Abstract
A DEMONSTBATION of vertical take-off and landing by the new type C.40 Autogyro, referred to as the ‘jumping gyro’, was given recently at the Army Staff College, Camberley. Mr. Brie made several successful take-offs and landings on the Owl's cricket ground, which measures only 150 yards by 100 yards and is almost entirely surrounded by buildings and high trees. In addition to making vertical rises from the ground of 8-10 ft., the machine was put through a series of evolutions in the air illustrating its control and ease of handling in a confined space. The most outstanding of these was an entirely unintentional one at tho close of the display, when the pilot, judging that he had not sufficient margin to clear some trees, throttled his engine back and put the machine down almost exactly upon the spot from which he had started. Such a manosuvre would have been impossible with tho more conventional type of aeroplane. This display, given on a bad day with intermittent rain causing inevitable air currents and eddies near the ground, is considered to be a much more searching test of the machine's controllability than was the recent test of a direct-lift helicopter made in a big hall in Berlin. Although flying in a building gave an appearance of complete control in a very confined space, actually the steady performance of the machine would be materially helped by the perfect calmness of the air indoors. It is considered that this type of machine will facilitate the work of Army communication by reason of the fact that, requiring practically no horizontal run, it is independent of the condition of the landing surface. Not only will it not need a specially prepared aerodrome, but it should also be able to operate from land where even shelling or bombing has been experienced. It is also obviously suited to operating from the deck of a ship.
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New Autogyro for Army Service. Nature 143, 402 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/143402b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/143402b0