Hiller ROE Rotorcycle
| Hiller ROE | |
|---|---|
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| A YROE-1 hovering in front of the Ames Hangar on 6 November 1963 | |
| Role | ultralight helicopterTemplate:Short description |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Hiller Aircraft Saunders-Roe |
| First flight | November 1956 |
| Introduction | 1957 |
| Retired | 1961 |
| Primary user | United States Marine Corps |
| Number built | 12 |
The Hiller ROE Rotorcycle is a single-seat ultralight helicopter designed in 1953 for a military requirement.[1] A total of 12 were produced for the United States Marine Corps. And in 1954, the Hiller Helicopters was selected by the US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics to build this design of a one-man, foldable, self-rescue and observation helicopter.[2] It featured a two-blade rotor system. Its original empty weight was Script error: No such module "convert"..[3]
Development
The helicopter folded up and could be carried on a sled-like carrier by two people or could be air-dropped to pilots trapped behind enemy lines. The Marines did not accept the YROE due to its low performance, vulnerability to small-arms fire and the lack of visual references on the structure. This problem could cause the pilot to experience spatial disorientation at all but very low altitudes.[1] The YROE or ROE never saw military service.[4]
In 1954, the United States Navy′s Bureau of Aeronautics selected Hiller to build its proposed design of a one-man helicopter. The XROE Rotocycle completed flight testing in mid-1957.[5]
It was demonstrated at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, for military and other government officials in early April 1958.[6]
Production was by Saunders-Roe, which made five for the United States Marine Corps and five for Helicop-Air of Paris.[7]
A Porsche engine of Script error: No such module "convert". developed for the YROE completed trials by 1961.[8]
Variants
- XROE-1
- 2 prototypes built as Model 1033 at the Hiller Helicopter Plant in Palo Alto, California[4]
- The first flight in November 1956[9]
- YROE-1
- 5 test versions built by British Saunders-Roe company
One donated to the Smithsonian Institution after completion of its testing in 1961[9] - ROE-1
- 5 production built by Saunders-Roe (built ten production models, including the five YROE-1s)[9]
Specifications
Data from NASM : Hiller YROE-1 Rotorcycle,[9] Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59[10]
General characteristics
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Survivors
- XROE-1, on display at Hiller Aviation Museum, San Carlos, California
- YROE-1, ser. no. 4021, on display at Hiller Aviation Museum
- YROE-1, on display at National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC
- YROE-1, N4230U, ser. no. 4024, El Cajon, California[11]
- YROE-1, N777MV, ser. no. 4020, Minicopter Inc., Saginaw, Texas[12]
- YROE-1, third one in production on display at Evergreen Aviation Museum[13]
- XROE-1, repainted in blue, powered by a Rotax 503 and renamed "fantacopter", in working order at Bois-la-Pierre, France.[14]
See also
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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
- Notes
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- ↑ a b NASM: Hiller YROE-1 Rotorcycle
- ↑ Hiller Museum: Rotocycle Script error: No such module "webarchive".
- ↑ Apostolo, p. 68
- ↑ a b Helicópteros:The Site
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ "Rotorcycle on View Here", The Washington Post and Times-Herald, Washington, D.C., Tuesday 1 April 1958, Volume 81, Number 117, page A8.
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- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ AirportData: N4230U
- ↑ AirportData: N777MV
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- Bibliography
- Apostolo, Giorgio. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters. New York: Bonanza Books. 1984. Template:ISBN.
External links
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- Hiller Aviation Museum: The First 100 Years of Aviation
- NASA: FLIGHT TESTS OF A ONE-MAN HELICOPTER AND A COMPARISON OF ITS HANDLING QUALITIES WITH THOSE OF LARGER VTOL AIRCRAFT
- Photo: XROE-1 at Hiller Aviation Museum
- Photo: YROE-1 (s/n 4021 at Hiller Aviation Museum
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