Various Small Helicopters to ID

[hesham]

From Krila 1-2/1957,

I can't ID this two helicopters,the first was familiar,and they mentioned the world krakov,is that
mean Kharkov ?,who can help ?.

 

[flateric]

Why for the God's sake you can't use Google translator knowing that you are reading magazine in Slovenian language?

 

[hesham]

OK my dear Flateric,

I used the google translate,but you know it's not precisely perfect,so I check only.

 

[walter]

Hi Hesham!
I think the twin-fin heli is German. I have it as the Fluro-Schliesske Libelle. Attached a photo and some info.
Fluro apparently stood for Flugroller and free translated this could be described as roadable flyer.
Story goes that the project was fraudulous and that the designer attracted quite some money from investors, without performing and reportedly he went to prison for that.
Whether the Libelle ever flew? Depends on who you want to believe.
Some info:
2-seat (single-seat?) helicopter
three Schmidt-Argus pulse jets
estimated cruise 100+ mph
main rotor diameter 24.278ft; fuselage length 14.763ft; height
DETAILS: The Libelle experimental helicopter was a homebuilt project designed and built by Mr. Walter Schlieske and Fluro was synonym for Flugroller. The aircraft appeared during the mid-1950s, but possibly not flown, although other sources claimed that the aircraft actually did. Only a single example was built.
Production: 1
Construction said to be mainly steel tube and bamboo(?) and powerplan(s) were described as either pulsejets or a 100cc two-stroke engine.

 

[walter]

Hi Hesham!
Your other heli is the Bensen B-4 Skyscooter (registration N3762C). I always though it was a single-seater. Maybe your photo is somewhat confusing. View the 40hp engine, a 2-seater seems unlikely.
Some details:
single-seat helicopter (2-seat?)
one 40-42hp Nelson H-59 two-stroke piston engine
max. speed 70 mph, cruise 55 mph, icr 750ft/minute, range 118 miles
main rotor diameter 26.167ft; length 11.975ft; height 7.972ft
DETAILS: The B-4 Sky Scooter was Mr. Igor Bensen's second helicopter design and it was intended as inexpensive and simple helicopter for private use. The B-4 featured a unusual rotor and drive system with a small propeller installed in leading-edges of the two rotor blades and driven by one 40-42hp Nelson H-59 engine (installed centrally on the rotor hub) through a belt system. Only a prototype was constructed by the Bensen Aircraft Corporation and this aircraft first flew during 1955. Only limited testing took place and further work on the B-4 was halted.
Production: 1

 

[Stingray]

Regarding the Bensen B-4: It's interesting seeing a design like this from that particular time period (and from Bensen), using propellers to drive the rotors, while others were experimenting with ramjets. Seems rather archaic but also less expensive, which I suppose was the point. Other designs I've seen using this drive method dated back to 20s and 30s, like the Curtiss-Bleecker SX-5-1, Isaaco Helicogyre, and the Hellesen-Kahn machine which used two whole plane fuselages instead of blades (lol), just to name a few. There was also the Czech Maier helicopter, but I'm not sure when that was made (probably late-40s). I realize that there are some more contemporary examples that use this method too, but are mostly homebuilt garage projects.

In the case of Bensen's design it was referred to as the HEPARS drive system (High Efficiency Propulsion and Rotor System). I found claims that the development has General Electric / US Navy program roots, but I can't seem to verify this. Help please?

The purpose of the design was to consume less power than that of a conventional helicopter, as the belt system between the props and hub and lack of torque-balance was supposed to reduce mechanical complexity and required hp from the main powerplant, and to save weight (since no tail rotor was required).

 

[Stingray]

Fluro was synonym for Flugroller

Not only that, but a shortened variation of "FLUR-Flugroller and Hubschrauber Entwicklung" (FLUR Flying Scooter and Helicopter Development), which was the name of Walter Schlieske's fraudulent company that he "founded" in Minden, Germany to build this machine.

I also find this one listed as "Libelle III". Since only one of these was built, I assume the name itself is also part of the facade, to delude one to believe other types were developed before it (by what would seem like a legitimate company with real projects).

EDIT: I looked more into it, and you can see in one of the pictures that "Libelle 2" is marked on the tailboom. The design seems to vary a bit in its evolution, first shown publicly with a bare airframe, so perhaps the name just denotes what stage of development it was in rather than being part of the fraud. Not sure.

 

[Stingray]

Some more pics of the Libelle:

 

[hesham]

Hi,

please who can ID those helicopters;

Air Progress 1962 Helicopters

Being that the driving force behind many aircraft was the military, we take a now and then look at military helicopters and VTOL craft.

www.redbackaviation.com

Determination Of The Center Of Gravity In Helicopters

There are many considerations when either designing a helicopter, or building a kit helicopter due to multiple variations including pilot weight. Center of gravity is one of the basic references every pilot should know.

www.redbackaviation.com

 

[Armin Derer]

From Krila 1-2/1957,

I can't ID this two helicopters,the first was familiar,and they mentioned the world krakov,is that
mean Kharkov ?,who can help ?.

Krakov is Czech/Slowenic/Slowac for Kraków, a town in Poland.

 

[Armin Derer]

Hi,

please who can ID those helicopters;

Air Progress 1962 Helicopters

Being that the driving force behind many aircraft was the military, we take a now and then look at military helicopters and VTOL craft.

www.redbackaviation.com

Determination Of The Center Of Gravity In Helicopters

There are many considerations when either designing a helicopter, or building a kit helicopter due to multiple variations including pilot weight. Center of gravity is one of the basic references every pilot should know.

www.redbackaviation.com

Dear Hesham,

the blue one from your request is a make-believe backyard construction by an Iraqi man.
It was called „Diyala“ and was featured in a German newspaper in 2013.

Random clippings (16) – DIY في العراق

Helikopter Hysterie ZWO, Hubschrauber, Heinrich Dubel, Original, Hubschrauberblog, Helikopterblog, Fantôme Verlag, copterblog, chopperblog, heloblog, العربية, polska, english, русский, român, ελληνικά, português, suomi, català, français, Íslenska, español, Afrikaans, हिंदी, italiano, עברית, 中國的...

helikopterhysteriezwo.blogspot.com

Some more photos here:

Individualhubschrauber (65) – Eigenbau (23) – DIY في العراق Irak (3)

A source for accurate historical information and news about rotary wing flight and flying machines plus an endless stream of helicopter themed entertainment, products, literature, art and film. ––– Helikopter Hysterie ZWO, Hubschrauber, Heinrich Dubel, Original, Hubschrauberblog, Helikopterblog...

helikopterhysteriezwo.blogspot.com

Amusing that the name of the thing contains the letters DIY (= Do It Yourself)

Cheers

Armin

 

[hesham]

Thank you dear Armin.

 

[Armin Derer]

From Krila 1-2/1957,

I can't ID this two helicopters,the first was familiar,and they mentioned the world krakov,is that
mean Kharkov ?,who can help ?.

The name is „Krila – magazin za mlad“ (= Wings – magazine for the Young)

The caption reads:

Helicopters with impulse jet engines on rotor tips. This type of small helicopter is simply constructed, which is mainly reflected in the fact that it does not have a complex mechanism to drive the rotors. These features naturally also make it cheaper than the others.

„krakov“ here is not the Polish town, as I proposed earlier, but the Slowenian word for „arm“.

 

[Pigglet]

Nope, ‘krak’ -noun (krakov-genitive) has several meanings. It is a.) frogfoot b.) improper use for section of building or highway c.) (rotor) blade but only with regard to the part of helicopter. Blade as section of the knife or object itself is named differently.

 

[Armin Derer]

Nope, ‘krak’ -noun (krakov-genitive) has several meanings. It is a.) frogfoot b.) improper use for section of building or highway c.) (rotor) blade but only with regard to the part of helicopter. Blade as section of the knife or object itself is named differently.

Right. I should have been more precise.

DeepL translated (somewhat cute)

Helikopter z pulzoreaktcijskimi motorji na koncih krakov rotorja.

to

Helicopter with pulse-jet engines at the ends of the rotor arms.

rotor arms = rotor blades

 

[persil]

Hi,

please who can ID those helicopters;

Air Progress 1962 Helicopters

Being that the driving force behind many aircraft was the military, we take a now and then look at military helicopters and VTOL craft.

www.redbackaviation.com

Determination Of The Center Of Gravity In Helicopters

There are many considerations when either designing a helicopter, or building a kit helicopter due to multiple variations including pilot weight. Center of gravity is one of the basic references every pilot should know.

www.redbackaviation.com

The one from the pic no 4 it is a Murray T by Mr Murray - browse the links on that page: https://rotorcraft.info/frontend/rotorcraft/index.php?rt=4&a_nid=645

 

[Apophenia]

And another link: https://www.redbackaviation.com/murray-model-t-helicopter/

The Murray Model T helicopter is the brainchild of Colorado Inventor, Arthur Murray. An electrician by trade and a former B-17 pilot. Murray built this helicopter in the late 1960s. He later built a more advanced version and named it the Model A. In 1974 Murray registered the Model T with the FAA, making it the first registered homebuilt helicopter in the state of Colorado.

Both the Model T and later Model A home made helicopters were test flown by Murray to test various parts and equipment that were installed on each aircraft. Murray flew both aircraft near south Santa Fe Drive in Denver in the open fields. Never flying above twenty foot or traveling more than a mile from his starting point, Murray estimated that he was able to fly at 50 mph and at a maximum height of 150 feet.

Murray used parts from various helicopter and aircraft hulks he found in the state. The landing skids and tail boom are from a Hughes TH-55 helicopter. Murray used the little Hughes as the basis for his Model T helicopter because of its ruggedness, simple design, and it was easy to find parts.

The US Army used the TH-55 helicopter as its main training helicopter from 1964 to 1934. The little helicopter was rugged, but some students were better at crashing them than landing the helicopters. This meant that spare parts and hulks were readily available for Murray to use in his initial design.

Other parts of the Model T came from many different sources: Volkswagen, Hoover, and even Budweiser! Never one to waste parts or think inside the box, Murray gleaned parts from where ever he could. Look closely behind the instrument panel and you will see that one of the instruments are held in place with a cut off Budweiser beer can. The Murray family donated both the Model T helicopter and the Model A helicopter to Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum as a tribute to Arthur Murray and his inventiveness.

Model T Helicopter Specifications
Weight Approximately 800 pounds [363 kg]
Height 7 feet 11 inches [2.413 m]
Length 28 feet 11 inches [8.8138 m]
Rotor Diameter 25 feet [7.62 m]
Maximum Speed Approximately 50 mph [~80 km/h]