Little-known Canadian Helicopters & Light Aircraft Prototypes & Projects

No details other than that Duben Helicopter had been working on rotary-wing designs in British Columbia since the mid 1930s but these "proved unable to sustain hover or flight". (Bill Zuk, CAHS Journal)

Another CAHS Journal contributor, Bob Petite, intends (with Ken Swartz) to document the Duben and other early helicopter designs in the website that your photo appeared in, Preserving Canada's Helicopter History. http://www.telusplanet.net/public/bpetite/home.htm

There were two Canadian helicopter designs before Duben's. First was the 1935 Helioplane by John Hess Helioplane Company Ltd. of New westminster, BC (based on 1928 patents). See CAHS Journal article by Robert S. Petite: http://www.helicopterheritagecanada.com/hess1.pdf

The second was the Froebe co-axial helicopter, a homebuilt from Homewood, Manitoba. The Froebe brothers' 1938 Gipsy-powered machine is better know since it survives at WCAM. The Hess Helioplane prototype was scrapped in Vancouver sometime in the early 1950s. Not sure what the fate of the 1945 Duben helicopter was.
 
Thank you my dear Apophenia very much,


and I can't prevent my self from displaying those two drawings to Hess
Helioplane in your PDF site.
 

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The B-36 experimental helicopter was project by several Polish engineers in Canada. Possibly work already started in Poland. A company named Jet Helicopters Corporation (Jet Helicopters Limited?) was founded in Montreal circa 1947. The heli used the cold-jet-principle with a piston engine driving a compressor which ejected from nozzles at the rotor tips.
Design team included Messrs. Witold Brzowski, Wieslaw Stepniwsli, Tadeusz Tarcynski
I have a bad quality picture, which shows the B-36 under (tethered) tests around 1948-1950?.
Anyone with technical details (what engine etc.) of the B-36?
 
Walter, no details but a few corrections that may help with searching.

'Witold Brzowski' should be Witold Brzozowski and 'Tadeusz Tarcynski' should be Tadeusz Tarczynski. The late Prof Wieslaw Z. Stepniewski was, of course, quite well known (and had come to Jet Helicopters from De Havilland Canada where he had been Head of Aerodynamics and Stress under Jakimiuk).

Witold Brzozowski had been involved with the development of the North Star at Canadair (dating back to its days as Canadian Vickers but quit in 1946 (not 1947) to start Jet Helicopters Corporation. The company was formed in Quebec but moved to the US to build a prototype. With no financial backing, the firm folded in 1947.

AFAIK, after the failure of Jet Helicopters, Witold Brzozowski returned to Quebec (his address on his 1952 US patent is given as Westmount, Montreal). Like a lot of Polish engineers in exile, Stepniwsli and Tarczynski, ended up at Piasecki Helicopter. Both stayed on in Philedelphia until Piasecki became Vertol (Stepniewski later taught at Princeton).

BTW, Tarczynski and Stepniewski first worked together in Poland on the TS-1/34 Promyk sailplane. Tarczynski worked on the PZL Wilk and Lampart projects before leaving Poland. He became a test pilot at DHC during WWII.
 
Great Info my dear Apophenia,


and for Walter,we spoke about that helicopter before,it was mentioned
in NASA report,but now I can't define where.
 
walter said:
I have a bad quality picture, which shows the B-36 under (tethered) tests around 1948-1950?.

Hmm... a picture even of a bad quality is better than no picture, don't you think? It would be interesting to see it.

Piotr
 
HELICOPTER WITH JET-OPERATED ROTOR
Witold Brzozowski, Westmount, Montreal, Canada
assignor to Stefan Czarnecki, Walden, N. Y.
 

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Exaggerated claims? ::)

One of the pioneers of modern-day wind power was a Quebec man, Witold Brzozowski, who died during the 1990s in his native Poland. In 1930, the young aeronautical engineer owned his own aircraft factory in Krakow. When he foresaw in 1940 that the Germans were going to force him to work for them, he fled for Canada, leaving everything behind him. With nearly 40 patents for his inventions, the former university rector in Turkey revealed to me that he had fathered both the helicopter and the hovercraft. When I consider how many times history was revised and corrected, I cannot doubt his claims. (...) With little flair for business, my uncle Brzozowski revealed that he was conned and robbed by his financial partners. (...) In terms of research and development, Witek never obtained the collaboration of our governments. "These people in power do not understand a thing," he used to say.

Source: http://tmp.latribuduverbe.com/archives/2006/07/un_vent_de_folie.html
 
Before the outbreak of World War II, engineer Witold Brzozowski worked at the Institute of Aviation Technology in Warsaw. During the war he was in Canada. In 1942, he found himself in the composition of the Canadian Technical Team, whose goal was to develop a future passenger aircraft. This work was conducted as part of Canadian Vickers in Montreal. Established in 1944, the company acquired all of Canadian Vickers to form Canadair Ltd. During that period the company produced the amphibious Consolidated PBY-5 "Canso"patrol plane, as well as the Canadair 'North Star' passenger aircraft, a licensed Douglas DC-4.

Witold Brzozowski Canadair subsequently left the company in 1946 and founded his own company Jet Helicopter Corp. Their helicopter was the B-36 jet-powered rotor. After moving to the U.S., the company made ​​a prototype. Despite promising preliminary tests, it found no firm financial support and was liquidated in 1947.

Source: http://www.samolotypolskie.pl/samoloty/582/126/Brzozowski-Witold2
 
Thanks to all :) :) for all the information !!. Amazing stuff.
Attached is the picture I have (Word format, but saw this worked in the past).
 

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A screen snip of walter's B-36 helicopter photo.
 

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Stargazer2006 said:
Exaggerated claims? ::)

Yes, I suspect Québécois jingoism. As far as Brzozowski being "le père de l'hélicoptère", in Canadian helicopter development, John Hess Sr., Nick Duben, and the Froebe brothers all got at least as far (or further) and almost a decade earlier. Still, Brzozowski's attempt was an interesting alternative approach to helicopter drives.

I'd be interested to hear more about this Quebec author's hovercraft claim. An online search for "Witold Brzozowski" + "aéroglisseur" or "hovercraft" produces no return but the url that you've given.
 
Exaggerated claims? ::)

One of the pioneers of modern-day wind power was a Quebec man, Witold Brzozowski, who died during the 1990s in his native Poland. In 1930, the young aeronautical engineer owned his own aircraft factory in Krakow. When he foresaw in 1940 that the Germans were going to force him to work for them, he fled for Canada, leaving everything behind him. With nearly 40 patents for his inventions, the former university rector in Turkey revealed to me that he had fathered both the helicopter and the hovercraft. When I consider how many times history was revised and corrected, I cannot doubt his claims. (...) With little flair for business, my uncle Brzozowski revealed that he was conned and robbed by his financial partners. (...) In terms of research and development, Witek never obtained the collaboration of our governments. "These people in power do not understand a thing," he used to say.

Source: http://tmp.latribuduverbe.com/archives/2006/07/un_vent_de_folie.html
Hi Stargazer 2006,
I am a local historian writing about people who have lived in my région. Witold and wife Antonine Des Rochers lived in Montebello from 1951-1960, on a large piece of land purchased from Leo Chenier. This is possibly a historical site. Plz help on finding more info. Witold’s mother lived with them for a while and was called Mamushka. Any children? Did he take Michel Gaucher with him to Turkey? He was rector of which university In Turkey? How is he related to you? À brother-in-law, Dr Des Rochers was a doctor in Montreal, are you related to him or Michel Bédard? Remember the house now gone? Simple historian curiosity.. The land was sold in 1960 to Harry Smith. The family was well liked by all neighbours who have fond memories of the couple.
 

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In the summer of 1950, Hamilton, Ontario resident Harry B. Picken completed construction of a very conventional homebuilt helicopter. Equipped with a tail rotor like most successful helicopters back then and still today, the HP 100 or HP 400 Helicon did not go beyond the prototype stage. In 1951 Picken founded an aircraft maintenance and repair company in Ste. Catherine, Ontario, Genaire Company Limited. In the summer of 1954, he submitted the idea of mechanism to enable a helicopter to land on a ship even in bad weather to Canada's Department of Defence Production . A federal agency, the Defense Research Board, deemed the concept too complex but believed the idea itself was promising.

This work gave birth to the Helicopter Hauldown and Rapid Securing Device (HHRSD), developed by Fairey Aviation Company of Canada of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, a subsidiary of the British firm Fairey. The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) enthusiastically collaborated on the project. The sea trials of a prototype began in November 1963. The problems and delays were numerous, which was quite understandable given the degree of innovation of the concept. That said, Fairey Canada, a company name adopted in 1964, received a first order towards the end of the year. Mounted on RCN escort destroyers and helicopter carrying destroyers, these devices, known as the "Beartrap," were used in conjunction with the Sikorsky CHSS / CH-124 Sea King helicopters. They allowed the use in all weather conditions of one or two helicopters from relatively small warships, thereby greatly changing, dare one say almost revolutionizing, anti-submarine warfare in mid ocean.

Around 1967, when it was faced with serious financial problems, Fairey decided to end its activities in Canada. Dominion Aluminum Fabricating of Mississauga, Ontario, purchased the production rights for the HHRSD from the federal government in 1969. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force became the first foreign customer of the "Beartrap" in 1973. The signing of a first contract by the United States Navy in 1981 was an important step in the history of Recovery Assist, Securing and Traversing (RAST), a new official designation of the “Beartrap” adopted circa 1976-78.

Dominion Aluminum Fabricating became DAF Indal, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Indal Canada, around 1977. Indal Technologies, a name adopted around 1985, completed the prototype of a new device, the Aircraft Ship Integrated Secure and Traverse (ASIST), in 1986.

In 1987, the company apparently began discussions with the Italian company Caproni Vizzola Costruzioni Aeronautiche, a subsidiary of a major company , Agusta, to develop a version of ASIST compatible with anti-submarine helicopters manufactured by the latter. This most interesting project seemingly went nowhere.

With support from the Defence Industry Productivity Program and Technology Partnerships Canada, Indal Technologies slowly became a world leader in helicopter landing systems. Towards the end of the 2000s, RAST and ASIST together accounted for three quarters of the systems installed worldwide. The navies of at least ten countries in America (Canada, Chile and the United States), Asia (China (Taiwan), Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Turkey), Europe (Italy and Spain) ) and Oceania (Australia) had ordered more than two hundred of these Canadian systems.

It should be noted that Curtiss-Wright acquired Indal Technologies in 2005. The latter still existed as of 2021. The HHRSD and its successors, the RAST and ASIST, are among the most important, if not the most important Canadian innovations in naval combat of the 20th century.
 
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Dear fortrena,
It appears like helicopter haul-down systems were invented three or more times.
The first iteration was during 1942 - 1943 when the Kreigemarine test-flew Flettner Kolibris from their ships. They added wooden flight decks above gun turrets and installed winches under the flight decks. The Kolibri pilot hovered over the flight deck and dropped one end of a 10 metre cable. Two deck crewmen connected that cable to the ship's winch. Once the helicopter was in a stable hover, the ship's winch pulled it down to the deck.

Canadian Harry B. Picken revived the concept in 1954 and this eventually led to the development of the Royal Canadian Navy's "Beartrap" system. During the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Fairey was busy modifying and overhauling RCN aircraft. Fairey eventually sold their aircraft division to Industrial Marine Products, which still overhauls aircraft for the Canadian Armed Forces.
To learn how many cables they broke during haul-down tests, read the book "Certified Serviceable:" compiled from accounts by various RCN and CAF engineering officers.

Meanwhile the British, French and Soviet navies developed their own helicopter haul-down systems. The British and French cooperated in developing the "Harpoon" system that resembles the tail probe on a Canadian Sea King. Once on the deck, the "Harpoon" stabs down through holes in the deck and spreads its tip to secure the helicopter to the deck. The Soviet system is similar.

Master Corporal (retired) Robert Warner, CD, BA, etc. served with Helicopter Air Detachments onboard HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Iroquois.
 
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MANY thanks for the information. Rotary-wing aircraft haul-down systems were indeed invented several times.

In 1935, the chief test pilot of the main British rotary-wing aircraft maker of the interwar period, Cierva Autogiro, Reginald Alfred Charles “Reggie” Brie, patented a sprung cradle intended to receive and hold down, even in bad weather, an autogiro attempting to land on a ship at sea. A prototype was never built.

I also seem to recall seeing something about experiments performed in the late 1950s, in the U.S., by Kaman Aircraft.
 
Exaggerated claims? ::)

One of the pioneers of modern-day wind power was a Quebec man, Witold Brzozowski, who died during the 1990s in his native Poland. In 1930, the young aeronautical engineer owned his own aircraft factory in Krakow. When he foresaw in 1940 that the Germans were going to force him to work for them, he fled for Canada, leaving everything behind him. With nearly 40 patents for his inventions, the former university rector in Turkey revealed to me that he had fathered both the helicopter and the hovercraft. When I consider how many times history was revised and corrected, I cannot doubt his claims. (...) With little flair for business, my uncle Brzozowski revealed that he was conned and robbed by his financial partners. (...) In terms of research and development, Witek never obtained the collaboration of our governments. "These people in power do not understand a thing," he used to say.

Source: http://tmp.latribuduverbe.com/archives/2006/07/un_vent_de_folie.html
The posted link is no longer active ..... could someone post please the contents of "un-vent-de-folie.html"? Dr. Witold Brzozowski was first among equals, a near genius.
 
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Quebecer Rejean Lalflamme designed the LAF-1 tandem rotor helicopter during the early 21 st century, but development was suspended in November 2004 due to lack of funds. The prototype CF-BGE had a composite skin containing an engine, drive train and two seats. Integral fuel tanks hold 45 US gallons of mogas. Both seats were forward of the forward rotor mast (ala. CH-47 Chinook). The Ford V8, 3.8 liter, 230 horsepower automotive engine was installed aft of the rear rotor mast. It used an automotive drive shaft to transmit power forward to a belt reduction unit (amidships) then two more automotive drive shafts delivered power to the two rotors. Modified automotive differentials change direction 90 degrees and act as rotor masts.
Fuselage 24 feet long
Rotor diameter 260"
Three blades per rotor
Empty weight 1775 pounds
Gross weight 2200 to 3500 pounds
Horsepower 230 to 350
Cruise speed 140 mph.
More information is available on the www.redback.com/Les Helicopters Laflamme website.
 
The posted link is no longer active ..... could someone post please the contents of "un-vent-de-folie.html"? Dr. Witold Brzozowski was first among equals, a near genius.

I haven't the content of this link,but more Info is here;

Thanks ..... but Ramme and Brzozowski are two different efforts. The best source of info re Brzozowski would have been Stepniewski but alas he passed in 2020. Still searching for Brzozowki's nephew who apparently posted on here some time ago.
 
Thanks ..... but Ramme and Brzozowski are two different efforts. The best source of info re Brzozowski would have been Stepniewski but alas he passed in 2020. Still searching for Brzozowki's nephew who apparently posted on here some time ago.

Thank you Dark Hover,and I will search in Canadian books about that.
 
From Aviation magazine 1979 & JAW 1988,

here is the MacFam Cavalier (McASCO) aircraft,included SA 102,103,104,
105 & 106,with Jungster I & II,also the SA 109 Project.
 

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The following may perhaps be of interest.

By 1971 at the latest, K&S Aircraft Supply of Calgary, Alberta, acquired the rights to produce two American-designed single-seat aircraft, the Kaminskas RK-1 Jungster I biplane and RK-2 Jungster II monoplane. The Jungster I drew its inspiration from a well-known and respected German two-seater aerobatic aircraft which first flew in April 1934, the Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann. K & S Aircraft Supply subsequently sold several sets of plans.

The firm also drew plans for the four-seater SA 102 Cavalier, a deeply modified derivative of a homebuilt single-seater of French origin, the Gardan / Orm-Hume GY-20 Minicab. K & S Aircraft Supply soon sold several sets of plans.

Renamed Macfam World Traders towards the end of the 1970s, the small company offered its customers derivatives of the Cavalier, as well as the SA-105 Super Cavalier and the SA-109. The company's McAsco Aircraft division, a corporate name adopted circa 1984, developed a two-seater, the SA-106 Lady Bug, which may not have flown. The McAsco Aircraft division moved to the United States around 1988 but was no longer talked about after 1993-94.
 
The McAsco Aircraft division moved to the United States around 1988 but was no longer talked about after 1993-94.
Victim of the ongoing economic dislocation of the early 1990s most likely, courtesy of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War among other things.
 

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