capable of making short takeoffs and landings (STOL). Eventually, their efforts produced the helicopter, but they also pursued a less common design, the autogiro. Like helicopters, autogiros used a rotary wing to produce lift, but unlike helicopters, the engine did not power the autogiro's rotor. Aerodynamic forces made the autogiro rotor spin, while the engine propelled the aircraft. Between the Great Wars, the United States Army realized that it needed a very slow-flying aircraft for observing enemy forces. The autogiro would seem to fit the bill. Predecessors of the Aerospace Systems Directorate tested versions of these aircraft at (then) Wright Field and demonstrated them in Washington D.C. The Kellett YG-1 was the first rotorcraft purchased by the Army Air Corps. Later, the XO-60 and YO-60 were purchased. The aircraft’s ability to slowly loiter over an area, takeoff and land nearly vertically, made them ideal for observation duties.
| Date Taken: | 09.06.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2024 07:21 |
| Story ID: | 480260 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 28 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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