The Autogyro/Gyroplane Bookshelf

The Autogyro/Gyroplane Bookshelf:
Treasures New and Old - part II
An extract from an article by Dr. Bruce H. Charnov
Following last issue’s extract from this article, we look at
some more biographical and “how-to-fly” gyro books...
It is likely that Kas Thomas’
Guide to Homebuilt Rotorcraft
(New York: Crown Publishers
1976) was the first such
endeavor to set forth the thencurrent range of amateur
rotorcraft and detail a training
syllabus with the theory and
practice of gyroplane flight.
Rich in photographs (many of
Ken Brock), it was followed six
years later by Thomas’ The
Complete Guide to Homebuilt
Rotorcraft written with Jack
Lambie (Blue Ridge Summit,
PA : TAB Books Inc. 1982).
Each is long out-of-print but
worth acquiring.
Paul Bergen
Abbott’s The Gyrocopter Flight
Manual (Introduction by Dr. Igor
Bensen) (Indianapolis, Indiana:
The Abbott Company, 1977;
Indianapolis, IN:
Cranberry
Corners 1983; Indianapolis, IN:
The Abbott Company 1986)
along with The Gyroplane Flight
Manual (Introduction by Dr. Igor
Bensen) (Indianapolis, Indiana:
The Abbott Company, 1988,
1992, 1996) soon followed and,
in one form or another, has
remained continually in print,
and is now available in a 2004
edition. 1
The latest edition is identical to
the previous version (it even
retains the same ISBN number
as the 1996 book), with the
exception that the “High-profile
or Low-profile” section in the
1996 edition has been replaced
by “Rear engine or Frontengine”, presumably to reflect
the growth in popularity of
tractor autogyros such as Ron
Herron’s Little Wing Autogyro
series 2 and John Van Voorhees
“Pitbull.” 3 Additionally several of
the photographs have been
updated to reflect the current
state of the gyro market-place
(e.g., on p. 18 an Air Command
replaces a Brock KB-3; p. 23 where a Dominator photo
replaces that of a SnoBird 582 ). As such this was, and
remains a classic introduction to the autogyro/
GyroFlight
Winter 2005/6
gyrocopter – with a significant number of photographs
of the traditional Benson Gyrocopter complete with
overhead stick.
The book also contains an abbreviated history of
autorotational flight that unfortunately continues the
errors contained in previous editions – significantly,
Abbott repeats his assertion (also repeated in several
internet sites) that “a chain of events stifled public
interest in these [Autogiros] rotorcraft . . . [t]he two
foremost proponents of the autogyro, Cierva and
Pitcairn, were killed in accidents, Cierva in an airplane
crash, Pitcairn in a gun accident .” This is obviously
incorrect, for while Cierva’s untimely death on
December 9,
1936 undoubtedly did influence the
subsequent decline in public interest, Pitcairn’s death on
April 23, 1960 came much later and had no impact on
Autogiro decline.
And in a similar manner, Abbott’s assertion that the
PCA-2 of 1931 was “Pitcairn’s very first model” ignores
the historical reality of the PCA-1, 1A 4 and 1B which
were the 1930 Pitcairn developmental Autogiros that
earned him and his associates the prestigious Robert J.
Collier Trophy for that year.
The other long-standing American book introducing the
gyroplane is Martin Hollmann’s venerable Flying the
Gyroplane (Monterey, CA: Aircraft Designs, Inc., 1986),
available from the author at aircraft@mbay.net.
This
spiral-bound self-published offering is largely Hollmann’s
own story, and not without interest as it details his
involvement in gyroplanes and provides a personal and
detailed account of the development of the experimental
two-place Sportster and ultralight Bumble Bee. While
Abbott devotes only a few pages to a cursory and
largely
incomplete
historical
development
of
autorotational flight, Hollmann allocates 42 of the his
book’s 108 pages, almost 39%, to a presentation of
history-ical development -- but, as Abbott, is inaccurate
in recounting the details of that development (e.g.,
Hollmann incorrectly refers to the Cierva gyro Company
while it actually was the Cierva Autogiro Company, Ltd.,
a telling point as
C i e r v a
h a d
trademarked the term
and only Cierva and
Cierva-licensed
aircraft
can
and
should be referred to
as
Autogiros.
Hollmann
also
incorrectly describes
the February 1929
company created by
Harold F. Pitcairn as
the
Autogyro
Company of America
while it actually was
the
Pitcairn-Cierva
(Continued on page 18)
British Rotorcraft Association
17
(Continued from page 17)
Autogiro Company of America, a subsidiary of Pitcairn
Aviation Inc. 5 That company changed its name in
January 1931 to the Autogiro Company of America 6.
And likewise, it was the Kellett Autogiro Company, not
the Kellet Autogyro Company).
And Hollmann’s
unique and totally mysterious assertion that “in early
December 1936, Cierva boarded a KLM Royal Dutch
DC-2 to visit Pitcairn to discuss his new rotor control
concept and other financially pressing matters…” is
incomprehensible as Pitcairn was then in the United
States and virtually all serious historians agree that
Cierva was traveling to Europe in pursuit of political
ends related to the Spanish Civil War, having arranged
for the return of General Francisco Franco to Spain
from exile earlier in the year. 7
While the Lambie/
Thomas and Abbott
books contain an
index,
Hollmann
omits this feature
while including two
pages of references
which range from
the essential, the
obscure
and
unobtainable.
In
addition
to
the
1931 Juan de la
Cierva/Don
Rose
Legacy of Wings,
the astute reader
will be directed to
Frank
Kingston
Smith’s 1981 book
George
Townson’s
1985 Autogiro: The
Reginald Brie piece on “Flying the C.30 Gyroplane”, the
author offers a partial reference that should more
correctly indicate Journal of the Royal Aeronautical
Society Vol. IV London March 1939; reprinted as “Pilot’s
Notes on Flying the Direct-Control Autogyro in 1939”
Rotorcraft. Vol. 34 No. 5 August 1996 pp. 19 – 21.
Hollmann is on surer footing in describing gyroglider
development in Europe during WWII, the Hafner
Rotachute, and the contributions of the Rotachute to the
development of the Bensen Gyroglider. But it should be
Hafner Rotachute Mk.II on mobile test unit.
noted that Hollmann’s bias is clearly reflected in his
historical account as he asserts that “the PRA, which
caters primarily to the Bensen and KB2 pilots”, a
statement that cannot be regarded as true in any way
since 1972 and certainly incorrect in 2004.
Chapter 3 is entitled “Modern Two Place Gyroplanes” but
is so out-of-date, dealing primarily with Air & Space 18A
and the McCulloch J-2, as to be of only historical
interest. Likewise, Hollmann’s recommendation on page
Legacy of Wings:
The Story of Harold
F.
Pitcairn
and
Story of ‘the Windmill
Plane’.
But
as
Hollmann’s 1986 book
has apparently not
been revised since its
publication (on page
45
the
author
references the Ken
Brock 1986 accident as
“at the time of this
writing”), there is no
reference to the classic
and essential 1988 Smithsonian
Peter W. Brooks book Cierva
Autogiros: The Development of
Rotary-Wing
Flight.
Additionally, some of the
references
are
woefully
incomplete. While including the
18
British Rotorcraft Association
Winter 2005/6
GyroFlight
The McCulloch J-2
107 that the aspiring pilot seek out the late “Don
Farrington in Paducah, Kentucky, at Farrington Air Park”
reflects its senior-citizen status among gyroplane
manuals.
The Abbott and Hollmann books have been in print in
various editions for over a quarter century – the former
has been the introduction for thousand’s of new
enthusiasts, and, although
dated, not a bad starting
point for beginners, while
the latter will provide some
historical
Autogiro
perspective and back-ground
on
the
Sportster
and
ultralight Bumble Bee. But it
BumbleBee
is likely that any reader first The
(www.aircraftdesigns.com)
encountering
Abbott or
Hollmann, will rapidly seek more recent and informative
books available.
Happily three new offerings are
available that will delight the novice
gyronaut! Shirley Jennings’ Short
Hops (1998 with regular updates),
[reviewed in part I of this article in our last
issue - Ed.] Dave Organ’s An
Introduction to Ultralight Gyroplanes
(2002) and most recently Marion
Springer’s Born Free: My Life in
Gyrocopters (2004) are wonderful
additions to the gyronaut’s reading
list.
Dave Organ, founding member and
recent BRA Chairman, has written a
thoroughly professional and
workman-like volume that is a
worthy successor to the dated Paul
Bergen Abbott book.
Entitled An
Introduction To Ultralight Gyroplanes,
it actually is an extensive introduction
to the world of autogyro flight (don’t
be misled by the title – it refers to
the British classification of gyroplanes
and is not limited to the American
“ultralight” category which in the UK
are termed “microlights”).
Having
begun his writing with a 1991 booklet
introducing readers to British
gyroplanes, the author is no stranger
to such endeavors and this latest 92-
page literary effort is exceptionally well-written. And
even though it is understandably slanted to the UK
audience, it will prove of great benefit to international
readers. While the front cover of the author’s modified
Campbell Cricket flying in formation with Roger Savage’s
VPM M16 (as Vittorio P. Magni’s outstanding autogyros
are called in the UK) over the coast of England at Lands
End and back cover showing Marc Lhermette’s RAF
2000 GTXSE
and the
first Gyroplane produced
by Everett Autogyros,
having been refurbished
by BRA Local Events
Liaison
Officer
Colin
Reeves, flying together
over the Tamar Bridges
that
join
Devon
to
Cornwall near Plymouth
are in stunning color, the
wonderful and varied
selection of first-rate b/w
gyro
photos
that
punctuate
the
books
chapters are reproduced
crisply and thoughtfully
illustrate the informative
and
engaging
text.
(Organ, even reproduces
the photo of Igor Bensen flying over water that from the
same series that produced the Winter 1963 cover of
Popular Rotorcraft Flying – the photo remains as an
impressive expression of the joy of gyro flight as does
the photo of Lhermette flying over Leeds Castle in
Kent!).
Given the English course of Autogiro and gyroplane
development with Cierva, Weir and Hafner, Organ
provides an excellent abbreviated summary of that
history beginning with the “Origins of Rotary Winged
Flight” and its pioneers. His discussion of Leonardo da
Vinci, Launoy and Bievenu, Sir George Cayley, Paul
Cornu, Jacob C. Ellenhammer, Oemichen and Pescara
which sets the stage for and nurture an appreciation for
Juan de la Cierva in far fewer pages that either John
Fay, Charles Gablehouse or Jay Spenser 8 with first-rate
illustrations and diagrams that industriously illustrate
the state-of-the-art prior to Cierva.
The chapter
discussing Cierva’s Autogiro innovation of
rotary-wing flight clearly reflects a close
reading of the Cierva/Don Rose 1931 book
and will serve as a good, if superficial
summary, for readers unfamiliar with the
original – unlike others who discuss history,
Organ has got it right! And his follow-on
chapter dealing with Scotland’s G. and J.
Weir Ltd. (of Glasgow) is also first-rate and
will prove informative to those readers who
are familiar with Cierva, but not those who
were contemporaries and who followed,
such as Austrian Raoul Hafner.
And
reflecting the general acknowledgement in
the UK that Igor Bensen’s development of
the Gyroglider and Gyrocopter was
derivative of the Hafner Rotachute, Organ
seamlessly transitions from the Austrian to
Igor Bensen’s aircraft.
(Continued on page 20)
GyroFlight
Winter 2005/6
British Rotorcraft Association
19
(Continued from page 19)
Organ gives a good explanation of “How it works?” but
the more technically-minded reader will want greater
depth (and should benefit from the diagrams found
Shirley Jennings book). Obviously, the sections on
modern gyroplanes are UK-oriented, and the American
reader will likely be unfamiliar with the Campbell
Cricket, the Montgomerie-Merlin, W.H.E. Airbuggy and
Everett, but the citation of Bensen, Brock, Parsons,
Italian VPM (Magni), RAF and Ernie Boyette’s Dominator
series of autogyros will seem like sentiments found in
recent issues of the PRA publication Rotorcraft.
Additionally, Organ presents two sections that are
unique for these kind of books:
under “Sleeping
Projects” he discusses the Chris Julian “Wombat”, 9 Jim
Montgomerie ‘s unique tandem, fully enclosed “Twin
Touring Autogyro” 10 and “Concept Fandango”, 1988
team-designed J. A. “Danny” Watt’s ducted fan,
taildragger 2-place autogyro.11
And in the chapter
titled “Projects from Abroad” the author describes the U.
F.O. Heli-Thruster, a Mac Gillespie project from New
Zealand,12
the Groen Brothers Aviation “Hawk 4
Gyroplane”13 and Ernie Boyette’s Dominator14 as well
as including a short chapter on the autogyros of Ken
Wallis.15
Organ also discusses “Why does a gyroplane
porpoise?” (in a short chapter written by well-known
pilot and writer John C. Kitchin), Radiotelephony, Prerotators, trailers, UK contact addresses and a useful
glossary of gyro terms. He also provides a short
chapter on the fate of the Air Command series of
gyroplanes that were, due to an unacceptable fatal
accident rate between April 1989 and March 1991, not
allowed to fly. And although subsequently modified in
accord with an agreement with the applicable British
governmental agency, another fatality in 1996 caused
Assemble your own Autogyro from our
pre-manufactured CAA approved kit.
We have been developing and producing
Autogyros in the UK for over 20 years.
For more information contact us at:
www.gyrocopters.co.uk
20
British Rotorcraft Association
the withdrawal of all “Permits to fly”. And while this may
be an old story to UK readers, the concise summary
here provides new (or renewed) information for the
American reader for whom these events were remote.
This book is breezy, well-written, handsomely produced
in artistic terms and a good addition (or starting point)
to a gyronaut’s library even if the understandable UK
focus isn’t familiar to the US reader – the territory
covered is.
Bruce Charnov
[Short Hops and An Introduction to Ultralight Gyroplanes
are available from the B.R.A. Bookshop - see page 25 - Ed.]
Bibliography:
1. “New Gyroplane Book Released” Rotorcraft. Vol. 42 No. 4 June-July 2004 p. 13
2. See Barnes, Marcia ‘Sparky’ “The Little Wing Autogyro” CustomPlanes. Vol. 7
No. 4 April 2004 pp. 58 – 67; Downie, Don “Little Wing, Plenty of Disc” Kitplanes.
Vol. 17 No. 2 February 2000 pp. 10 – 13; Herron, Ron “History of Little Wing Autogyros”
Homebuilt Rotorcraft. Vol. 16 No. 12 December 2003 pp. 6 - 9
3.See Van Voorhees, John “A New Tractor Gyro: The Pitbull” Homebuilt Rotorcraft. Vol. 9 No.
4 April 1996 pp. 4 – 5; The Pitbull Autogyro.” Rotorcraft Vol. 34 No. 3 May 1996 p. 16
4. The PCA-1A remains the oldest rotary-wing aircraft in America, and, having been restored by
Stephen “Steve” Pitcairn, is currently on loan from the National Air and Space Museum of
the Smithsonian Institution to the American Helicopter Museum, Brandywine, PA. See
“Exhibit Spotlight: Pitcairn PCA-1A” Vertika. Vol. 7 Issue 2 October 2000 p. 5
5. Brooks, Peter W. Cierva Autogiros: The Development of Rotary-Wing Flight.
Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988; Shrewsbury, England:
Airlife Publishing Ltd. 1988 p. 119
6. Charnov, Bruce H. From Autogiro to Gyroplane: The Amazing Survival of an
Aviation Technology. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers 2003 p. 67
7. For a definitive account of Cierva’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War and
significant participation in facilitating the return of Franco, see Bolin, Luis Spain:
The Vital Years. Philadelphia and New York: J. B. Lippincott Company 1967
8. Fay, John. The Helicopter. New York: Hippocrene Books, 4th ed., 1987;
Gablehouse, Charles. Helicopters and Autogiros: A History of Rotating-Wing
and V/STOL Aviation. Rev. ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1969. Previous edition
published as Helicopters and Autogiros: A Chronicle of Rotating-Wing Aircraft.
Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1967; Spenser, Jay P. Whirlybirds: A History of the U.
S. Helicopter Pioneers. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press,
1998
9. See “Dingbat – Son of Wombat” International AUTOGYRO 1/4ly. Issue 19
January 2003 pp. 23 – 24
10. See Bartlett, Ron “Montgomerie Engineering” International Autogyro 1/4ly.
Issue 18 2003 pp. 24 – 31;
11. For a description of this aircraft, see Fly. Gyro! No. 4 May/June 2001 p. 2
12. “Ultimate Flying Options (UFO) – An Update from NZ” International AUTOGYRO
1/4ly. Issue 12 April 2002 p. 12; Bartlett, Ron “The UFO-Helithruster – an
update” Issue 11 January 2002 International Autogyro 1/4ly. pp. 26 – 27;
World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2004 – 2005 (English Edition) p. 226
13. See also Gremminger, Stephanie -“The Hawk 4 Gyroplane Aims to Bring
‘Gyroplanes to Their Logical Progression’. Rotorcraft Vol. 38, No. 5 August 2000
pp. 8 – 9, 35; “Groen Brothers Complete 1st Year Certification of the Hawk 4
Gyroplane” International AUTOGYRO 1/4ly. Issue No. 1 1999 pp. 6 – 7; “Hawk
4T Breathes New Life Into Gyroplanes.”. Aviation Week & Space Technology
Vol. 153, No. 19 pp. 54 – 56
14. See also World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2004 – 2005 (English Edition) p.
225; Bruegger, Bruce “Building the Dominator Gyro” Rotorcraft. Vol. 28 No. 4
June-July 1990 pp. 37 – 39
15. See additionally Bartlett, Ron “Ken’s Girls’: a History of the Gyroplanes Built/
Designed by Wing Commander Ken Wallis” International Autogyro 1/4ly. Issue
12+1 July 2002 pp. 10 – 13; Harrison, Neil “The Wallis Autogyros” Flight. No.
2977 Vol. 89 March 31, 1966 pp. 515 – 520; “Profile: Wing Commander K H
Wallis” Popular Flying. April – May 1996 pp. 13 – 21; Whiteman, Phillip “Pilot
Profile: Ken Wallis” Pilot. January 1998 pp. 22 – 25
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