ROADABLE AUTOGIRO

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19134, 1 October 1936, Page 12

ROADABLE AUTOGIRO

EXPERIMENTS IN BRITAIN

SOLVING ’DROME PROBLEM

HIGHWAY OR AIRWAY

(From a Special Correspondent) LONDON, Aug. 18

British and American engineers arc co-operating in one of the most interesting personal travel experiments of recent years. Us object is tne production of a two-scat readable autogiro ior the American Department of Commerce. A British ncro-engine is being fitted. The machine is a development of the “autodynamic” or direct take-off gyroplane. It gives motor-car accommodation, with a closed cabin and side-by-side seating), and it will run on the road or in the air. When the travellers decide 1o exchange the highway for the airway they extend the machine’s rotor blades, do a jump lake-off and conlinnc their journey as a fully * fledged uutogiro. Fascinating possibilities are opened up by the design of this readable autogiro for it, embodies a solution to the problem of terminal communications for pri-

vat-e aeroplane owners. Largo air-line organisations are able without difficulty to provide their own road transport to and from their aerodromes; but the private aeroplane owner must usually rely upon being able to hire a car. The roadable autogiro, if it fulfils the expectations ,of its designers, will bo able to give door-to-door communications to its owner without forcing him at any time to call upon the public transport organisations. -10 IT.r. PER LITRE The undercarriage has three wheels, and these are also the road wheels. Two arc at the front and are used for steering and one is at the rear and is used for driving. A supercharged Pobjoy .Niagara engine is installed behind the pilot’s seat and the drive is taken direct from the crankshaft to the airscrew reduction gear-box which is behind the airscrew itself. A special study has been made of the controls so as to simplify as much as possible the duties which tho driver or pilot must perform. More than 40 h.p. per litre is developed by the supercharged Niagara engine, the maximum power obtained lining 125 brake horse power at 4000 revolutions per minute. The rated output is 110 b.li.p. at 5.500 r.p.ni. The method of supercharging is by means of a centrifugal blower driven through double reduction gears and centrifugal clutches. At normal engine speed tho blower spins at 21,400 revolutions per minute. The swept volume of the engine is 2.838 litres. The ten-hour acceptance run of the engine was done at 3800 r.p.m. with an output of 120 h.p. Small overall dimensions are important in engines intended for use in private owner types of aeroplane, and the supercharged Pobjoy is only about Ain. longer than tho standard Niagara. Apart from the blower the difference between the supercharged end the standard types lies in the elimination of the gearing and the lilting of a single throw, two-piece crankshaft housed in a light, alloy crankcase.