Vought-Sikorsky VS-300
| VS-300 | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Igor Sikorsky in the VS-300, at the end of 1941 | |
| Role | Experimental |
| Manufacturer | Vought-Sikorsky |
| Designer | Igor Sikorsky |
| First flight | 14 September 1939 [1] |
| Variants | Sikorsky R-4 |
The Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 was a single-engine helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky. It had a single three-blade rotor originally powered by a 75 horsepower (56 kW) engine. The first "free" flight of the VS-300 was on 13 May 1940.[2] While not the first successful single lifting rotor helicopter to fly, as the Yuriev/Cheremukhin TsAGI-1-EA machine was in the Soviet Union in 1931-32, the VS-300 was the first successful single lifting rotor helicopter in the United States and the first successful helicopter to use a single vertical tail rotor configuration for antitorque. With floats attached, it became the first practical amphibious helicopter.
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[edit] Design and development
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Igor Sikorsky's quest for a practical helicopter began in 1938, when as the Engineering Manager of the Vought-Sikorsky Division of United Aircraft Corporation, he was able to convince the directors of United Aircraft that his years of study and research into rotary-wing flight problems would lead to a breakthrough. His first experimental machine, the VS-300 was test flown by Sikorsky on 14 September 1939 but had to be tethered by cables due to its inherent instability. In developing the concept of rotary-wing flight, Sikorsky was the first to introduce a single engine to power both the main and tail rotor systems. He also added a vertical aerofoil surface to the end of the tail to assist anti-torque but this was later removed when it proved to be ineffective.[3]
The cyclic control was found to be difficult to perfect, and led to Sikorsky locking the cyclic and adding two vertically-mounted rotors to either side aft of the tail boom. [4] By varying pitch of these rotors simultaneously, fore and aft control was provided. Roll control was provided by differential pitching of the blades. In this setup, it was found that the VS-300 couldn't fly forward easily and Sikorsky joked about turning the pilot's seat around.[3]
[edit] Operational history
Sikorsky fitted utility floats (also called pontoons) to the VS-300 and performed a water landing and takeoff on 17 April 1941, making it the first practical amphibious helicopter.[5] On 6 May 1941, the VS-300 beat the world endurance record held by the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, by staying aloft for 1 hour 32 minutes and 26.1 seconds.[2]
The final variant of the VS-300 was powered by a 150 hp Franklin engine.[6] The VS-300 was one of the first helicopters capable of carrying cargo. The VS-300 was modified over a two-year period, including removal of the two vertical tail rotors, until 1941 when a new cyclic control system gave it much improved flight behavior.[1]
[edit] Survivor
In 1943, the VS-300 was retired to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. It has been on display there ever since, except for a trip back to the Sikorsky Aircraft plant for restoration in 1985.
[edit] Specifications (VS-300)
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This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them. |
Data from {name of first source}
General characteristics
- Length: 28 ft 0 in (8.53 m)
- Rotor diameter: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
- Height: 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)
- Loaded weight: 1,150 lb (522 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Franklin reciprocating piston engine, 90 hp (67.11 kW)
Performance
[edit] See also
- Related development
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ a b Chiles 2008, p. 104.
- ^ a b Munson 1968, p. 111.
- ^ a b "A National Historic Engineering Landmark: VS-300 Helicopter (1939)." Crystal City, Virginia: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Helicopter Society, 17 May 1984.
- ^ Dorr 2005, p. 32.
- ^ "Timeline." Sikorsky.com. Retrieved: 22 September 2009.
- ^ Munson 1985, p. 51.
- Bibliography
- Chiles, James R. The God Machine: From Boomerangs to Black Hawks: The Story of the Helicopter. New York: Bantam, 2008. ISBN 978-0553383522.
- Dorr, Robert F. Chopper: A History of America Military Helicopter Operations from WWII to the War on Terror. New York: Penguin Books, 2005. ISBN 0-42520-273-9.
- Munson, Kenneth. Helicopters and Other Rotorcraft Since 1907. London: Blandford, 1968. ISBN 0-7137-06104.
- Munson, Kenneth. US Warbirds, From World War 1 to Vietnam. New York: New Orchard, 1985. ISBN 978-1850790297.
- Sikorsky, I. I. "Development of the VS-300 Helicopter (A paper read at the Rotating Wing Aircraft Session of the Tenth Annual Meeting of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences by Sikorsky, I. I, Engineering Manager, Vought-Sikorsky Division of the United Aircraft Corporation)." Flight, 3 September 1942.
[edit] External links
- "Wingless Helicopter Flies Straight Up", Popular Mechanics, September 1940 article showing Sikorsky flying his first helicopter
- Heroes of the Sky: VS300 exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum
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