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XH-44 Hiller-copter
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Photo: Robert Deering 10/23/2006 Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Dulles International Airport (IAD) Chantilly, Virginia |
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In 1944, at the age of 19,
Stanley Hiller, Jr. designed, built, and
test flew the first helicopter with coaxial
rotors to fly successfully in the United
States. The XH-44 was also the first
helicopter to fly successfully with
all-metal blades and a rigid rotor. Hiller
used the counter-rotating coaxial
configuration to distinguish his designs
from Sikorsky's single main rotor designs
that dominated the helicopter industry in
the mid-1940s.
The first tie-down tests of the XH-44 took place on his parents' driveway and the initial flight tests occurred at the University of California at Berkeley's football stadium, where Hiller was a student. He initially tested the XH-44 with amphibious floats in his family's swimming pool. Up-scaled coaxial Hiller designs failed to sell, but his company prospered with the introduction of the popular UH-12 single rotor model. Dimensions: Rotor Dia:7.6m(15ft); Fuselage Length:4.1m(13ft4in); Height:2.7m(9ft); Weight Empty: 564kg(1,244lb) Materials: Steel tube and fabric fuselage; 2 2-blade metal rotors
Source:
Smithsonian Air & Space Museum |
