The development of the
Fairey Rotodyne
The
Fairey Rotodyne originated from an idea for a large compound helicopter by Dr.
J. A. J. Bennett and Capt. A. G. Forsyth of Fairey Aviation, whose original
study dates back to 1947. Their concept evolved into the "Eland"
Rotodyne prototype, which successfully completed its maiden flight in November
1957. Its four-bladed rotor was powered in helicopter mode by tip jets, driven
by compressed air. This compressed air was lit with fuel at tip jet combustion
chambers to drive the rotor, removing the necessity for an anti-torque tail
rotor. The tip jets were extinguished at about 60 mph after a normal helicopter
takeoff, converting the aircraft to an autogiro. In autogiro mode the collective
pitch of the rotor blades and hence rotor lift, was reduced with up to about
half the weight taken by the wings, allowing much higher speeds than
conventional. When approaching to land the tips were relit, converting the
aircraft back to helicopter mode for a normal helicopter hover and landing.
In
1958 the 3 crew, 40 passenger capacity Rotodyne prototype, achieved economic
cruise speeds of 150 knots. A world record speed of 307 mph was set on January
5, 1959 for the 100 km closed circuit. The craft had the remarkable safety
feature of being able to convert from autogiro mode to helicopter mode and hover
with one engine shut down and its prop feathered. Additionally, it demonstrated
safe landings in full autogiro mode.
The
greatest criticism of the Rotodyne, in spite of its performance as a VTOL craft,
was of the noise generated by the tip jets. The noise attenuation program at the
time of cancellation had produced reductions down to the then-desired 96 db. at
600 ft. distance. Noise critics failed to appreciate that the full power
tips-lit time in service was only about one minute during takeoff and climb and
one minute at landing. In fact, to prove a point, test pilot Ron Gelattly made
two flights over downtown London and several takeoffs and landings at Battersea
Heliport on a dead calm morning with no complaints raised. At the time of the
project's cancellation the continuing development of silencers had further
reduced the noise level by another 16 db. Instrument flying the aircraft was
very stable and Gelattly often demonstrated transitions from helicopter to
autogiro and back again, at less than 500 ft. above the ground!
The
Rotodyne's tip drive and unloaded rotor made a tremendous breakthrough in
performance and handling compared to pure helicopters and other forms of
convertiplanes. The aircraft was flown at 175 knots and pulled into a steep
climbing high G turn with no adverse handling characteristics. It was
demonstrated at the Farnborough and Paris Air Shows each year from 1958 to 1962
and always amazed onlookers. From any point of view the Rotodyne was an aircraft
ahead of its time.
Kaman
Helicopters in the U. S. secured a license for civil and military production.
Interest was shown from Okanagan Helicopters Ltd. of Vancouver, B.C., New York
Airways, Chicago Helicopter Airways and Japan Airlines, who considered the
aircraft for its Osaka-Tokyo route.
Nearly
1000 passengers, including a fair portion of the world's airline chiefs, service
chiefs and British Ministers of Parliament, received flights as a demonstration
of the enhanced safety of the prototype in order to emphasize faith in the
design.
By
January of 1959 British European Airways announced that it intended to pre-order
6 Rotodyne’s, with the hope of a requirement for up to 20 aircraft for
operation on shorter routes. This was in addition to an RAF "order"
for 12 military transport versions. In March of 1959 New York Airways planned to
purchase 5 Rotodyne’s costing about ten million dollars total, with an option
for an additional 15 at a later date. The U.S. Army showed considerable interest
with a rumoured order of up to 200 machines. None of this occurred.
In
1959 the British Government, determined to reduce its participation in the
aviation industry, reduced the number of helicopter firms. Under the direction
of Minister of Aviation Duncan Sandys, the consolidation process was begun by
cutting government funding. Sandys wanted one consolidated helicopter
manufacturer centred on Westland aircraft. This meant that Fairey, the
helicopter division of Bristol, would have to be taken over by the Westland
firm.
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On
the acquisition of Fairey, Westland Aircraft proposed to develop the Rotodyne
into a production aircraft capable of carrying between 57 and 75 passengers and
using two of the new 5,250 shp Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprops to give a cruising
speed of 370 km/h, and the ability to carry up to 6,700 Kgs of freight including
standard-width British Army vehicles.
In
February 1962, the final axe fell, first with withdrawal by BEA, then the
withdrawal of the military order. The world's first vertical takeoff
military/civil transport died. It seemed that Westland wanted to erase all
memory of the Rotodyne, with the prototype scrapped and all the tooling used to
create the Rotodyne destroyed. Even in a search of London's aviation museums and
memorabilia, there is no evidence other than the few articles which were written
in European and British aviation publications concerning the craft. A few
components have been found and are on display at the International Helicopter
Museum at Weston-Super-Mak.
Prototype
Specification
Type:
experimental compound helicopter
Powerplant:
two 2088-kW (2,800shp) Napier Eland NE1.7 turboprops
Performance:
cruising speed 298 km/h (185 mph); range 724 km (450 miles)
Weight:
maximum take-off 14969 kg (33,000 lb)
Dimensions:
wing span 14.17 m (46 ft 6 in); rotor diameter 27.43 m (90 ft 0 in); length
17.88 m (58 ft 8 in); height 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in); rotor disc area 591.0 M^2
(6,361.7 sq ft)"
A
different outcome, the Westland Rotodyne
What
if development of the Rotodyne continued? Perhaps political interference by a
cost cutting British government was averted and firm orders had been placed.
Here is how it might all go…
Upon
acquisition of Fairey, Westland proposed two versions of the Rotodyne. A civil
55 passenger (5.6 tonne cargo capacity) Mark 1 version suitable for domestic
short run routes and a larger bodied military transport Mark 2 version capable
of carrying up to 60 fully equipped troops and 12 tonnes of cargo. Concepts for
purely cargo versions of the Rotodyne based on the larger variant were also
produced. The production Rotodyne’s were powered by the Rolls Royce Tyne.
By
late 1959 the US Army, US Marine Corps and the British Army had placed orders
for the larger bodied military transport Rotodyne Mark 2 proposed by Westland in
early 1959. Orders were also placed for the Mark 1 version by several European
and American domestic airlines, excited by the potential of the Rotodyne and the
apparent confidence in the type by the military.
Once
such numbers of orders had been placed, production started in mid 1959, with the
first of the ordered machines delivered to their respective owners during May of
1960. Along with the US military and British Army orders was an order in 1962
for 4 Westland Rotodyne’s by an enthusiastic RAAF who had an evaluation team
present at the twenty-third Aeronautical Salon in Paris during 1959. Eventually
the option for 5 more was taken up in 1964. Keen to see if the Rotodyne suited
carrier operations, the RAN successfully trialled a “borrowed” RAAF machine
and purchased 6 more in 1964. These were the larger bodied Mark 2 versions
re-fitted with the same Rolls Royce Dart power plants used on the Fokker F-27
Friendships operating in Australian domestic airline services.
In
typical Australian fashion, the crews of the RAAF Rotodyne’s nicknamed their
machines “The Flying Fruitbox”, owing to the large boxy fuselage shape.
In
1962 QANTAS expressed an interest and after a tour of the Westland production
plant and a number of demonstrator flights, purchased 20 of the smaller Mark 1
version to be used in the domestic shuttle service between capital cities and
larger regional centres. Deliveries commenced in mid 1963.
QANTAS
placed 4 Rotodyne’s into service within Western Australia in 1964; two on the
Perth – Bunbury shuttle service and two on the Perth – Kalgoorlie shuttle
service. In keeping with QANTAS tradition, the 4 Rotodyne’s were named Town of
Bunbury, Town of Kalgoorlie, Town of Geraldton and Town of York.
Preamble
After
building my first Rotodyne
last year and developing a keen interest on Convertiplanes generally, I
purchased another kit with the intention of building a “what if” QANTAS
version. I figured that knowing the problem areas of the kit I would have an
essentially trouble free build which would give me the chance to do a little
detailing.
The
Kit
The
kit was originally issued in 1959, back when Airfix produced several new kits a
year for the keen modelling fraternity of the day and when the Rotodyne was
touring the Farnborough and Paris air shows. There are over 100 parts in the
kit, including 21 transparent parts. The kit parts are moulded in light grey and
are festooned with oversize rivet detail. Parts such as the undercarriage bay
doors are thickly moulded and would require thinning and clean up.
One
decal option is provided, along with an instruction sheet. However I intended to
use selected decals from 1:100 and 1:72 Roo Decals QANTAS B707 sheets. With a
scheme in mind I did some research on the QANTAS Super Constellation colour
scheme, which was in service with the company during the early 1960’s. I
envisioned that the Rotodyne would have entered service around 1963, being used
on the domestic “shuttle” runs between regional centres.
Construction
Assembly
started with the cockpit. Airfix provides a simplistic instrument panel and
centre console with instrument panel decals giving the required details.
I boxed in the centre console with some plasticard and fashioned detail
out of stretched sprue and card to busy up the instrument panel and flight
panels. I then made harnesses for the pilot and co-pilot seats out of thin
strips of Tamiya masking tape painted light grey. The instrument panel was
bulked out at the back and some wiring added with fuse wire painted black to
simulate the electrical bundles for the dials. These were bundled into a thick
strand and inserted through a hole in the console at the base of the instrument
panel. Some white glue sealed over the hole.
I
painted the instrument panel and console Citadel Codex Grey with the cockpit
floor, rear bulkhead and seats Humbrol Hu27 Dark Grey.
Before
the fuselage halves were joined together I added the rotor hub, cementing that
into place as I wanted to be able to remove the rotor assembly whilst
transporting the finished model. I sprayed the interior with flat black and
added the 20 oval windows. As I had issues with windows falling in on my first
Rotodyne, I reinforced each window with 2 part epoxy glue and super glue. I did
not want the same problem to occur again! The final item to be sandwiched
between the fuselage halves was the cockpit bulkhead. Behind that I added some
lead fishing sinkers to prevent the dreaded tail sit problem.
The
clam shell rear doors were cemented shut. Gaps caused by the non-installation of
the provided door mechanism and the adjustment of each door half were filled
with some plasticard.
I
then spent considerable amounts of time and half a tube of Tamiya putty making
good all the joints and sink marks marring the fuselage. A lot more work was
also required to clean up each wing engine assembly before an acceptable result
could be readied for Tamiya AS12 Natural Metal. I opted to pre-assemble and
prime each wing so they would attach to the fuselage as one unit.
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The
wings and tail assembly attached to the fuselage with more filler needed to
cover over adjustments to each wing and tail root so to ensure correct
positioning. To give the tail assembly extra strength, I used some brass rod, to
replace the plastic tail support struts. This was inserted into drilled holes
and adjusted to keep the tail assembly square and true.
The
remainder of assembly proceeded smoothly and rather quickly, with only small
amounts of filler required to smooth out remaining ill fitting joints. I gave
the entire assembly a coat of Tamiya Primer so as to reveal any missed or messy
areas and these were dealt with quickly. As the lower half was going to be
natural metal, seam line removal and silky smooth plastic are mandatory. At this
point I cleaned up, polished and masked the canopy. The cockpit was cemented
into place, the front wheel well painted in flat black and the canopy offered up
to the fuselage. Once I was happy with the fit it was cemented into place with
clear parts cement, reinforced with a careful application of liquid cement. A
small amount of reshaping, filling and sanding had to be done to smooth out the
join of the canopy windshield to the fuselage.
All
the minor parts such as the undercarriage legs needed cleaning up to remove
flash and seam lines. I also thinned out the over thick undercarriage bay doors.
Once all this was done, the doors, undercarriage and wheels were treated with an
application of AS-12.
Painting and Decaling
Now
that construction was finished I could settle down to masking fun and painting.
I
started with a Tamiya AS-12 overall and then masked the lower demarcation line
for the red stripe running along (above and below) the side window line. I then
masked of the wings and silver undersides and sprayed the white. For white
schemes generally I use Citadel “Skull White” spray cans. Once the white had
dried I masked the top demarcation line of the red stripe and masked the white
areas off. The only portion of the model now showing was the area to be sprayed
red. This was then painted with my Modelmaster 1000S single action airbrush
using Tamiya Flat Red acrylic. I then removed the bare metal area masking and
gave the exposed areas a polish with SnJ polishing powder.
Peeling
away the remainder of the masking revealed the previously painted white areas
and the glazing. I was quite
nervous when peeling the Maskol away from the side windows as the Maskol had
been on for some weeks and was stubbornly resisting removal. But the
overzealousness of my attachments of the windows worked and all was well with
only a small amount of red required to touch up each window edge. I then painted
the nose Vallejo flat black in keeping with the QANTAS company scheme.
Whilst
all that extra paint work was drying, I spent some time cleaning and then
painting the four exhausts. Painting the exhausts was straight forward, spray a
base of flat black and dry brush Model Master metallic paints to give the
exhausts a weathered, heat stressed appearance. The Model Master metallics are
very thin and dry brush really nicely.
I
painted the rotor assembly with Citadel metallics, washed with sludge wash of
RLM66, then flattened with Aeromaster Flat Coat to give a used look. Wheels were
carefully painted Aeromaster Tyre Grey and the propeller blades carefully
painted flat black and tipped in yellow.
The
flat white paint was then painted over with several thin coats of Johnsons
“Future” in preparation for decaling.
With
my QANTAS “what if” scheme in mind; I began to apply selected decals from
the two Roo Decal sheets I purchased earlier. Then to my horror, the black
markings shattered on removal from the water. Luckily I managed to get hold of
another sheet. This and the remainder of my first two sheets were treated with a
coat of Microscale Decal Film and decaling proceeded again with no more mishaps.
At
this stage I realised I needed some custom decals. My QANTAS Rotodyne needed a
name (All QANTAS planes are named after cities and Towns) and some tail codes to
match the wing codes from the Roo-Decals sheet. A quick question to a fellow
modeller produced a custom sheet with the required decals. I was the guinea pig
with these custom decals produced by the Testors Decal System and I only just
managed to get two useable codes out of the sheet. However another sheet was
made with extra coats of decal fixative applied that solved the ink running
issues and all was well. Thanks Nenad!
Once
the decals had dried, I applied several more thin coats of “Future” with a
clean wide flat brush, kept specifically for the task, to seal in the decals and
to impart a gloss finish overall.
I
then added the painted wheels to the undercarriage legs and the thinned out
undercarriage doors were cemented into place. The final task was to add finished
rotor and the two propeller assemblies and my Rotodyne was finished!
Overall
Well
I have two Rotodyne’s built now, with plans for 3 more over the next couple of
years. The QANTAS Rotodyne was a fun build and represents what the Rotodyne may
well have achieved if the production problems had been overcome and it had
entered service.
This
kit embodies all the things that make modelling such a fun and rewarding hobby.
Not a shake and bake Tamigawa offering certainly, but once all was done the
QANTAS Rotodyne gave me a feeling of satisfaction and pride. It looks great next
to the demonstrator version!
Airfix
have deleted the kit from their current catalogue, so if you are keen, try to
grab one before they disappear for another 10 years.
A
special mention must be made to the guys at ARC and my club who encouraged me
during construction and to John Baxter, whose RAAF/RN alternative history has
been a real inspiration!
Next
up will be a RAAF Rotodyne with 5 bladed propellers, disruptive camouflage and
some other goodies.
Good
fun!
Michael