Hiller XH-44 | |
|---|---|
| Land | Usa |
| Rolle | Koaksial-roto helikopter |
| Første flyvning | 1942-1944 |
| Bygget | Unknow |
Hiller Aircraft Company was founded in 1942 as Hiller Industries by Stanley Hiller to develop helicopters. Stanley Hiller, then seventeen, established the first helicopter factory on the West Coast of the United States, located in Berkeley, California, in 1942, under the name “Hiller Industries,” to develop his design for the coaxial-rotor XH-44 "Hiller-Copter" for den amerikanske hær. XH-44 blev operationel i 1944. I samarbejde med Henry J. Kaiser blev det til United Helicopters i 1945. I efterkrigsårene producerede United Helicopter en række innovative helikopterdesigns til militære og civile formål, herunder koaksiale rotor- og haleløse designs samt mere konventionelle modeller. I januar 1949 blev en Hiller 360 den første civile helikopter til at krydse USA
Kilde: Hiller XH-44 på Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi
| Hiller XH-44 Walk Around | |
|---|---|
| Photographer | Vladimir Yakubov |
| Localisation | Hiller Aviation Museum, San Carlos |
| Photos | 57 |
Se også:
General Characteristics and Role
The Hiller XH-44 “Jet-Rotor” was an early and highly experimental American helicopter, developed by Stanley Hiller, Jr., during the 1940s. It was the first helicopter to use a unique propulsion system known as tip-jet drive, where compressed air mixed with fuel was ignited and expelled from the tips of the main rotor blades to provide thrust. The primary advantage of this “cold jet” or “hot jet” system was the elimination of the complex and heavy mechanical drivetrain and anti-torque tail rotor typically required by conventional helicopters. The XH-44 was an exceptionally simple and light aircraft for its time, and while it did successfully fly, demonstrating the tip-jet principle, the concept suffered from high fuel consumption and noise, leading to its eventual discontinuation for practical use. The XH-44 was the first helicopter produced by Hiller and helped launch the company’s career in aviation.
| Property | Typical Value (XH-44 Prototype) |
|---|---|
| Rolle | Experimental Proof-of-Concept Helicopter |
| National Origin | USA |
| Producent | Hiller Helicopters (Hiller-Copter) |
| First Flight | July 1944 |
| Besætning | 1 (Pilot) |
| Rotor System | Two-bladed main rotor |
| Rotor Diameter (Approx.) | 7.62 m (25 ft 0 in) |
| Length (Fuselage) | 3.78 m (12 ft 5 in) |
| Empty Weight (Approx.) | 145 kg (320 lb) |
| Gross Weight (Approx.) | 300 kg (660 lb) |
Powerplant and Propulsion
- Engine: 1 x Franklin 4ACG-199 piston engine driving an air compressor (not driving the rotor directly).
- Rotor Drive: Tip-jet system. The engine drove a compressor that sent compressed air through ducts in the rotor blades. Fuel was injected and ignited at the tip nozzles to generate propulsive jet thrust (a “hot cycle”).
- Maximum Speed: Approximately 137 km/h (85 mph; 74 kn).
- Range: Very short, due to the low fuel efficiency of the tip-jet concept.
- Tail Rotor: None required. Torque reaction from the main rotor was eliminated because the thrust was applied at the blade tips, making the fuselage inherently stable in yaw.
Design Legacy
- Significance: The XH-44 proved that the jet-powered rotor concept was feasible, attracting initial interest from the U.S. Navy.
- Design Simplicity: The elimination of the heavy transmission, gears, and tail rotor simplified the design and reduced manufacturing complexity.
- Successor: Hiller’s next and more successful designs, such as the Hiller 360, abandoned the jet-rotor in favor of a conventional mechanical drive but retained Hiller’s revolutionary use of a servocontrol paddle system for simplified control input.
- Preservation: The original XH-44 prototype is preserved and on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
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