Vertipedia is a product of the Vertical Flight Society. With data on 867 aircraft, 620 historical milestones, 573 people, and 395 organizations, Vertipedia is your "one-stop shop" for all things vertical lift.

2015 - First flight of the KAI MUH-1 Surion

2017 - First flight of the Sikorsky UH-60V

Our latest featured aircraft for January is the Cierva W.11 Air Horse .

Attribution

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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Milestone dates

Wherever possible, the exact date of a milestone is provided. In some case, the exact date is not known and only the month and year are available. Wherever this is the case the last day of the month is used with a note in the description to say that the exact date is unknown. The last day of the month is used as a conservative estimate of the actual date of the event. In a few cases, there is conflicting data regarding the exact date and a note has been added to highlight the alternative date.

Vertipedia makes it easy for you to find a range of information on vertical flight, including:

  • Targeted searches of documents provided by the Vertical Flight Society, as well as public sources from across the internet
  • Important milestones that have helped shape the history of vertical flight
  • People who have played a role in vertical flight
  • Vertical flight aircraft, such as helicopters, tilt rotors and tilt wings, jet-lift VTOL, and more.

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