Hiller Rotorcycle, Ultralight Personal Helicopter 1957

[@ramjetrth]

The Hiller Rotocycle was actually incredibly stable. There were several reasons the military did not want it. It was too slow (about 50 MPH), had a range limit of about 40 miles, and its open structure made it vulnerable to small arms fire. Still seems like it would be pretty cool for non military recreational use.

[@nagrain]

should have made a movie with this craft back then. would have been the bomb.

[@rictrexell2118]

Well, the James Bond movie using gyro copters was pretty close. They of course could not land vertically, but could be kept in your garage and transported to a landing/take off area on a trailer. Trouble is they have a lot of drag I've heard and go through fuel like crazy.

[@SuperRealityKid]

My dad worked for Saunders Roe at Eastleigh (Southampton Airport) in the South of Britain. These were there for evaluation and testing by one particular pilot, Harry Phillips ?? if I recall correctly, and he was badly burned in an accident whilst flying one of these. I remember being intrigued that it was designed for commando type operations. This would have been early sixties. I was a hangar kid who struck lucky many times when one of the pilots would notice me and say "fancy a flip old boy?" My lifelong love of flying stemmed from those flights, still flying my Foxbat these days. 😎

[@frankensteinmoneymac]

LOL!!! Right....and did you see the people on the ground eyeing him.....like....oh crap...dont get too close to that guy!!!! LOL I think it could be made into the most bad ass lawn mower ever personally.....

[@ufoengines]

Into micro copters these days! Thanks for the post!

[@nemo9171]

this is my âge ! And i can't measure a technical progress (till yet) in the same proportions !

[@WatDaMattaForYou]

Pizza Hut could sponsor these and advertise their personal pizzas to go along with these personal helicopters.

[@PrairieDogPoo]

At 0 :20 that looks like a mower to take off peoples legs. They have one of these Rotorcycles at Denvers Air and Space Museum.

[@dustywar]

Great Post!!... crazy ass pilot!!

[@schlusselmensch]

If you were familiar with the ship's powerplants, you'd probably have rather less enthusiasm for trying one out. However, with the advent of vertical crankshaft outboard four strokes, something like this looks a good deal more attractive. I'll fly with two strokes holding me up but only if there are nice flat fields below!

[@LabradorG]

J'ai vu, et photographier, un rotorcycle qui suit un peu la construction du Hiller, mais beaucoup plus modernise, au Airshow de Bourget de 1991. il avait 2 pairs d'ailes pliants, le tout en noir et carlingue aerodynamique en plastique. je ne l'ait jamais vu depuis.

[@candr]

I think kits can be bought and constructed in your back yard. Not certain why someone would think these are being kept out of public hands, just follow flight reg.. Have an experimental lic myself, not that hard.

[@cloudusterable]

No kits cannot be bought and constructed

[@lionelvillahermosa]

***excellent***

[@manuelrosa6316]

LOLCLV this helicopter was built to give escape to the troops when the area was too hot, thats why there are on intruments cause it was ment to just get the hell out of there and then abandon it later.

[@post18guy]

you can see one at the air museum in mcminnville oregon

[@ribeiro34]

This is really nice, dangerous but nice, I'm wondering why they stopped to make, too dangerous? if you have an accident with a motorbike or a car at a 100km/h it could be fatal aswell I supouse...

[@rickhalverson2014]

I see so many comments... belief in pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. It would be brought to market if it were better. It was not a perfect design guys. MANY problems such a auto-rotation issues (don't want to die when fuel runs out or engine dies) LOUD, inefficient. - An air-frame mounted centrifugal compressor to compress the air and duct it through, and out from the rotor tips. A much better design. Because you do not have the heavy drag/ auto-rotation issues. If you want to play with the design concept: Use a vacuum cleaner exhaust air and some cardboard tubes as a rotor. VERY powerful rotation, and no counter-rotation induced.

[@supertec07]

@2010Barbon who is they and why dont you make your own looks simple enough for the shed to make in and you can legally fly one in most countries def in the uk . these things will not be mass produced as not many people would have the balls to fly around in them.

[@manuelrosa6316]

its nice, I want to build me one of these.

[@cloudusterable]

This machine is misleadingly simple, a lot of time and money went into the development, even the landing struts/legs had to be developed as a project, gears had to be cut specially for the transmission,and because its demountable that complcates things even more, so its not the sort thing you knock up in the garden shed, when youve got an spare moment...................Peter

[@fastretoussaint]

Bonjour, toute cette vidéo a été "empruntée" sur mon site consacré au Rotorcycle de Hiller, dommage que l'on y aie pas fait référence......

[@SuperBaIIz]

@2010Barbon and when radar sees you leaving proper airspace at 55mph and scrambles F-16's to intercept and escort you back you will be too slow to intercept and therefore unstoppable. damn i forgot text doesn't convey sarcasm............

[@monicayancey]

the comments that everone has made about thease craft are about half correct you have strict FAA regulation has is kept them from mass production but so has consumer intrest in them but the US has always stayed away from any personal aircraft unless it is mass produced by a major contractor look at the snail like production of the hovercraft

[@barunsardar4405]

Garnet Yancey

[@TheLastCletus]

anyone know where I can get the diagrams for one?

[@FerryTrance]

que no se choque con un gran pajaro,eso seria doloroso !

[@thebestjaiser]

Where can I get one of those? (seriously)

[@rodstartube]

i want that engine (last photo)

[@francovance1]

If you fall from the one with the rotor on top you will also die!!

[@60knightsix]

I'm always disturbed to see such commentary. There's no 'conspiracy' here-such vehicles have always been, and will always be...impractical. Too small, no endurance, lack of safety issues, too noisy and frankly, simply too unsafe. There are people flying today who should never have been given a simple driver's license, much less one for flight. I can see any one of these crashing into someone's back yard. Just a thought. Knightsix

[@bhavinranashikharadventure]

Ab Tak 56