Fairey Rotodyne anyone?

[Garry Russell]

Yep Pete

It was just to get the rotor spinning and again before landing to maintain revs.

So it only needed to makes lots of noise at the times when it was close to the ground.

Garry

[Jetstreamsky]

The Rotodyne idea isn't dead, at least not at Groen Brothers.

See here http://www.groenbros.com/FaireyRotodyne.php for some history of the Fairey Rotordyne, including the work on reducing noise.

And here http://www.groenbros.com/gyrodyne_tech.php for the latest developments.

[kit]

When the 'dyne came back to Benson after a flight somewhere, you could not only hear the tip jets start up (the local noise level rose by about 30db........) but you could see a circle of dark smoke round the rotor tip circumference. Presumably that was unburnt fuel before they lit off the jets, but I can't remember clearly if the smoke appeared before the noise. (It was 50 years ago.......)

They flew the 'dyne a lot on Sundays, presumably when the RAF weren't ferrying their stuff in and out (Benson was the primary Ferry Base then) and the two RNVR Sqdns flew their Sea Hawks and Attackers over the weekend too. It was educational comparing the sound levels of the the 'dyne relative to the two Naval aircraft. The 'dyne take-off sound level was about equivalent to four Sea Hawks taxi-ing out at once, and an Attacker was in an anechoic chamber by comparison....

I just can't imagine how they ever thought they could operate a 'dyne into or out of a city centre. Pity, as it's a great idea apart from the noise.

For a 2007 version of the same thinking read 'V-22 Osprey'.

[Garry Russell]

The Osprey first flew in 1989 so it's not exactly new
and it's use has been somewhat limited :think:

Garry