Rotodyne: The Incredible Aircraft That (Nearly) Revolutionized Air Travel

[@megaprojects9649]

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[@hg2.]

How does this thing work?

[@ps2rugby]

Would Neft Daslari be mega enough for you to cover in a video? Massive industrial city and the supposedly the first operating offshore oil platform in the world…

[@neilhollands8448]

My father worked at Fairey as a clerk in the 1950's and always spoke highly of the Rotodyne. Thanks for bringing it back to my attention.

[@hg2.]

How does this thing work?

[@cggage]

I have always been a fan of the Rotodyne. It is a shame it was not preserved in a museum.

[@onastick2411]

There's part of the fuselage and interior in the helicopter museum just outside Western Super Mare.

[@drewlovely2668]

According to google there are 4 museums that house rotodyne helicopters

[@onastick2411]

@@drewlovely2668 bits of Rotodyne, no full version exists, and the earlier incarnations, the Gyrodyne, is intact somewhere I think.

[@Philip271828]

​@@onastick2411the museum on the old Woodley Aerodrome has one, but you have to hunt for it.

[@mceajc]

Ditto the TSR II.

[@ScarabaeusSacer435]

One cutaway animation showing just how these worked-- the interplay between engines and tip-jets, would have been worth a thousand words.

[@errantalgae]

Mustard made a really good video 4 years ago

[@flugholm]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpytgKBni5xqjsk

[@tonyduncan9852]

It probably featured in the EAGLE comic, centre page..

[@deetesmin]

Not the first time government has scrapped brilliant designs.

[@DarthAverage]

The Canadian government did the same thing in 1959 when the Avro CF-105 Arrow fighter/interceptor was cancelled - cut up all* the planes, ordered documents and blueprints destroyed, etc. * Or did they...? 🤔

[@johnjephcote7636]

British Government: "Never been done before..." (therefore no interest and no funding).

[@richardvernon317]

@@johnjephcote7636 What killed this was the fact that it was extremely noisy!!! Damage your hearing at great distance kind of noisy!!!!

[@NeilEvans1980]

It’s a British tradition

[@DoktorBayerischeMotorenWerke]

I was not a brilliant design.... nor was Fairey a brilliant company.

[@bellshooter]

I remember making and painting an Airfix kit of the Fairey Rotodyne , in the early 60's , I was a fan!

[@jaws848]

They have reissued it.🙂🙂

[@andrewharrison8436]

Ahh good - someone else who had that kit.

[@WORKERS.DREADNOUGHT]

I thought the FR was a real thing, just because of the kit.

[@jaws848]

@@WORKERS.DREADNOUGHT it is real...mind you only 1 was built

[@modelermark172]

I've already got mine on order!@@jaws848

[@danbenson7587]

Engineering Nerd Here. Three types of tip drive helicopters: compressed air squirted thru tip nozzles (Sud-Quest Djinn), fuel and compressed air ignited in an afterburner (Fairey Rotodyne), and ramjet tip engines (Hiller Hornet). Tip nozzles are very inefficient, the afterburner is more efficient but incredible noisy, and the Ramjet both inefficient and noisy. The helicopter blade tip velocity is, say, at .80 Mach. To produce thrust the tip drives exhaust velocity must exceed .80 Mach, say Mach 1.5 or more. This high velocity stream ripping the standing air creates noise, a lot of noise. While the racket can be meliorated, the result remains unacceptable. Another problem is the tip jet forces cause control issues. The physics just can’t be juggled to an acceptable outcome. So the compromise for vertical capability and speedy horizontal flight evolved into the Bell V22. Still the Rotodyne has a place in my heart. Cheers

[@tonyduncan9852]

_"the result remains unacceptable."_ - at last a person with reason AND knowledge. Cheers.

[@longboardfella5306]

Thanks - that’s very helpful to know

[@charlesfhines9226]

Why does it seem so hard to do something so simple. You're telling me that using a fuselage similar in shape to the original rotodyne but upgraded with Pratt and Whitney PT6A turboprop FADEC engines, using the engine exhaust to power the tip jets and using an external shroud to to mix the tip exhaust with cooling air to reduce tip noise, use the latest in fly by wire avionics, hydraulics and composite structures, more efficient rotor blade airfoils and designs to reduce the aircrafts weight significantly cannot be built today? I find that hard to believe. Especially if I can do it in my head after watching a short video.

[@charlesfhines9226]

It can be done. It needs to be done. However, there needs to be a company willing to take on such a simple and relatively straightforward. The hard challenge that I see is the shrouding of the tip jets to reduce the noise and cooling the engine exhaust so it can be used to power the tip jets. The rest of the specifications are there. A high speed 40 passenger compound helicopter that can be used for short city hops from downtown heliports to the airport ( NYC to JFK, LGA or EWR or medium regional city pairs LAX- SFO. If designed correctly, a new Rotodynesized aircraft would have a tremendous impact in all sectors of aviation by being a tremendous asset to whomever has the foresight to recognize what a true game changerit would be.

[@garrystone561]

Yes, the main criticism of the Fairy Rotodyne was its noise.

[@mrb.5610]

No CAD, no fly by wire, no composite materials .... and yet it worked and worked bloody well. Imagine what 60 years of development could have done to this.

[@phantomechelon3628]

Indeed. Rotodynes...or their descendants could really have revolutionised air travel.

[@DoktorBayerischeMotorenWerke]

A failed, dead-end concept that went nowhere... Britain wasted its precious resources on poorly researched concepts..

[@brianford8493]

I wet myself when my Granny gave me the Airfix kit of that loud typically British wonder Luft....really enjoyed that.....Ta Chapski! ✌️

[@Deepthought-42]

16:24 Loved the Vulcan and Victor in the background, presumably at Farnborough.

[@febweb17]

My father was based at White Waltham in the late 1950's. When the Rotodyne was being tested it would sometimes fly over our house. The noise was incredibly. My mother was terrified that the vibratory noise would shake her ornaments off the mantle piece. The USA now use the Kestrel for purposes similar to the Rotodyne.

[@noahwail2444]

I have been facinated by this plane for decades, and would realy like to see it resurected in modern materials. I am shure that many of its problems could be solved now.

[@ChessMasterNate]

The real advantages of modern tech here would be in aerodynamics, genetic algorithms optimizing reconfiguring structural support conserving materials, and more importantly saving weight, lower weight electronics and more efficient, lighter and stronger engines. You don't really need carbon fiber, maybe a little titanium. But I think these would still be flying to day if they had ever gotten their shot.

[@Appletank8]

The main issue with gyroplanes is that they're not as capable at VTOL as helicopters, and slower than conventional aircraft from the extra drag. There's been some attempts in the past decade to stall out the rotor to reduce drag, they tend to vibrate if not balanced correctly.

[@paulbade3566]

@@Appletank8 It appears the Rotodyne was a hybrid concept - the rotor was directly jet-driven by exhaust gas or compressor air from the turbine engine(s) instead of through a turbine-power gearbox as in a conventional helicopter. Driven blades will be more effective at vertical lift than the passively spun blades of a gyrocopter. Imbalance vibration would be an issue in any rotor design.

[@Appletank8]

@@paulbade3566 The vibration issue I was describing was about at very low rotation speed, and how gyrocopters sit in an awkward middle ground between helicopters and airplanes.

[@RichardPentreath]

I was pleased to see a picture of my one-time Westland Flight Test colleague, David Gibbings. Although he did have a pilot's licence, he was actually employed as a Flight Test Observer. As I recall, our other colleagues Ron Gellatly and John Morton were the test pilots on the Rotordyne.

[@frasermitchell9183]

I actually saw one in flight from our garden ! I was 10 at the time. Of course USAF B47 bombers flew past regularly on their way to land at Greenham Common; also a B36 once ! Heard sonic bangs too ! Farnbrough wasn't too far away.

[@bicyclist2]

Looks cool. I think I've seen some photo's of it before, but this is the first time I've heard anything about it. Very cool. Thank you.

[@kevatut23]

I designed a new consumer based aircraft concept for the company that bought the rights to Rotodyne back in 2004. Very interesting project. But like so many re-imagining efforts, it died in fairly short order.

[@Adroit1911]

I would love to be able to see some art from that project.

[@kevatut23]

@@Adroit1911 I have some of the CAD renders. Everything else went to them. It was for a now defunct company named Avodyne. And I got the year wrong. It was 2002

[@kevatut23]

@Adroit1911 that's strange. I replied to you earlier, but looks like it didn't post. I have some cad renderings, but all the documentation stayed with Avodyne. Seems it was actually 2002.

[@Youbetternowatchthis]

@@kevatut23sometimes youtube just throws comments into the aether. A lot of people would like to see anything that can be seen. These kinds of aircraft are truly a rare sight. Even as concepts

[@kitemanmusic]

Fairey short order! LOL

[@alanmartinez488]

Thank you for using both metric and imperial measurements in the narration...👍

[@astrocrut]

At the Museum of Berkshire Aviation is the Fairey Jet Gyrodyne (Prototype) Serial No. XJ389 c/n F9420. This helicopter is a conversion of Gyrodyne G-AJJP and first flew at White Waltham in its new configuration in January 1954. Initially allocated Serial XD759 it was changed to XJ389 due to duplication.

[@chrisamies2141]

It's lucky to have survived, it was displayed outdoors in the centre of Southampton for years in the 1970s.

[@noggin48]

I was lucky enough to see this wonderful machine about three times, actually flying directly over my parents house, at Dyson Close, Windsor, Berkshire. It seems that our house, was in direct line, between Heathrow and White Waltham, Berkshire. A true beauty to behold!

[@demonorb8634]

I work at white waltham, great history to the airfield. The heli museum has the only surviving parts of the rotordyne and I must go visit.

[@firefox5926]

do me a favour and take looks of photos from different angles and stick them on Wikipedia lol if you could throw ina ruler for scale thated even better lol

[@muzmason3064]

Is there a history of WW anywhere, first time I saw the Hawk prototype and the Sally B and the HST125 on the one lane bridge 😊

[@Evilroco]

My Grandfather ran "Cornish Carpets" opposite White Waltham in the 70's and 80's ,they had some great air shows back in the day all watched from the flat roof , as well as some notable aerobatic Pilots who would fly /practice at a regular basis . Is it still covered in fine field mushrooms in Autumn ? , we used to pick buckets full as kids.

[@voornaam3191]

This is great! In an old Belgian comics series, Suske and Wiske, they often flew in a gyrodyne. The man writing and drawing this strip, Willy Vandersteen, included the modern things of the fifties!

[@Flies2FLL]

What Fairey should have done was take that fuselage and build a standard turboprop airplane version to compete with the Fokker 27. An airline could have BOTH with many of the same parts, saving tons of money and making the rotorcraft version financially viable. British aerospace companies had tons of great ideas in the '50's and '60's, but their business practices were what let them down. They had the engineers, but not the businessmen. This can easily be shown by how completely the American companies dominated commercial aviation starting with the advent of the 707. Great video!

[@ATomRileyA]

Also the Americans were better at bribing officials so could could get their products bought by various politicians with back handers.

[@amazer747]

Boeing going the same way: Accountants vs Engineers and unfortunately the accountants win.

[@paulbade3566]

At that time British business units were severely handicapped by the controls of a socialist government.

[@napierpaxman]

Best video on this fascinating aircraft ever! :)

[@philliplopez8745]

A tale of what happens when the bean counters win .

[@markloubser2433]

The French built a tip-jet two seater called the Djiene (Genie), which saw production in the 50/60's i believe. Was quite effective, definitely this principle deserves revised attention.

[@pjcarter8230]

I remember being taken, as a child by my father to see the Rotordyne. I can't remember where the demonstration was but I can still remember the terrific noise as it took off. I think this might have been before the silencers were fitted.

[@domatlan1911]

This absolutely needs to be revisited as a troop carrier etc. The problem with the v22 is that the transition phase between forward and vertical flight is called a rock phase.

[@williambefort5327]

A small fraction of the $ the USA spent developing the V-22 would have made a success of the Rotodyne, at least in military and naval roles where high-noise aircraft are the rule and not the exception (e.g., Harriers and Chinooks are as loud.)

[@jasonz7788]

Awesome thanks

[@jamesaspinall9248]

Okanagan helicopters was Vancouver based. My dad worked for them for ages.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

3:00 - Mid roll ads 4:15 - Back to the video

[@psmith2234]

What a wonderful documentary project for your team to create!!

[@davevann9795]

This video listed 3 types of rotary aircraft. Another type is the cyclogyro, with some companies currently designing and building cyclogyro aircraft and drones.

[@RetinaBurner]

I'm betting that a modern version of the Rotodyne would be amazing to fly, and a true beast in the air. Just think of what modern materials and engines could do for it. Here's hoping that it is resurrected in a modern form. I love the idea of the tip jets, although the noise would still be a major concern, I'm sure modern design techniques would be able to mitigate a large portion of the noise generated.

[@smalltime0]

There is a whole raft of interesting designs in aviation that could work with modern materials and avionics. But they're too whacky to get all the regulatory approvals and public on board. I'd love to see ring-wings take off :P, but I doubt they will. Also circular wings, just because the silhouette would probably give some alien conspiracy theorists a heart attack.

[@maximilianeckert4665]

V-22 Osprey exists so I doubt Rotodyne will be coming back

[@o2benaz]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@maximilianeckert4665The Osprey’s killed over 57 men, and been grounded several times, like right now. Even if the military were to release them to private concerns, would you want to pay the insurance premiums you’d be charged? (It would be nice to see something new in the air, Rotodyne or not.)

[@randytaylor1258]

High-bypaa turbofans for one would reduce noise.

[@DeltaEntropy]

@@o2benazthe osprey has a similar crash record to the Blackhawk and there’s plenty of civilian and DHS uh60s flying.

[@donaircooleone]

What a machine!

[@archmageofmetal8883]

I read that in Clarkson's voice.

[@seanstewart8942]

😂 i can hear it ​@@archmageofmetal8883

[@clarencehopkins7832]

Excellent stuff bro

[@mattos4203]

One of my favourite aircraft. I've been to the Helicopter museum in Weston and seen what remains. Shame it was cancelled.

[@smalltime0]

* Auto-Gyros sometimes have a starter motor, which is active until stable lift is achieved.

[@HypoceeYT]

With the difference that a gyroplane's prerotator can only be run on the ground, where the reaction torque is taken care of by the wheels, while the Rotodyne's torqueless tip jets ran in flight.

[@smalltime0]

@@HypoceeYT Yeap, but that wasn't what I was saying - he missed that auto-gyros (I think even most) use a starter motor

[@kitemanmusic]

The rotor needs to be powered for vertical take-off, and forward flight, until the wings create lift.

[@baxtermullins1842]

The noise was unbelievable-it could wake up the dead!

[@jetsons101]

FUNNY: I built a Revell model of the Fairey Rotodyne when I was a kid...... Thanks to Megaprojects for posting........

[@guylr7390]

I built that one too

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Two U.K. plastic kit manufacturers, Airfix and FROG, both independently produced 1/72 scale plastic model kits of the Fairey Rotodyne as well. The FROG one is extremely had to find whereas the Airfix version is quite easy to locate as it has been re-issued many times.

[@guylr7390]

I made a airport dioramas for the one I built.

[@davidpeters6536]

The Rotodyne has fascinated me since childhood. The V22B Ospray is one of a very expensive kind, but it is as far forward as we have got in load carrying, fast VTOL aircraft. I watched The 6th Day again the other night and it is a shame we never got anything like the "chopper-jet planes" CGI gave us in that movie.

[@johnbtamm]

What is that bizarre drawing at 17:20?! United in Blood!

[@Conn653]

I'm 73 and retired from the airlines. The Rotodyne is a much needed aircraft in today's market place.

[@simonrigg8391]

17:39 What happened there! 🤣

[@SteamboatWilley]

Looks like Simon used someone's post-apocalyptic fanart without looking too closely.

[@lloydevans2900]

There was another interesting application for "tip jet" helicopters, which was developed between 1952 and 1957 by a combination of Sikorsky, Reaction Motors and the US Air Force, to be a "bolt on, go faster" type system which in theory could be applied to any existing helicopter design. This was known at the time as the "Rocket on Rotor" concept and was surprisingly simple, reliable and extremely effective. The basic idea was to install a hemispherical tank containing rocket grade hydrogen peroxide (minimum 80% concentration, aka high test peroxide) just above the main rotor hub, with feed tubes running down the inside of each rotor blade . A small catalytic peroxide monopropellant rocket engine would be mounted in each blade tip, providing between 35 and 50 pounds (approximately 16 to 23 kilograms) of force per blade. Control was surprisingly simple, only requiring a feed valve to switch the flow to each blade on or off, with no pumps required since the centrifugal force of the spinning rotor provided more than enough pressure to feed the peroxide to each rocket motor. The tanks used during testing held enough peroxide to power the tip rockets for about 6 minutes in total. This concept was tested during the development period mentioned above, and was a resounding success. It obviously would not be able to spin up a helicopter rotor from rest, but it was never intended to do that anyway. It was primarily designed to provide short term supplementary power, not as a replacement for the main engine. The tests demonstrated that even with a helicopter loaded to its maximum takeoff weight (not counting the additional weight of the peroxide tank and rockets), it would lift off and climb at double the normal rate. Plus the system could allow a helicopter fitted to take off and climb with 20% extra weight on board. Another bonus was that if the main engine failed in flight and there was still a few minutes worth of peroxide in the tank, engaging the blade-tip rockets would give the helicopter an extra 50% of autorotation time from any given altitude, which also gave a similar improvement of autorotation range, as well as giving the pilot greater control during autorotation. The original videos made in the 1950s can still be found if you search for "rocket on rotor" here on youtube. This is not where I first discovered the existence of this concept though - it is mentioned in the classic rocketry book "Ignition!", near the beginning of the chapter on monopropellants, of which hydrogen peroxide is a classic example. Below is the amusing way the author describes the "Rocket on Rotor" concept: "This was the ROR, or "Rocket on Rotor" concept, by which a very small - perhaps fifty pounds thrust - peroxide motor was mounted on the tip of each rotor blade of a helicopter. The propellant tank was to be in the hub of the rotor, and centrifugal force would take care of the feed pressure. The idea was to improve the performance of the chopper, particularly when it had to lift off in a hurry (that means when somebody is shooting at you). The work on this went on from 1952 to 1957, and was a spectacular success. I've seen an ROR helicopter operating, and when the pilot cut in his rockets the beast shot up into the air like a goosed archangel. The project was dropped, for some reason, which seems a shame. An ROR chopper would have been awfully helpful in Vietnam, where somebody usually is shooting at you."

[@garrystone561]

Remember the UK govt had blueprints for the Fairy Rotodyne destroyed and all prototypes smashed to smithereens despite its spectacular debut at the Paris airshow.

[@DoktorBayerischeMotorenWerke]

It was a colossal failure. Things haven't changed much, politicians still try to hide their mistakes..

[@ianmcsherry5254]

Very interesting, and enjoyable. 👍

[@Flies2FLL]

A big problem with this aircraft: It was SCREAMING loud! Tip jets used compressed air to ignite fuel at the tips and the roar from four of these tiny jets was incredible!

[@awatt]

Noise reduction programme was well under way and having a lit of success. Stand next to any helicopter when it's taking off.

[@FNLNFNLN]

@@awatt The noise reduction efforts brought the noise down to the level of a regular commercial airliner. Thing is, this thing was meant to operate in city centers. The thing about city centers is, the property values, and thus, NIMBY power, is a lot higher than the occupants you'd typically find in airport approach and departure paths. Helicopters might be loud, but they don't operate all that frequently at low altitudes in city centers - unlike this thing would have.

[@awatt]

@@FNLNFNLN The noise reduction programme was ongoing and was achieving a massive reduction in sound level. The last iteration reduced the sound level to that of a bus. There is a helipad in central London that operates helicopters that are far louder than rotodyne and air ambulances regularly land in parks and such without any complaints.

[@Flies2FLL]

@@awatt A "lit" of success? Do you speak English?

[@awatt]

@@Flies2FLL If you had any intelligence you could easily work out that i is next to o on a QWERTY keyboard thus 'lit" is a simple typo of "lot" I can't be bothered proof reading when commenting midwits.

[@michaeltalbot8242]

Brilliant presentation could have done with some financial figures e.g. seat mules cost... Etc, but your right with the ongoing world focus on energy and efficiency this technology needs to reimerg imho.

[@TobaJones77]

Sooo glad you made a video on this. The Rotodyne is marvellous with so many advantages. Surely the noise issue can be solved with todays technology. Maybe using ion wind technology instead??

[@Ionut-bg6vw]

As the night come as well as this kind of videos

[@scannercfchannel]

I was drawn to the video by the “MAKING A COMEBACK?” statement in the poster, it is a bit disappointing to see that only the last minute of the video actually mentions something related to that …

[@mikecyanide7492]

Welcome to you tune. That would be the signature move

[@ukmediawarrior]

I think I remember seeing craft similar, or exactly, like this in Thunderbirds when I was a kid :)

[@dogphlap6749]

Why we can't have nice things. I'm old enough to remember when this project got canned although, as a child I did not understand much of the background I still remember the sense of Britain having given up on forward thinking designs in favour of me too engineering and its inevitable slide in aircraft engineering towards the mundane (briefly interrupted by Hawkers Jump Jet).

[@zogzoogler]

Awesome that Rotodyne is getting some airtime- another squandered British tech

[@killer1963daddy]

OKANAGAN Hellicopters in Texas? Try the OKANAGAN helicopters in the OKANAGAN B.C. CANADA 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦

[@plunder1956]

I've tried slowing playback speed to 0.9 or 0.95%. Your VO is perfectly clear, but rather fast. I lived opposite White Waltham Airfield for years. But missed the development of this superb aviation idea by a decade.

[@IntrospectorGeneral]

I saw this at Farnborough in 1959(?) and confirm that it was remarkably loud, an absolute plus from a little boy's point of view. In context, noise was a feature of many of the new turbojet and contraprop aircraft on display at Farnborough in those days and it sounded like the future.

[@Auldpharte]

I too saw it at Farnborough. As you say, it was noisy, but similar to other jet and turboprop aircraft on display.

[@mavericmorph5358]

Great stuff. How about a look into the British history of the Maglev train?

[@MrSteub]

Two innovative helicopter platforms worth exploring… bell 525 and the Sikorsky x-2 platform (including raider)

[@Carstuff111]

Honestly, this made more sense than the V-22 does now.........

[@granatmof]

There's a lower high speed limit for vertically mounted rotors. Tilt rotors can exceed that top speed. See the speed capability of the V280 vs the Defiant X. (if I got the name right for the choppers in the Blackhawk replacement program.)

[@NavyDood21]

Spoken just like someone who has no fucking clue what they are talking about!

[@atomicskull6405]

@mofYou sacrifice efficiency in loiter and hover in helicopter mode with a tiltrotor because the proprotors have to compromise between disk loading in vertical lift and prop drag in forward flight. It will never be as efficient at vertical lift as a helicopter or as fast and efficient as an airplane of similar size and engine power. This isn't something you can science your way around it's just basic physics you decrease one you increase the other. This is probably why the US Army has cancelled FARA and reallocated the funds into another updated CH-47, they know they're still going to need true helicopters for some things and the V-280 can't really "do everything".

[@Carstuff111]

@@NavyDood21 Really? I know a ton of folks in the military, and guess what? NONE of them like riding on the V-22. You must be a fanboy of projects that were far from ready for the real world. And watch your langue, there are those that watch this channel that do not need to see that level of stupidity on display.

[@Carstuff111]

@@NavyDood21 Spoken like a true fool that cusses to feel like a big man on a channel where that is frowned upon. How about you go home to mommy for some warm milk and a nap, kiddo?

[@WatchKek]

Woo Weston-super-Mare finally a reason to go

[@mokrulgobline9403]

Wow - compressed air jets in the rotor tips, propelling the rotors is a crazy design! First I've heard of it, though I am from across the pond.

[@garrystone561]

The jets on the rotor tips were powered by burning fuel in compressed air not just compressed air.

[@Bernard-np2fq]

Saw it at Farnborough incredibly noisy. noise has seen off the hovercraft as well great to see it though had the airfix kit.

[@chrislong3938]

Were those tip jets, or tip rockets? I'd love to go over the details of how fueling and compression was achieved on such a rotating structure!

[@shannonmcstormy5021]

What is needed is propeller blades that can morph such that after liftoff, they stop spinning, lock in place, morph from helicopter blades where they then function as additional wings substantially increasing lift. Jet engines would be used as primary forward propulsion. This would allow vertical capabilities or, used as a traditional aircraft needing a runway, with substantially greater weight capacity. This could yield a high-performance aircraft and/or a highly-redundant ultra-safe aircraft with multiple means to function in the event of an emergency.

[@brianb-p6586]

That was called the X-Wing when it was proposed as a variation of the Sikorsky S-72 compound helicopter, but it never flew. The big problem, of course, is that the blade on the retreating side needs to work as a wing with reverse direction airflow, which is why the X-Wing was supposed to use a circulation control rotor.

[@PredatoryQQmber]

I watched half of the video and still had to search on wikipedia to see what 'tip-jet' even was and what this video is about. Apparently, it's a design where blades have nozzles with air coming out of them. And because thrust is coming from the tips, somehow, it doesn't need rotor blade for stabilization.

[@xXSwaghetti.YoloneseXx-uf2bb]

they got simon locked up in that basement making 2-3 videos a day

[@Jath2112]

Seriously.... if you look carefully sometimes you can see the IV tube in his sleeve and the bed pan behind his chair. I don't think they even let him get up. They just roll in a new backdrop for whichever of the 50 different channels they are forcing him to read for. .... On the real... I can see him being a legitimate part of the history of modern content. He is everywhere.

[@vTKurse]

@@Jath2112history? Yup Geography? Yup, biography? Yup. Construction? Yup. Current war trends and news? Yup. Random facts and inquests? (Business/Brain Blaze) yup. Space? Yup. Conspiracies? Yup. True crime documentaries? Yup.

[@Jath2112]

@@vTKurse I am curious about how well it pays? For the right person, it is truly a dream job...

[@vTKurse]

@@Jath2112 probably very very well.

[@obi-ron]

Too many manufacturers have a vested interest in selling what they build to let this make a comeback. Specialised commercial transport for particular industries might make it viable in small numbers, but there wouldnt be enough demand to make it a viable competitor in markets dominated by products that are more profitable to the manufacturers than they are useful to the users.

[@nicholasmaude6906]

This was a missed opportunity and I hope that an aircraft manufacture revisits this concept and implements it successfully.

[@thelandofnod123]

The Gyrodyne used a radial not rotary engine. The “compressors” were the supercharger cores used on some Merlin engines.

[@Dilbert-o5k]

Nice video, remember seeing this in plane books as a kid but never saw any video , so these clips were most welcome. Shame it wasnt followed up, it could have been the "osprey" of its time.

[@robertscheinost179]

Nah, Ospreys have a tendency to smash into the ground.

[@darthtac]

I think the main problem with the Rotodyne was it just too far ahead of its time. Just think how this could be build now with modern materials. As for the noise issue put some speakers on on it and use noise cancelling, you know like on the earbuds. Oh and thanks to Simon and the basement team for another great video.

[@tonyduncan9852]

_"put some speakers on on it and use noise cancelling"_ - YES. Jimi Hendrix used a 10,000 Watt speaker system. It wouldn't quite fit inside the Rotodyne, unfortunately.

[@glennlischitsky4304]

It would be an excellent addition to your page if you would add some of the US Navy's future and upcoming Frigates, Submarines etc... as well as some other countries Naval future and current projects. Nevertheless, I have been a follower of your contents for quite some time now. More Power! 👍

[@NeilStansbury]

The Rotodyne is one of my favourite aircraft, I have no doubt it's larger vision will return, especially with the rise of "UAV taxis"

[@paulqueripel3493]

12:00 90feet circumference? Thats quite small, did you mean diameter?

[@brianb-p6586]

Yes, the rotor diameter is 90 feet.

[@KeithPrince-cp3me]

I'm old enough to recall the Rotodyne.

[@mikep4566]

I have always loved this aircraft. Never got to see it apart from on film, what a shame.

[@Ottobon]

I remember writing a bullcrap entry about a combat version of one of these on Wikipedia, the dragonfly I think, got a laugh out of it but only stayed up for maybe a hour. Wish I knew how to navigate way back machines just to enjoy the cringe again. I think an interesting thing about these is that the noise complaints could be reduced, but most of that tech is still somewhat classified , Gordon Murray did speak about it a bit, though, because he was able to get his hands on some sort of basic version, which is in the T.50 and part of why that car doesn't make any fan noise, despite being a bit of a fan car. Although need to be fair absolutely no clue if or how that tech scales up, but you can see him comment on it in some of his videos related to the t.50 and even see it's slightly jagged shaped fan that according to him comes from stealth development.

[@gormauslander]

We come for the rotodyne, but the gyrodyne is actually genius. You're already generating counter thrust, just point it forward so it contributes to speed. Seems so logical and yet no one does it

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

"From two miles away it would stop a conversation. I mean, the noise of those little jets on the tips of the rotor was just indescribable. So what have we got? The noisiest hovering vehicle the world has yet come up with and you're going to stick in the middle of city?" -- John Farley

[@onastick2411]

The noise had been reduced to the level of a normal jet, presumably by now, the noise would have been reduced even more. Helicopters are very noisy, and they fly into cities. It seems like the noise thing has become a bit of a fetish.

[@tonyduncan9852]

As an engineer at the very establishment where both the Rotodyne tip jet AND Concorde's Olympus engine were tested (and I experienced both for months at a time) I can tell you quite confidently that you are totally and completely wrong, to the point of fetishising uninformed scepticism. STEM skills seem to be outside your remit. In other words, stop your lies and fantasies..@@onastick2411

[@iunnox666]

If by a "normal jet" you mean a turbojet, maybe.

[@williambefort5327]

No, I'm going to fly it off aircraft carriers, and they'll never notice. A CH-47 Chinook produces 115 decibels and people have figured out how to live with it.

[@dtrain1634]

Well it’s def making a comeback in 1/72!!! 😮

[@z_actual]

These days we can cure the remaining issues with Rotodyne, that is the tip jets with simpler systems and electrification. We can load or unload the main rotor in flight, and we can use the stub wings to remove the problems with retreating blade stall. As such configured as a compound helicopter there is reason to expect such a machine would have a V-Max closer to 300mph, it would be able to land and take off vertically, and would have the safety of being able to fly or land using autorotation of the main rotor.

[@tonyduncan9852]

You cannot quieten the tip jets at all. The sound they generate surpasses all standards I know of. They cannot be used near or in urban areas. I was forced to hear this sound for months from 400 yards away. Just forget it and proceed with something sensible.

[@z_actual]

@@tonyduncan9852 I would propose that self stowing folding propellers be used on the trailing edge of each rotor blade at about the 2/3 span, powered by gangs of electric motors to add to redundancy. Rotor blades much more likely to be 3 or 5. I dont doubt even this system would be noisy but it wouldnt approach that of raw fuelled jets. Thanks for the comment.

[@tonyduncan9852]

I am sure that something similar to what you suggest works presently _without_ rotating anything apart from the fans. Rotating masses (motorised fans) are gyroscopic and so they will *_resist_* such a use quite furiously. Simpler perhaps?... @@z_actual

[@1mezion]

Considering the advancement in technology over the decades I wonder if such a project will ever be revisited by a private company

[@DoktorBayerischeMotorenWerke]

It was not just a failure as a design... but its entire concept was a dead-end. No solutions exist to deal with the problem associated with tip-jets..

[@irrelevantcheese8623]

Is this practical for the military maybe instead of the v22 cause it would be more efficient in horizontal fling without the complex tilt rotor and could vertically land

[@tombearclaw]

They sorted tried the concept with the Uh56 Cheyenne. The biggest problem is political and administrative. The us military Air Force and army are divided by fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. The this is kinda both and therefore neither would use it. The Navy and Marines could use it but they already have heavy lifting capabilities via other platforms and even if they replaced it v22 there’s no guarantee that this type of design would perform any better or safer than the v22 when subjected to the levels of abuse that any military subjects its equipment to.

[@casinodelonge]

Came for a mention of the Osprey, especially given its cost, complexity and (ahem) "current issues"!

[@JamesKuffner-cg2pv]

Honestly I still believe in the fact checking channel. It's something we all need. Cheers Aussie 2

[@patrickvasconcelos3001]

So..... the Rotodyne is comercial airplane sized gyrocopter? that is quite neat. would be nice to check if the current developments this could be remade and improved, Embraer could make it work I am sure x)

[@DoktorBayerischeMotorenWerke]

A Hybrid helicopter... part-time helicopter, part-time gyrocopter

[@benclothier7990]

Great whistle stop tour of the history with the context of the industrial and political landscape so critical to those companies in the mid 20th century. Wasn't aware the noise problem had been solved to some extent. Could probably make a movie about the UK helicopter industry from the 1930s to the 1960s. It seems the UK Government at the time took the opposite approach to the US where the likes of Bell, Sikorsky, Piasecki all flourished. As demonstrated, the UK tech was often pioneering - just needed bigger civil/military markets and perhaps more longer term investors to achieve the required scale to support the R&D. In this case nationalization and management by "accountants", as the late Reg Austin would say, caused the inevitable brain drain.

[@rayjay848]

Can’t really make a comeback without the plans. The new designs are not based on auto gyro principles.

[@goonyhill1857]

Remember building the model around 50 years ago

[@nicholasmaude6906]

The Fairey Rotodyne prototype should've been fully preserved instead of a couple of fuselage sections.

[@Suprahampton]

With modern alloy & composite knowledge plus the leap in jet tech, a Rotodyne now would be an amazing vehicle

[@mikeburton7077]

When l was at school in Marsh Lane ,Stanmore l saw a Rotodyne fly over the playing field, very noisy!

[@robertscheinost179]

If it was a Concorde jet taking off you would have lost your hearing off forever!

[@philchristmas4071]

As the video went on and you showed no images of it being in a museum. I just knew the ending was going to be bad with it scrapped.

[@raymondbeh5830]

I very much enjoy your presentation style. Informative, concise and your pleasant and clear voice is a joy to listen to. The format of your video is efficient, enjoyable and entertaining. Well done. I love it.

[@JDUUnsworth]

Your mother?

[@daveb3910]

How do tipjets hold up to small arms fire? Id think that would be important for military applications

[@brianb-p6586]

The 240 km/h cruise speed was supposed to be an advantage over helicopters. Ironically, the helicopter shown approaching a tall building (the Pan Am building in Manhattan) at 10:26 is a Vertol Model 107 (tandem-rotor helicopter, military designation CH-46 Sea Knight) which has a cruise speed of 265 km/h. The Rotodyne failed because it didn't work well enough to justify building and operating it, compared to helicopters of the same era.

[@craigquann]

To be honest, I'm surprised they're not more popular especially in the rural regions of canada and other such countries where haul roads are questionable or non existant. Being able to takeoff and land like a helicopter but having more passenger/payloads would make it easier on remote villages to resupply.

[@Nyth63]

4:52 "The Westland WS-51 Dragonfly helicopter was built by Westland Aircraft and was an Anglicised licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-51." -Wikipedia

[@petermonahan2140]

There may be viable use of the design for freight transportation in wide open spaces with limited air or ground competitors. I imagine places like Alaska, Montana, North and South Dakota as well as parts of many other states in the United States and great expanses of Canada. If the redesigns can address the noise issues the commercial applications may be expanded to serve more populated areas and include moving people. Studies based on advances in electric motors and energy storage can be an opportunity to find solutions to the noise problems.

[@billgiles3261]

I remember seeing the Rotodyne back in 50’s. Also the Fairy Delta 2.