Berliner Helicopter
| Berliner Helicopter | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Berliner Helicopter No. 5 | |
| Role | Helicopter |
| National origin | United States of America |
| Designer | Henry Berliner |
The Berliner Helicopters were a series of experimental helicopters built by Henry Berliner between 1922 and 1925. The helicopters had only limited controllability but were the most significant step forward in helicopter design in the USA until the production of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 helicopter in 1940. The 1922 flights of the Berliner and the de Bothezat H1 were the first by manned helicopters.
Emile Berliner, an inventor famous for his invention of the flat gramaphone record, had experimented with intermeshing helicopters as early as 1907. The initial design was underpowered and called for a lighter engine. Berliner developed a 36 hp five cylinder rotary engine with the Adams-Farwell Company from Dubuque, Iowa, producing the first rotary engine used for aircraft. Berliner later spun off the Gyro Motor Company from this work. A test rig was flown in 1908, followed by two other upgrades before Berliner focused on his other businesses.
In 1919, Emile Berliner's son, Henry Berliner, left the Army Air Service as an aerial photographer to work with his father on helicopter designs.
By 1922 Henry founded the Berliner Aircraft Company with a focus on conventional aircraft. The Berliner Helicopter was successfully demonstrated throughout the 1920s but interest was lost due to its limited controllability and engine-out abilities compared to the autogyro and conventional aircraft.
Emile Berliner named all his counter-rotating helicopters "gyrocopters" (gyrocopter was later used to describe a rotary-winged vehicle that operated on different principles). The first test rig was powered by two 30 hp Adams-Farwell rotary engines. The second example capable of lifting a person was powered by a single 60 hp engine. Emile initially intended his helicopter to have floats and to be used at low levels over water in case of an engine failure that would cause a forced landing. A Popular Mechanics article of the time supposed that his invention would be used as a "flying torpedo" more capable than an aeroplane at holding rich cities for ransom.
...
Wikipedia