NEW AUTOGIRO.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 956, 28 December 1933, Page 10

NEW AUTOGIRO.

Wonderful Machine Has Fifteen-yard Take-off. I have just flown in a machine that suggests something out of a Jules Verne or Wellsian romance—Senor de la Cierva’s latest autogiro, wrote Major C. C. Turner, the aviation correspon dent of the London “Daily Telegraph’ on November 9. Sitting with Mr F. E. Marsh, the pilot, I watched him take off—with no wind to help him. For only fifteen yards we ran along the ground, and then we were climbing steeply into the air. As easily as in a motor-car we could “dawdle,” stop, or speed at will. At one time we reached a speed of 118 m.p.h. A few moments later I saw the needle of the air speed indicator at zero. We were hovering! Dawdling at 10 m.p.h.. we maintained a horizontal course. Whilst hovering we scarcely lost height at all. This remarkable performance, which is an enormous improvement on that of earlier types of the machine, realises mankind's earliest aeronautical dreams With the conventional aeroplane the world became resigned to the need for a field giving at least 1000 yards for take-off and landing. All this is changed. To land we simply came down and stepped dead. Mr Marsh touched ground first with the tail wheel, then the forward wheels—and the flight was ended. Single Lever Control. Direct control from the engine starts up the three-bladed rotor. This makes for the swiftly-attained speed that lifts the machine from the ground in only twenty seconds. The rotor spins on a vertical shaft above the fuselage. The engine is a 140-h.p. “Genet” major. The pilot, I noticed, was able to carry out the entire flying control by one lever, pushed forward or back for climbing or descent, and left or right for turning. His control simply tilted the plane of rotation of the rotor, the machine responding perfectly. There is a pedal control, but it is solely for use on ground, actuating the tail wheel for direction. The autogiro is a perfect “blind flying” machine, for by merely keeping the control lever central the pilot, even though immersed in fog. knows that his machine is flying straight and keeping a level keel. For this, of course, the ordinary aeroplane needs a turn indicator and other instruments, upon which the pilot must concentrate attention. Flying the new autogiro a pilot has no anxiety about forced landings. A field of eighty yards, unless surrounded by abruot and high obstacles, is sufficient. Value for Army and Navy. The War Office has decided to acquire some of these machines. In recent Army exercises divisional commanders on privately-owned autogiros were able to make swift visits to distant parts of the operations An autogiro was flown close to the ground alongside a mobile column so slowly that messages could be passed to from it. Much better control /

was thereby secured, for the autogiro could carry a messenger without delays due to congested roads. The value of this class of flying machine for many purposes in the Navy is obvious. It needs neither a catapulting apparatus nor the huge vulnerable landing deck of an aircraft carrier. The rotor blades are foldable and the machine, folded, takes up little room, and is inconspicuous. In short it overcomes most of the difficulties of aircraft operating from warships.