Weird, wonderful or just plain ugly helos

[Bronx]

Dunno if it's just me or does anyone else notice a similarity between the looks of this 1958 prototype and a certain very successful modern helo made by a different manufacturer?

http://www.eichhorn.ws/assets/images/westland_Westminster.jpg

What is it?
What does it remind you of?

[Vfrpilotpb]

Hi Bronx,
I dont know what the chopper is, but I can name the load, it is a 1956 model Commer 10ton Flat bed with hinged sides, this was powered by a Roote's corporation(part of Chrysler I think) 2 stroke supercharged horizontal opposed all aloominum egine, and the front suspension was by very large torsion bars, as you can gather I could now be called a :8 .

However the Helio looks laike the forrunner of the flying Crane thingy that is used to lift heavy lifts, plus fire dousing equipment.

Nerd mode now turned off!;)

[RDRickster]

Some folks think the above 1950's Westland Westminster Heavy Lift Helicopter had similar characteristics to a Blackhawk. In 1954 they had a strategic allience with Sikorsky, which enabled them to make a twin-engine heavy lift helicopter. They intended to be the premiere rotorcraft producer in England, but never went into production.

[SASless]

Heck....I see a strong resemblance to the S-92...you don't reckon?

[ShyTorque]

Looks more like the front end of a Puma bolted to the back end of a Wessex.

Not sure about the helicopter though. Can't really see 'coz of all that scaffolding.

Prob'ly be alright when it's finished.... :ok:

[Bronx]

With all that scaffolding covered, it looks like this.
http://www.army.mil/usar/multimedia/stills/blackhawk.jpg

[Straight Up]

Aircraft Data Sheet: Westminster (1958)
First flight: 15th June 1958
Rotor diameter: 21.95m/72ft 0ins
Length: 26.44m/86ft 9ins
Max weight: 14,969kg/33,000lb
Max speed: 241 kph/130knots
Power: Two 3,150shp/2,349kW Napier Eland E229A turboshaft engines
Accommodation: 2 crew & 45 passengers
No Built: 2


"The Westminster extended the Westland design organisation even further in an attempt to produce a large single rotor transport helicopter. The project was based upon a research vehicle, wholly funded by Westland using the Sikorsky S-56 rotor and transmission system, powered by two large Eland gas turbines.

Two prototypes were produced, the first being a dedicated research airframe with a simple tubular steel structure, the second prototype was fully representative aerodynamically intended to lead to a production standard.

However, indications were that official support could not be guaranteed and further work did not proceed beyond the research phase."

Above is from the Wastelands website.

I'd love to see that aircraft with 45 passengers! I can see the advertising now, 'every seat with a breathtaking view', 'excellent ventillation', 'quick egress in the event of an emergency'. Though maybe the toilet wouldn't have been too private.....

I beleive the poor old FTE (at least now he's old, don't know about the poor though) sat in the back on his own, not physically connected to the cockpit.

Thanks to the advances in computing, nobody seems to build the weird and wonderful stuff any more, you know, the ones designed for a bit of practical research after a bad trip on something medicinal.

S.U.

[John Eacott]

Here's what she looks like with her clothes on, still a fair resemblance. What might have been......

http://avia.russian.ee/vertigo/foto/west_westminster_1.jpg

Plus a gallery full of fascinating pictures at this site. (http://members.lycos.co.uk/ctyoung57/Westminster/ww70.htm)

A 40+ passenger helicopter landing in the city, 10 feet from pedestrians strolling past the park :cool:

http://www.helicopterservice.com.au/photos/pprune/Resize%20of%20Westminster%2001.jpg

[Bronx]

What about this beauty from the 1950s.

http://avia.russian.ee/vertigo/foto/mcdonnel_120.jpg


http://avia.russian.ee/vertigo/foto/mcdonnel_120_1.jpg

[John Bicker]

And the "Westminster" is also available with optional MR direction to satisfy all markets! By jove, these chaps were way ahead of their time!

[ShyTorque]

Hey Bronx,

What is it for? Transporting new skids and a keg of beer to the Huey factory?

Or is it Lu Z's own fail-safe redesign to guarantee no mid-section fuselage floor cracking?

;)

[Bronx]

It's McDonnell 120 from 1957.

Since 1949 the McDonnell Helicopter Engineering Division had attempted to develop a rotor system capable of high-speed operation. Such a system driven by tip-mounted pressure jets had been successfully tested on the XV-1 convertiplane and its use as a pure helicopter rotor was thought to offer many significant advantages, including
(1) inherent angle of attack stability;
(2) increased inherent pitch and roll damping;
(3) greatly improved dynamic helicopter stability;
(4) ability to start and stop in high winds;
(5) no need for tracking and no dampers required;
(6) no possibility of mechanical instability or ground resonance;
(7) very low vibration;
(8) low maintenance due to absence of highly loaded bearings, reduction gears, shafting, and anti-torque rotor; and
(9) automatic rotor speed control.

McDonnell decided in December 1956 to undertake as a private venture the design, development, and testing of a small single-seat crane helicopter using the XV-1 rotor.

The mock-up of the Model 120, which was designed by a team led by Project Engineer Lloyd R. Novak, was completed in January 1957, and the first (N6081V) of two prototypes was flown on 13 November of that year by John R. Noll.
This helicopter was of simple design, with the pilot seated centrally and the fuel tanks mounted on each side of the upper fuselage beneath the rotor head. Three AiResearch GTC-85-135 gas-turbine compressors, which fed pressure jets at the tips of the three-blade rotor, were located below and behind the rotor head. A wide-spaced skid undercarriage enabled large loads to be slung beneath the centre of gravity, or specialized pods to be fitted to carry up to 12 troops, firefighting equipment, or cargo containers.

In spite of some powerplant teething problems, the Model 120 demonstrated a maximum load-to-weight ratio of 1.5:1. Unfortunately, in spite of having been judged 'one of the most outstanding helicopters evaluated to-date in its weight class' when flown at the Naval Air Test Center, NAS Patuxent River, in September 1959, the Model 120 remained experimental as McDonnell failed to win either military or civil orders for this competent design.
The termination of this programme in February 1960 marked the end of McDonnell's independent efforts in this field as 13 months earlier the US Marine Corps had terminated the development of the XHCH-1 crane helicopter. McDonnell Douglas, however, came back to the helicopter field in 1984 with its acquisition of Hughes Helicopters, Inc.