Vertipedia is a product of the Vertical Flight Society. With data on 865 aircraft, 620 historical milestones, 522 people, and 395 organizations, Vertipedia is your "one-stop shop" for all things vertical lift.
Our latest featured aircraft for May is the Cierva W.11 Air Horse .
The aircraft was designed to provide viable heavy load lifting capability for commercial operations. It employed 3 main rotors all rotating in the same direction. Torque offset was provided by thrust components from the 3 rotors through built-in shaft tilt. The aircraft had a semi-monoquoque structure, a single engine, and a long-stroke undercarriage (5ft) to cope with high rates of descent. A description of the aircraft and its characteristics can be found in the following references,
Source: "The Cierva W-11 Air Horse", J. Gordon Leishman, VERTIFLITE Spring 2003, Page 52
Source: "Discussing the Helicopter", FLIGHT Staff, FLIGHT, December 2nd 1948, Pages 665-668
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Company names associated with aircraft
A number of aircraft carry associated company names that may seem odd at first. On pages related to specific aircraft the company is that of the latest/last manufacturer. On the Type page the company name is the company with the over-arching responsibility for the design of this family of aircraft (this can change over time). This approach ensures that both individual manufacturing and overall design responsibilities are properly recognized.
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