Wizard of the Skies.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20234, 19 February 1934, Page 6

Wizard of the Skies .

How the Autogiro Will Help Aviation. (Special to the ** Star.**) _ LONDON, January 6. JN ESTIMATING the progress that aviation is confidently expected tc during 1934, the production of the latest model of the Cierva autogiro must be taker, into account. After years of experimenting. Senor Juan de la Cierva. the Spanish inventor, has proved his faith in his unconvention. 1 theory of flight by demonstrating a machine which can land without any forward run. take-off m fifteen yards, “hover” at 10 m.p.h., attain a maximum speed of 118 m.p.h.. and is as fool-proof as the modern motor-car with self-changing gears. It makes strange fact of some of the romances of Jules Verne, and for the first it definitely brings into sight the day when one may park his private plane in his own back garden, or land on the roof of an office building. First, the autogiro has no fixed wings. These are replaced by the three-bladed rotor, revolving horizontally above the fuselage. The ro.tor is not driven by the engine, except prior to the take-off. It also has no ailerons, elevators or rudder. Its sole control is a “ stick ” hanging from the rotor, by means of which the rotor may be tilted in any desired direction, the machine climbing, descending, hovering, banking and turning by the operation of this single control. Orders From War Office. Although only two-seater models have been built so far, a four-sea ter or six-sea ter is on order for the Air Ministry, and a number are to be acquired by the War Office. The autogiro, besides being able to hover in mid-air. makes an almost vertical descent and operates from an SO-yard field, will flv so slowly that it is possible to descend near the ground, lower a cord, and have a message attached to it by a man running underneath it. Autogiros owned by officers were used in this way during Army exercises a few weeks ago. One other important quality has not been mentioned. '* Blind flying,” that is. flying in fog or total darkness, requires skill and judgment in the normal aeroplane, the pilot using his instruments, such as a turn and bank indicator, to tell whether he is flying straight and on an even keel In the autogiro by placing the “ stick ’’ in a . central position it is impossible to fly otherwise.