From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Pitcairn PCA-2
was an
autogyro
(designated as "autogiro" by Pitcairn) developed in the United States in the early 1930s.
[1]
It was
Harold F. Pitcairn
's first autogyro design to be sold in quantity. It had a conventional design for its day ? an airplane-like fuselage with two open cockpits in tandem, and an engine mounted tractor-fashion in the nose.
[2]
The lift by the four-blade main rotor was augmented by stubby, low-set monoplane wings that also carried the control surfaces.
[2]
The wingtips featured considerable dihedral that acted as winglets for added stability.
[2]
Operational history
[
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]
The PCA-2 was the first rotary-wing aircraft to achieve
type certification
in the United States
[3]
and was used in a number of high-profile activities including a landing on the
White House
lawn
[4]
[5]
and the first flight across the United States in a rotorcraft. This latter feat was attempted by
Amelia Earhart
, flying for the
Beech-Nut
food company, but was actually accomplished by
John M Miller
who completed his flight nine days before Earhart on 28 May 1931, in his PCA-2 named
Missing Link
.
[6]
Learning of Miller's achievement upon her arrival in California, Earhart set out to turn her flight into a round-trip record by flying east again, but abandoned the attempt after three crashes.
[6]
Earhart set an altitude record in a PCA-2 on 8 April 1931 with a height of 18,415 ft (5,615 m).
[7]
[2]
[3]
[4]
This record was broken in another PCA-2 by Lewis Yancey who flew to 21,500 ft (6,600 m) on 25 September 1932.
[3]
[8]
PCA-2 operated by the Detroit News, displayed at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI.
In 1931,
The Detroit News
made history when it bought a PCA-2 for use as a news aircraft due to its ability to fly well at low altitude, land and take off from restricted spaces, and semi-hover for better camera shots. In May 1933, Scripps donated the autogyro to the
Henry Ford Museum
in
Dearborn, Michigan
.
[9]
Pitcairn PCA-2 Miss Champion on display
Pitcairn autogyro NC-12681 at St. Hubert, Quebec. Aug. 19, 1932
The
Champion
spark plug company operated a PCA-2 as a promotional machine in 1931 and 1932 as
Miss Champion
.
[4]
It was flown over 6,500 miles in the 1931
Ford National Reliability Air Tour
. This machine was restored to flying condition in 1982 by Steve Pitcairn, Harold's son.
[4]
In 2005, he donated it to the
EAA AirVenture Museum
.
[4]
Other PCA-2s are preserved at
The Henry Ford
[4]
[10]
and the
Canada Aviation Museum
.
[11]
Variants
[
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]
Operators (OP-1)
[
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]
United States
Specifications (PCA-2)
[
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]
Data from
[12]
[13]
[14]
General characteristics
- Crew:
One pilot
- Capacity:
2 passengers
- Length:
23 ft 1 in (7.04 m)
- Wingspan:
30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
- Airfoil
:
NACA M-3 mod
- Empty weight:
2,233 lb (1,013 kg)
- Gross weight:
3,000 lb (1,361 kg)
- Powerplant:
1 ×
Wright R-975
(J6-9) 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 330 hp (250 kW)
- Main rotor diameter:
45 ft 0 in (13.72 m)
- Main rotor area:
1,580 sq ft (147 m
2
) 4-bladed wire braced rotor
- Propellers:
2-bladed fixed pitch wooden propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed:
120 mph (190 km/h, 100 kn)
- Range:
290 mi (470 km, 250 nmi)
- Service ceiling:
15,010 ft (4,575 m)
- Maximum glide ratio:
4.8
See also
[
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]
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
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]
Notes
[
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]
- ^
Taylor 1989, p.735
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft
, p.2739
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Pitcairn, A G A, Pitcairn-Cierva, Pitcairn-Larsen"
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Pitcairn PCA-2 Autogiro 'Miss Champion' ? NC11609"
- ^
Charnov 2003b, p.3
- ^
a
b
Charnov 2003a
- ^
"Miss Earhart Sets Autogiro Record",
The New York Times
, April 9, 1931, p. 1
- ^
Charnov 2003b, p.6
- ^
Ford Richardson Bryan, Sarah Evans.
Henry's attic: some fascinating gifts to Henry Ford and his museum
.
- ^
"The Planes: 1931 Pitcairn Autogiro"
- ^
"Pitcairn-Cierva PCA-2"
- ^
Eckland, K.O.
"Pitcairn, A G A, Pitcairn-Cierva, Pitcairn-Larsen"
.
Aerofiles
. Retrieved
2 September
2017
.
- ^
Duda, Holger; Insa Pruter (2012).
"FLIGHT PERFORMANCE OF LIGHTWEIGHT GYROPLANES"
(PDF)
.
German Aerospace Center
. p. 5
. Retrieved
3 December
2012
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Lednicer, David.
"The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage"
. Retrieved
2 September
2017
.
Bibliography
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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Pitcairn
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Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro
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Autogiro Company of America
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