This allows for the rotor to stabilize and reduce the takeoff run. The pre-rotator gearbox, seen on the right, allows the rotor blades to start spinning at low speeds, prior to the takeoff roll. It has very little in common with today’s helicopter rotor heads. Above right: The rotor head is not as complicated or as fragile as it seems. Bailing out during an in-flight emergency is pretty much out of the question. Getting in and out of the Pitcairn is not an easy task, as you have to squeeze in between the rotor posts in order to slide into the seat. production rights from Juan de la Cierva, its Spanish inventor, Pitcairn established the Pitcairn Autogiro Company, in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.Ībove Left: Andrew King giving the lowdown on the autogiro, while seated in the front seat of the craft. In 1929, after creating a successful line of rugged mail planes, Harold Pitcairn gambled on the future of the autogiro. “It is a bizarre feeling, especially the first time, it was like being swept off the ground by a giant pterodactyl,” added test pilot Andrew King, sticking with the Jurassic theme. Once the helicopter was built, these autogiros became dinosaurs,” stated the late Jack Tiffany of Spring Valley, Ohio, at the time, co-owner (with Jim Hammond of Yellow Springs, Ohio) of the Pitcairn PA-18 N1267B (c/n G-65), the only example of the type flying in the U.S., when it first flew after its lengthy restoration.
“This is a real prehistoric monster in flight.
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