Flying Failures - de Lackner HZ 1 Aerocycle

Happy New Year! :D
To kick off 2024, we once again head back to Flying Failures, and this time cast our eye over one of the strangest and most notorious aerial inventions ever to take to the skies.
Despite its obscure looks, though, the Aerocycle concept was based on an incredibly far-sighted idea to provide fast and versatile mobility for infantry units on the battlefield, creating what was, in theory, a flying motorbike that could conduct recon missions and fast assaults against lightly defended targets.
However, a cursory glance at the Aerocycle's design illustrates a number of serious problems with this machine, ones which could have had fatal outcomes had this project not been scrapped after a cumulative flying time of just 43 minutes.
All video content and images in this production have been provided with permission wherever possible. While I endeavour to ensure that all accreditations properly name the original creator, some of my sources do not list them as they are usually provided by other, unrelated KZbinrs. Therefore, if I have mistakenly put the accreditation of 'Unknown', and you are aware of the original creator, please send me a personal message at my Gmail (this is more effective than comments as I am often unable to read all of them): [e-mail]
The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.
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Thanks again, everyone, and enjoy! :D
References:
- Key Aero (and their respective references)
- Wikipedia (and its respective references)

[@HALLish-jl5mo]

The lack of wearing helmets during testing struck me as dangerous at first, before I realised I couldn’t conceive of a crash whereby a helmet would help, but the pilot wouldn’t be cut in half.

[@PiefacePete46]

Medieval armour? 😜

[@BigMoTheBlackDragon]

Motorcycle riders weren't required to wear helmets back then. Why would they wear something that wasn't required. 😂

[@Vespuchian]

The ducted fan Pawnee is the least absurd of all these, I'm baffled on how far they were willing to test the Aerocycle.

[@ducatisti]

I totally agree. The only place the Aerocycle could be used is very open terrain due to the massive radius of those blades and I'm certain it was loud as heck so the operator would be a sitting duck. The Pawnee would still be loud, but with the much smaller footprint it could theoretically be used in more realistic terrain scenarios. My thought on the use in mined areas, if land mines use pressure sensors, wouldn't the downforce of one of these going over the top be just as likely to trip a mine as a human foot would?

[@Isochest]

Darwin award winner? What a death trap!

[@sambagogo777]

The concept was ahead of its time albeit they didn't realise that it didn't need to be manned. The military now uses pretty much the same thing with cameras in place of the pilot. They're called drones.

[@caramelldansen2204]

You could say that about any aircraft.

[@Gribbo9999]

Ok boys move up towards the enemy on your aerocycles and remember keep your hands on the controls at all times and keep your heads down, there will be snipers. Oh what?

[@DaveSCameron]

😂

[@therealxunil2]

I think most would have been killed by the aero cycle than by snipers

[@michaeloreilly657]

Captain Sundby richly deserved all the medals he received for bravery.

[@Lurker1979]

The Museum of Flight in Seattle has one of these on display. Its actually pretty cool to see in person. Regardless of how impractical it is.

[@Lurker1979]

I always love seeing videos of strange failed aircraft.

[@MattBrownbill]

Me too. Like aeroplanes with six wings made from paper and sticks.

[@haweater1555]

The first time I've seen that concept illustrated was a cartoon version (flown by a mouse) in a Richard Scarry children's book.

[@YetAnotherGeorgeth]

This is basically a drone but piloted by a human directly on it rather than remote controlled. Very forward thinking, just needed technology to catch up!

[@PRH123]

As could be said about any and all aircraft…

[@Tom-Lahaye]

This thing created the name 'chopper' for all helicopters. The harness wouldn't prevent your legs getting into those blades. Only if they also had added a sort of mesh basket around the platform keeping operator's legs on the platform it would be reasonably safe.

[@-fuk57]

I thought "chopper" was named for the sound of the UH-1 and its two blades that make a loud thumping sound.

[@Tom-Lahaye]

@@-fuk57 That's indeed the true story, but just the idea makes this thing deserve the name. I mis formulated my previous comment as I did not mean to present it as a fact but just as a thought.

[@Uncle_Fred]

Better yet, split up the rotors into a two or a four rotar configuration with ducts, use a sitting cage and place it lower and between the cage and center the pilot. basically, create a modern-day drone.

[@Rockport1911]

And today " Passenger drones" are concepts for future taxis again, these drones just happen to be " open top" and iam suprised " safety concerns" where that high back then :) The version with the ducted fan looked more promising.

[@mikerichards6065]

The inventor of the Aerocycle went on to make a lucrative career developing food processors.

[@flemmingsorensen5470]

Rotating knifes...😵‍💫🤔

[@AndrewG1989]

Before Health & Safety was introduced with new machines made as a concept. Standing above the moving blades was considered as very dangerous. And it only takes one wrong move to see a person being killed by a moving blade spinning very fast.

[@macjim]

It was obvious the ducted fan version was much more controllable than the helicopter variant… and safer too!

[@rich7787]

That thing has terrified me ever since I first laid eyes on it. No thank you!

[@MePeterNicholls]

It’s lethal!

[@RCAvhstape]

The first one, with the ducted fan, I want one. Don't care how dangerous it is.

[@greenseaships]

Ok now do the Goodyear INFLATOPLANES next!! :D

[@lordcaptainvonthrust3rd]

The fact that these vehicles seemed dangerous is not a surprise. I didn't see a single high visibility vest anywhere 😮

[@monostripeexplosiveexplora2374]

It is fucking awesome..but also great it is just a museum piece by now.

[@kenon6968]

the idea of hovering over a warzone in a helisegway doesn't seem very survivable

[@Alex-cw3rz]

I mean even the name sounds like they knew it would be a goofy failure, Aerocycle who came up with that and said yep that'll get people interested.

[@stevecooksley]

A flying blender. Nice.

[@ovalwingnut]

Somebody thought that "standing over" twin helo blades was a plausible idea? At least I understand why no-helmet. You wouldn't need one if things went south (no pun intended:).

[@thirtysixverts]

"You are cleared to the site of the crash"

[@NicolasChiribelo]

I know you usually focus on a specific project or vehicle for each of your videos, but I wonder if you could do a video talking about autogyros in general. Most notably known example being "Little Nellie" featured in James Bond's movie "You Only Live Twice" in 1967.

[@macjim]

Please, do a story on the WW2 helicopters especially the German ones!

[@krzysztofkolodziejczyk4335]

i wonder if variation of this could have been used as observation craft for submarines/small ships. but maybe going high into wind would just be suicidal.

[@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X]

This looks like a painful death.

[@conspiracyscholor7866]

Just go head first

[@positivelycurvedpikachu]

KZbin fix the keyboard freezing

[@jimsvideos7201]

Happy new year! I wonder what the designers would think of contemporary electric equivalents.

[@haweater1555]

Cue the James Bond theme music... ♪ ♬.

[@indigohammer5732]

An altitude of 5,000 feet........in that!? No thanks.

[@ianmaddams9577]

Oh . A big old human blender

[@auntbarbara5576]

Standing on top of a huge foodprocessor, what could possibly go wrong?

[@PRH123]

Wouldn’t have added any weight to the vehicle to have the pilot suspended below the rotor and engine, where he could even sit instead of having to stand, and would have improved stability. It’s as if a first grader was hired to develop the concept :)

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

I'm surprised you got 10 minutes out of this aircraft.

[@pklimbic]

With the tech we have nowadays: 4-rotor drones that carry people in a lying down position?

[@erloriel]

When you would like to fall from a great height, but I also want to fall in hundreds of little pieces.

[@virtuosoification]

your comment made me immmediately jump to wile E coyote falling from the sky onto and around the roadrunner in ribbons and of course the mEEp mEEp as the bird smiles an runs off

[@OasisTypeZaku]

Weren't the first aerial transport experiments by plane carried out during or just after WW1?

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

If you fall off, just run on the blades. It’ll work.

[@BobAbc0815]

Perhaps this concept would make more sense as a civillian off road vehicle.

[@BillyNoMates1974]

thats about as useful as a nuclear hand grenade

[@yuglesstube]

Drone with a huma of IMU

[@macjim]

How to reduce the size of your armed forces… bbbzzzzzz!

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

Heath Robinson lunacy. Not very practical, isnt it? They carry enough on their backs already! At their max weight limit already.

[@avalon7902]

If Elon Musk sees this video, he'll invent it and spunk several billion dollars on the project.

[@kevinmiller7792]

Due to one false step he was known forever after as ‘peg-leg Smitty…🙄

[@PiefacePete46]

It seemed pretty obvious to me that you would be taking the person responsible for conducting your battle, and making him a very inviting target... If the snipers didn't get him, it wouldn't matter because the "Flying Food Processor" would slice and dice him anyway! (For the Politically Correct enthusiasts, I said "him" because I have never met a woman stupid enough to go anywhere near a contraption like this!) Thanks for another good one, Ruairidh.

[@RCAvhstape]

Also because there were no female infantrymen in those days, because nobody was stupid enough to put them in that position.

[@johnoneill5661]

This is too stupid for words😳 Being a soldier is dangerous enough without turning your own troops into minced meat. A prime example of a runaway military budget and no common sense whatsoever.

[@pdsnpsnldlqnop3330]

The lack of a helmet and any health and safety aspect to it makes this from another era when anything was possible. Today we are special snowflakes.

[@Gribbo9999]

Yeah and life expectancy is 20 years longer. I'll put up with the safety kit thanks!

[@MrNegativecreep07]

Honestly I'd rather be a snowflake than try riding into battle above a propeller.

[@randomscb-40charger78]

I think most people value their lives or even living to see their work be completed. Don't know how much you personally value life, but I'd rather not be blended up thanks.

[@RCAvhstape]

Not like a helmet is really going to help much with this contraption.

[@simonriddick]

Hello