Early Pitcairn Gyros

[kolibri282]

Three pictures of early Pitcairn Autogyros
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/7096835691/sizes/o/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/7096836211/sizes/o/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/6950759784/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Enjoy!

[OuterMarker]

I like those!!! You can really see a lot of detail in the simple construction methods.

[kolibri282]

Albert, did you notice this one?
http://www.rotaryforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=413887&highlight=Kellet#post413887

You might also like these:
http://www.rotaryforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=472021#post472021
http://www.rotaryforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31079&highlight=13908
http://www.rotaryforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=413887&highlight=Kellet#post413887

[Stingray]

Pitcairn PA.38 attack autogyro:


(Info from "Cierva Autogiros: the Development of Rotary Wing Flight",
Peter W. Brooks, Airlife, 1988, page 226)

Designation of a series of design studies undertaken for a USAAC design competition (Spec XC-417, circular proposal 40-260), which closed on April 22, 1940. These were of a large jump take-off autogiro of 4,200lbs loaded weight, suitable for military observation or cargo; mail carriage; insecticide-dispensing of forest fire-fighting. Kellett submitted studies of two direct-control designs without jump take-off capability. None of the studies was proceeded with. The Army contract went to Platt-LePage for their XR-1 helicopter.

[Stingray]

http://www.airventuremuseum.org/collection/aircraft/Pitcairn%20PA-39%20Autogiro.asp#TopOfPage

The PA-39 was developed to serve as an observation aircraft protecting shipping convoys from submarines. Only seven PA-39s were built for the British Air Ministry, and N3908 is the only remaining example. The others were sunk being shipped to Britain or lost in training and test flight accidents.

[Stingray]

Pitcairn PA-44 (XO-61/YO-61) twin-boom observation aircraft:

The design was submitted by Pitcairn at a time when the company was operating as the Pitcairn-Larsen Autogiro Company (circa late 1940). The aircraft was ordered in 1941 by U.S.A.A.F. from the A.G.A. Aviation Corporation, a company which had since taken over the activities of the former Pitcairn Autogiro Company.

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080022367_2008020986.pdf

Info from "Cierva Autogiros: The Development of the Rotary-Wing Flight" Peter W. Brooks, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988:

Overall length: 28 ft 6 in (8.68 m)
Maximum take-off weight: 3,000-3,038 lb (1,360-1,378 kg)
Maximum speed: 103 mph (165 km/h)
Minimum speed: 29 mph (46 km/h)

Engine:
The 300-325 hp Jacobs R-915A3 (or R-915A-4) engine drove a constant-speed propeller, having a special low-pitch setting for rotor spin-up purposes. This was similar to the PA-39 and had originally been proposed by Paul Stanley when commenting on proposals for jump take-off put forward by Richard Prewitt in 1932.

Rotor diameter and blade section:
The XO-61 was originally designed with a 42 ft (12.8 m) rotor of NACA 230 series section. This was later increased in diameter to 48 ft (14.63 m).

Production:
In addition to one static test airframe, six (later reduced to one (42-13611)), of the type were originally ordered as XO-61, of which five (42-13612/13616) were to be supplied in YO-61 service test form. However, only two aircraft were completed—the first in the spring of 1943—and these were never submitted to the army for acceptance because the contract was canceled before testing had been completed. The cancellation occurred when the second aircraft had reached the flying stage. Neither went into service because of engineering problems (including ground resonance, said to be due to defective shock absorbers, and engine cooling difficulties); manufacturing delays (G. and A. Aircraft were preoccupied with their involvement in the Waco CG-4A Hadrian troop-carrying glider program); and the appearance of the first production helicopters, in the form of the Sikorsky R-4, which entered service early in 1944.

Comment:
The YO-61 represented almost the ultimate in development of the Autogiro concept as it had evolved over the preceeding twenty years. Cancellation of the YO-61 order finally terminated American Autogiro manufacture. Pitcairn had by then built rather more than a hundred Autogiros. Of this number, about twenty were rebuilt from earlier models, as if they were new. Harold Pitcairn progressively withdrew from his aviation interests at this time. However, from 1951 until his death in 1960, he found himself deeply involved in the rotary-wings patents lawsuit against the United States government. He died, accidentally, from a gunshot wound, seventeen years before the lawsuit was finally settled in his favor.

[Stingray]

-SGTA-3 (Submerged Gas Turbine Autogyro)
-SGTA-5 autogyro
-CFA-3 (Cruise Fan Autigyro) Gyrodyne
-CFA-4 autogyro

[kolibri282]

Very nice (and high resolution) picture of Amelia Earhart and her PCA-2. Sitting comfortably on a wheel she gives scale to this pretty massive aircraft.
http://explorepahistory.com/kora/files/1/2/1-2-124B-25-ExplorePAHistory-a0k8w0-a_349.jpg