red750
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The Bensen B-8 is a small, single-seat autogyro developed in the United States in the 1950s. Although the original manufacturer stopped production in 1987, plans for homebuilders are still available as of 2019. Its design was a refinement of the Bensen B-7, and like that aircraft, the B-8 was initially built as an unpowered rotor-kite. It first flew in this form in 1955, and on 6 December a powered version, designated B-8M (M for motorised) first flew. The design proved to be extremely popular and long-lasting, with thousands of sets of plans sold over the next thirty years. The B-8's design is extremely minimalist, with not much more to the aircraft than a pilot's seat, a single tailfin, a rotor, and (in powered versions) the powerplant. In May 1968 a B-8 and B-8M were studied by the USAF under the Discretionary Descent Vehicle (DDV) program as the X-25B and X-25A respectively. In this scheme, it was proposed to integrate combat aircraft ejection seats with a small autogyro or rotor kite to allow downed pilots more control over their post-ejection landing spot. The X-25A and X-25B were used to evaluate the piloting and training requirements of the autogyros. No full-scale operational tests were ever performed. The U.S. Air Force stopped funding the DDV program with the end of the Vietnam War. One B-8M, named Spirit of Kitty Hawk (registration N2588B) was used to make a special commemorative flight exactly duplicating the first flight of the Wright brothers' original Flyer on the sixtieth anniversary of the occasion. This same aircraft was flown by Igor Bensen himself between May 1967 and June 1968 to set twelve world and US speed, distance, and altitude records for autogyros, the largest number of such records to be held by any non-military rotorcraft. Variants B-8 Gyro-Glider - unpowered rotor-kite intended to be towed behind a car B-8B Hydro-Boat - B-8 with a full boat hull intended to be towed behind another boat B-8M Gyro-Copter - standard motorised version, main production type. Usually powered by a McCulloch 4318 engine B-8MH Hover-Gyro - twin, coaxial rotor design with powered lower rotor and autorotating upper rotor, giving it the capability of hovering. Upper rotor and drive propeller powered by separate engines B-8MJ Gyro-Copter - B-8M modified for "jump" take off by a small second engine providing power to rotor head with anti-torque provided by rudder correction under power. B-8MW Hydro Copter - float-equipped B-8M X-25A - B-8M evaluated by USAF. Single example (serial 68-10770) first flown 5 June 1968 and preserved at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base B-8 Super Bug - similar to B-8M but with extra engine to spin up rotor before take-off B-8HD Super Gyro-Copter - development of Super Bug first flown in 1979 with hydraulic drive to pre-rotate rotor rather than separate engine B-8V - B-8 powered by a Volkswagen air-cooled engine B-8W Hydro-Glider - float-equipped B-8 intended to be towed behind a boat X-25B - B-8 evaluated by USAF. Single example (serial 68-10771) first flown 23 January 1968 and preserved at the AFFTC Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. Rotorcraft Minicopter Mk 1 - South African variant with pre-rotator and cockpit fairing. Aeroflyte DGH-1 - 70 hp (52 kW) license-built model from Aeroflyte. -
The Changhe Z-10 (Chinese: 直-10; pinyin: Zhí-Shí; lit. 'helicopter-10') is a Chinese medium-weight, twin-turboshaft attack helicopter built by the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation for the People's Liberation Army Ground Force. Designed by 602nd Aircraft Design Institute of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and Kamov Design Bureau, the aircraft is intended primarily for anti-tank warfare missions with secondary air-to-air combat capability. The plan to develop a medium-weight helicopter program was initiated in 1994 with the attack helicopter program formally beginning in 1998. The preliminary design of the aircraft was provided by Kamov, while prototyping was conducted by the 602nd Aircraft Design Institute of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The Z-10 first flew on 29 April 2003 and entered Chinese Army Aviation service in 2009. Nicknames of characters in the Chinese classic novel Water Margin have been used to name Z-10 and its light-weight counterpart, the Harbin Z-19 by Chinese Army Aviation Corps; Z-10 is called Fierce Thunderbolt (Pi Li Huo, 霹雳火), the nickname of Qin Ming, while Z-19 is called Black Whirlwind (Hei Xuan Feng, 黑旋风), the nickname of Li Kui. For details of development an history, design, operational history and 8 variants, click here. -
The Martin XB-51 was an American trijet ground-attack aircraft. It was designed in 1945 and made its maiden flight in 1949. It was originally designed as a bomber for the United States Army Air Forces under specification V-8237-1 and was designated XA-45. The "A" ground-attack classification was eliminated the next year, and the XB-51 designation was assigned instead. The requirement was for low-level bombing and close support. The XB-51 lost out in evaluation to the English Electric Canberra which — built by Martin — entered service as the Martin B-57 Canberra. This unorthodox design, first flying on 28 October 1949, was fitted with three General Electric J47 engines - an unusual number for a combat aircraft - two underneath the forward fuselage in pods, and one at the extreme tail with the intake at the base of the tailfin. The innovative, variable incidence wings, swept at 35° and with 6° anhedral, were equipped with leading edge slats and full-width flaps. Spoilers gave most of the roll control and undersized ailerons provided feel for the pilot. The combination of variable incidence and slotted flaps gave a shorter takeoff run. Four 954 lb (4.24 kN) thrust Rocket-Assisted Take Off (RATO) bottles with a 14-second burn duration could be fitted to the rear fuselage to improve takeoff performance. Spectacular launches were a feature of later test flights. The main landing gear consisted of dual wheel sets in tandem in the fuselage, similar to the Boeing B-47 Stratojet, with outrigger wheels at the wingtips (originally proved on a modified Martin B-26 Marauder named "Middle River Stump Jumper"). The XB-51 was a large but aerodynamically "clean" design which incorporated nearly all major systems internally. The aircraft was fitted with a rotating bomb bay, a Martin trademark; bombs could also be carried externally up to a maximum load of 10,400 lb (4,700 kg), although the specified basic mission required only a 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) bombload. Eight 20 mm cannon mounted in the nose would have been installed in production aircraft. Crew was a pilot under a "fighter"-type bubble canopy and a Short-range navigation and bombing system (SHORAN) operator/navigator in a compartment located lower than and to the rear of the cockpit (only a small observation window was provided). Both crew members were provided with a pressurized, air conditioned environment, equipped with upward-firing ejection seats. The XB-51 was the first Martin aircraft equipped with ejection seats, these being of their own design.Number built - 2.
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The Cunningham-Hall GA-21 was an American two-seat monoplane design to compete for the Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Competition in 1934. Its distinguishing feature was full span flaps which could be manually or automatically adjusted. The GA-36 was a military version of it with tandem, rather than side-by-side seating. The GA-21M was all metal aircraft apart from the fabric covering of parts of the wing, otherwise metal-covered, and the control surfaces. The low-set wings were rectangular in plan out to rounded tips and had a high lift section. Both flaps and ailerons filled the whole straight part of the trailing edge, so the latter only opened upwards. Apart from its unusual flaps and lateral control the GA-21M was conventional. Powered by a 145 hp (108 kW), seven cylinder Warner Super Scarab radial engine, it had a round-sectioned, metal-skinned, monocoque fuselage. An open cockpit over the forward wing seated two side-by-side. The tailplane was mounted just above the fuselage on the fin and could be trimmed; essentially triangular in plan, it carried rounded elevators. A rounded rudder reached down to the keel. The GA-21Ms had conventional, tailwheel landing gear with the landing wheels ahead of the leading edge within aircraft fairings that also enclosed the legs. The GA-36 was a 1936 military trainer rebuild of the Ga-21M. This included a revised, tandem cockpit and more trouser-like landing gear fairings, making it 15% heavier. The automated flaps worked well but were more complicated than, for example, Fowler flaps and more expensive to construct. Simpler systems were preferred and the sole GA-21M/36 was sold in 1941, stripped of major components and dumped until the 1980s when it was recovered, fully restored and put on display at the Niagara Aerospace Museum. GA-21M GA-36
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The Cunningham-Hall Model PT-6 was an American six-seat cabin biplane aircraft of the late 1920s and was the first design of the Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corporation of Rochester, New York. The Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corporation was formed in 1928 and the first design was the PT-6 (Personal Transport 6-place), which first flew on April 3, 1929.[3] It was flown to the Detroit Aircraft Show two days later, with minor alterations being made later including a switch from a tailskid to a tailwheel. The PT-6 was a cabin biplane with an all-metal structure that was stressed to meet military strength specifications rather than the much more lenient commercial requirements, however aside from the cabin, which was covered with corrugated aluminum, most of the airframe was fabric covered. It had a fixed landing gear with a tail wheel. The cockpit held a pilot and either a copilot or passenger, with a separate cabin for four passengers. The aircraft was powered by a 300 hp (220 kW) Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind radial engine. The company's final aircraft was a freighter conversion the PT-6F. Built during 1937 and flown in 1938, the passenger cabin was modified as a cargo compartment with 156 cu ft (4.4 m3) of stowage space, an NACA cowling was fitted, along with a variable-pitch propeller. A freight door was fitted to the fuselage and a loading hatch fitted in the roof. It was powered by a Wright R-975E-1 radial engine of slightly greater power. Only two PT-6s (s/n 2961 X461E and s/n 2962 NC692W) and one PT-6F (s/n 381 NC16967/NPC44/NC444) were registered, however as many as six of each type may have been built. The discrepancy from many publications with higher numbers may indicate that from two to nine additional airframes were built, but scrapped without being registered or sold, due to the collapse of the aviation market with the deepening of the Great Depression. A production line had been set up, and materials bought to produce 25 examples. Plans for a slightly smaller 4-seat derivative to be named the PT-4, and an armed military variant were also cancelled. One example was used for charter flying by the Rochester - Buffalo Flying Service, often fitted with skis or floats. One customer was the Fairchild Aviation Corporation. George Eastman of Kodak had his first flight in PT-6 The PT-6F was supposed to have been one of three built from parts still available from the original cancelled production run, for an expected Philippine customer, and even carried the Philippine registration of NPC-44, however a lack of funds caused that sale to be cancelled. The aircraft was eventually sold for around $7,000, and made its way to Alaska for a career as a bush plane with Byers Airways.
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The Kamov Ka-26 (NATO reporting name Hoodlum) is a Soviet light utility helicopter with co-axial rotors. It looks like it has twin turbine engines in nacelles on each side of the body, but they are radial engines with turbofans for cooling. The Ka-26 entered production in 1969 and 816 were built. A variant with a single turboshaft engine is the Ka-126. A twin-turboshaft–powered version is the Ka-226. (All the Ka-26/126/128/226 variants are code-named by NATO as "Hoodlum"). The fuselage of the Ka-26 consists of a fixed, bubble-shaped cockpit containing the pilot and co-pilot, plus a removable, variable box available in medevac, passenger-carrying and crop duster versions. The helicopter can fly with or without the box attached for flexibility. It is powered by two 325 hp (239 kW) Vedeneyev M-14V-26 radial engines mounted in outboard nacelles. The Ka-26 is small enough to land on a large truck bed. The reciprocating engines are more responsive than turboshaft engines, but require more maintenance. It runs mostly at 95% power in crop dusting with usually excess payload, leaving little reserve power for emergencies. Due to frequent overloads, the interconnect shaft joining the two engines is prone to breakage and requires frequent inspection. The standard instrumentation of the Ka-26, like larger naval Kamovs, may be overkill for civilian or crop dusting use. The 18-dials cockpit panel masks a part of the right-downwards view, needed to avoid telephone and power lines at low altitudes. The instrument panel may be simplified to retain the six main dials. As there is a low rotor clearance at the aircraft front, it is approached from the rear when the rotors are turning. Due to the limitations of the Ka-26, USSR and Romania agreed under the Comecon trade to build a single-turboshaft engine version, the Kamov Ka-126, with better aerodynamics and range. The Ka-26 is eminently useful for civil agricultural use, especially crop dusting. The coaxial main rotor configuration, which makes the Ka-26 small and agile, also results in a delicate airflow pattern under the helicopter, providing a thorough, yet mild distribution of chemicals onto plants. The Ka-26 is often used to spray grape farms in Hungary, where conventional "main rotor and tail rotor" layout helicopters would damage or up-root the vine-stocks with their powerful airflow. Hungarian Kamov operators claim that coaxial rotors of the Ka-26 creates an airflow which allows well-atomized pesticides to linger longer in the air, causing more of the residue to settle underneath, rather than on top of, the leaves. This results in a more efficient distribution of pesticides, as most pests and parasites do not live on the top side of foliage. Additionally, the coaxial vortex system is symmetrical, allowing the distribution of the pesticide to be more uniform, without the side currents induced by the tail rotor, making it easier to avoid contaminating adjacent non-crop areas. In some Warsaw Pact armies, the Ka-26 was used only in the light paratroop or airborne role, but not the civilian agricultural role[citation needed]. In the military role, its slow (150 km/h) cruise speed compared with the Mi-2 (220 km/h) limits effective general-purpose military use, although its shorter length (7.75 m) compared with the Mil Mi-2 (11.9 m) and smaller rotor diameter (13 m vs. 14.6 m) are advantageous for military operations in an urban area. Its operational range is also greater than the Mil-2. On 30 June 2020, Moldovan police and prosecutors closed down an illegal factory producing unlicensed copies of the Ka-26. The factory had a production line with ten air frames in various stages of completion that were intended for sale to clients in former Soviet countries. Variants Ka-26 Hoodlum-A One- or two-crew utility light helicopter, powered by two 325-hp (239-kW) VMK (Vedeneyev) M-14V-26 radial engines. 850 built. Ka-26SS NOTAR technology testbed for the Ka-118 fitted with tail jet beams. Ka-126 Hoodlum-B One- or two-crew utility light helicopter, powered by one 720-shp (537-kW) OMKB "Mars" (Glushenkov) TVD-100 turboshaft engine. First flown in 1986, built and developed by Industria Aeronautică Română in Romania. 2 prototypes and 15 series helicopter built. V-60 A prototype light armed escort helicopter based on the Ka-126. Ka-128 One prototype, powered by a 722-shp (538-kW) Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 turboshaft engine. Kamov Ka-226 Six- or seven-seat utility helicopter, powered by two 450-shp (335-kW) Rolls-Royce (Allison) 250-C20R/2 turboshaft engines. -
The pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with the American Airlines passenger airplane did not comply with directions to change course seconds before the fatal incident, a bombshell new report has revealed. On the night of January 29, Army Black Hawk pilot Capt. Rebecca Lobach was conducting an annual flight evaluation with her co-pilot Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, who was serving as her flight instructor. Three months on, new details published by The New York Times revealed that the pilot made more than one mistake leading to one of the worst catastrophes in aviation history. Not only was Lobach flying her Black Hawk too high, but in the final moments before the impact, she failed to take advice and instruction from her co-pilot to switch course. Lobach's piloting skills were being tested during the evaluation on the fateful night, before the crew were informed that an aircraft was nearby, according to the report. Just 15 seconds before colliding with the commercial airplane, air traffic control told Lobach and Eaves to turn left, but she did not do so. Seconds before impact, co-pilot Eaves then turned to Lobach in the cockpit and told her that air traffic control wanted her to turn left. She still did not do so. Investigators may never know why Lobach did not change course that day. Both Lobach and Eaves had first acknowledged the message that an aircraft was nearby, and spotted the plane themselves before requesting to fly by 'visual separation.' This is a practice that allows aircraft to avoid collisions based on their own observations instead of following the air traffic controller's instructions. 'The request to fly under those rules is granted routinely in airspace overseen by controllers. Most of the time, visual separation is executed without note. 'But when mishandled, it can also create a deadly risk — one that aviation experts have warned about for years,' aviation experts told the outlet. The report stated: 'The Black Hawk was 15 seconds away from crossing paths with the jet. Warrant Officer Eaves then turned his attention to Captain Lobach. He told her he believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left, toward the east river bank.' If she had turned left, it 'would have opened up more space between the helicopter and Flight 5342,' it added. Instead, 67 people - everyone aboard the plane and helicopter - perished. Lobach, from Durham, North Carolina, was an aviation officer in the Army and had racked up around 500 hours of flying time. She also served as a White House military social aide during the Biden administration. A critical rule in the industry is that if two aircraft are on a collision course pilots have to be advised if they are likely to merge, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. Experts found that did not happen that night and that 'immediate intervention was needed' to prevent the horrible tragedy that left 67 dead. 'Direct, immediate intervention was needed that night. Instead of seeing and avoiding Flight 5342, Captain Lobach continued flying straight at it,' the report read. Though it remains unclear why Lobach defied orders, Aviation experts predict she may have been 'blindsided' that the American Airlines flight was 'circling' Runway 33 that night. Investigators now believe the Black Hawk crew did not hear the word 'circling' because they might have been pressing the microphone key to talk at the same time the crucial term came through, according to the report. 'If the key is depressed, the pilot can speak but not hear incoming communications,' it detailed. There is also no indication that Lobach suffered a medical emergency at the time of the crash, and didn't have pre existing health issues, her loved ones and people close to the investigation told the outlet. -
Thanks Red, well spotted. Image replaced.
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Found another website in Italian which when translated, gives this engine detail - 2 x 250 AG (184 kW) power 6-cylinder oposic internal combustion engines L-O-540
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Ask the secret projects forum.
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Lithuanian Vladas Kensgaila began work on the prototype Kensgaila VK-9 in 1994. Compared to contemporary aircraft like the Tu-24, it looked very modern with a streamlined fuselage, winglets and a retractable tricycle landing gear. Much of the aeroplanes structure was made of class fibre plastic composite material. It was a low wing monoplane and was built at the Kensgaila Aircraft Plant (factory?) at the former Lithuanian Air National Guard field at Stetiskiai near Paneveyzs. Only one unit produced. ENGINE: 1 x M-14PS (360 hp) WING SPAN: 14.0 m LENGTH: 10.24 m HEIGHT: 3.94 m WING AREA: 26 sq m EMPTY WEIGHT: 1,200 kgs MAXIMUM TAKE OFF WEIGHT: 2,400 kgs ACCOMODATION: 6 passengers CRUISING SPEED: 350 km/ph RANGE: 2,000 kms with 45 minutes reserve TAKE-OFF RUN: 200 m LANDING RUN: 250 m FIRST FLIGHT: 1996 PRODUCTION: 1 G-LIMITS: +5 / -2.5 These details were the only ones I could locate, and came from Secret Projects forum. No Wikipedia page.
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The Bell 533 was a research helicopter built by Bell Helicopter under contract with the United States Army during the 1960s, to explore the limits and conditions experienced by helicopter rotors at high airspeeds. The helicopter was a YH-40—a preproduction version of the UH-1 Iroquois—modified and tested in several helicopter and compound helicopter configurations. The Bell 533 was referred to as the High Performance Helicopter (HPH) by the Army, and reached a top speed of 274.6 knots (508.6 km/h; 316.0 mph) in 1969, before being retired. The U.S. Army began a program to study improvements to current helicopters that could be demonstrated by testing. Analyses by three helicopter companies showed that performance could be greatly improved. Bell Helicopter was one of the participants and investigated improvements to the UH-1B Iroquois. After the study, Bell submitted a proposal for the High Performance Helicopter. On 7 August 1961, the Army's Transportation Research and Engineering Command (TRECOM) awarded a contract to Bell Helicopter for a high-performance helicopter to conduct research. In response, Bell built the Model 533 from a YH-40-BF, one of the six preproduction UH-1s. The dynamic components of the YH-40 were updated with components designed for the UH-1B. The research for the contract was split into two phases; phase one would be to determine the benefits of an overall reduction in drag, phase two would determine the benefits of auxiliary thrust. The Bell 533 was flight tested in three main configurations. The first configuration was the basic YH-40 helicopter with drag reduction changes. The second configuration added a pair of jet engines for additional thrust. The third configuration added swept wings for extra lift. Second configuration. Third configuration.
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The Martin XB-48 was an American medium jet bomber developed in the mid-1940s. It competed with the Boeing B-47 Stratojet, which proved to be a superior design, and was largely considered as a backup plan in case the B-47 ran into development problems. It never saw production or active duty, and only two prototypes, serial numbers 45-59585 and 45-59586, were built. In 1944, the U.S. War Department was aware of aviation advances in Germany and issued a requirement for a range of designs for medium bombers weighing from 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg) to more than 200,000 pounds (91,000 kg). Other designs resulting from this competition, sometimes nicknamed "The Class of '45", included the North American XB-45 and the Convair XB-46. Production orders finally went to the North American B-45 Tornado, and even this airplane served only for a couple of years before again being replaced by the much more modern Boeing B-47 Stratojet, although the B-45 had the inherent performance – especially if it was not burdened with a payload – for it to then serve as a reconnaissance aircraft. All of the bombers comprising the Class of '45 were transitional aircraft, which combined the power of turbojets with the aeronautical knowledge of World War II.[citation needed] The XB-48 was no exception, as its round fuselage and unswept wings showed a distinct influence of Martin's B-26 Marauder medium bomber. Still, where the B-26 had enough thrust with two massive 18-cylinder radial engines, the XB-48 needed no less than six of the new jet engines. At the time of the XB-48's design, jet propulsion was still in its infancy. And, although it appeared superficially to have six separate engine nacelles – that is, three under each wing – the XB-48 actually had only two, unusually wide, three-engined nacelles. Each of these large nacelles also contained an intricate set of air ducts that constituted the engines' cooling system. The XB-48 was the first aircraft designed with bicycle-type tandem landing gear, which had previously been tested on a modified B-26. The wing airfoil was too thin to house conventional landing gear mechanisms. The main landing gear was in the fuselage and small outriggers located on each wing were used to balance the aircraft. The XB-48 made its first flight on 22 June 1947, a 37-minute, 73 mi (117 km) hop from Martin's Baltimore, Maryland plant to NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, but blew all four tires on its fore-and-aft mounted undercarriage on landing when pilot Pat Tibbs applied heavy pressure to the specially-designed, but very slow to respond, insensitive air-braking lever. Tibbs and co-pilot Dutch Gelvin were uninjured.
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Thanks for clarifying, Arron25. I stand corrected.
