Pitcairn PCA-2

The Pitcairn PCA-2 was an autogyro developed in the United States in the early 1930s.[1] It was Harold F. Pitcairn's first autogyro design to sell in quantity. It had a conventional design for its day – an airplane-like fuselage with two open cockpits in tandem, and an engine mounted tractor-fashion in the nose.[2] The lift by the four-blade main rotor was augmented by stubby, low-set monoplane wings that also carried the control surfaces.[2] The wingtips featured considerable dihedral that acted as winglets for added stability.[2]

PCA-2
PCA-2
Role Utility autogyro
National origin United States
Manufacturer Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro Company
Designer Harold F. Pitcairn
First flight 1918
Number built 20–30
Variants Pitcairn OP-1

Operational history

The PCA-2 was the first rotary-wing aircraft to achieve type certification in the United States[3] and was used in a number of high-profile activities including a landing on the White House lawn[4][5] and the first flight across the United States in a rotorcraft. This latter feat was attempted by Amelia Earhart, flying for the Beech-Nut food company, but was actually accomplished by John M Miller who completed his flight nine days before Earhart on 28 May 1931, in his PCA-2 named Missing Link.[6] Learning of Miller's achievement upon her arrival in California, Earhart set out to turn her flight into a round-trip record by flying east again, but abandoned the attempt after three crashes.[6] Earhart set an altitude record in a PCA-2 on 8 April 1931 with a height of 18,415 ft (5,615 m).[2][3][4] This record was broken in another PCA-2 by Lewis Yancey who flew to 21,500 ft (6,600 m) on 25 September 1932.[3][7]

PCA-2 operated by the Detroit News, displayed at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI.

In 1931, The Detroit News made history when it bought a PCA-2 for use as a news aircraft due to its ability to fly well at low altitude, land and take off from restricted spaces, and semi-hover for better camera shots. In May 1933, Scripps donated the autogyro to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.[8]

Pitcairn PCA-2 Miss Champion on display
Pitcairn autogyro NC-12681 at St. Hubert, Quebec. Aug. 19, 1932

The Champion spark plug company operated a PCA-2 as a promotional machine in 1931 and 1932 as Miss Champion.[4] It was flown over 6,500 miles in the 1931 Ford National Reliability Air Tour. This machine was restored to flying condition in 1982 by Steve Pitcairn, Harold's son.[4] In 2005, he donated it to the EAA AirVenture Museum.[4] Other PCA-2s are preserved at The Henry Ford[4][9] and the Canada Aviation Museum.[10]

Variants
  • PCA-2 – major production version[2][3]
  • PCA-3 – version with Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine and 48-ft (14.63-m) rotor[2] (1 built)[3]
  • PA-21 – version with Wright R-975-E2 engine[2][3]
  • OP-1 – Reconnaissance autogyro (1931); two aircraft acquired by the United States Navy (USN) in 1931 for trials, with limited success.

Operators (OP-1)
 United States

Specifications (PCA-2)

Data from [11][12][13]

General characteristics

  • Crew: One pilot
  • Capacity: 2 passengers
  • Length: 23 ft 1 in (7.04 m)
  • Wingspan: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
  • Airfoil: NACA M-3 mod
  • Empty weight: 2,233 lb (1,013 kg)
  • Gross weight: 3,000 lb (1,361 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-975 (J6-9) 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 330 hp (250 kW)
  • Main rotor diameter: 45 ft 0 in (13.72 m)
  • Main rotor area: 1,580 sq ft (147 m2) 4-bladed wire braced rotor
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch wooden propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 120 mph (190 km/h, 100 kn)
  • Range: 290 mi (470 km, 250 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 15,010 ft (4,575 m)
  • Maximum glide ratio: 4.8

See also

Related development

  • Pitcairn OP

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References

Notes
  1. Taylor 1989, p.735
  2. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, p.2739
  3. "Pitcairn, A G A, Pitcairn-Cierva, Pitcairn-Larsen"
  4. "Pitcairn PCA-2 Autogiro 'Miss Champion' – NC11609"
  5. Charnov 2003b, p.3
  6. Charnov 2003a
  7. Charnov 2003b, p.6
  8. Ford Richardson Bryan, Sarah Evans. Henry's attic: some fascinating gifts to Henry Ford and his museum.
  9. "The Planes: 1931 Pitcairn Autogiro"
  10. "Pitcairn-Cierva PCA-2"
  11. Eckland, K.O. "Pitcairn, A G A, Pitcairn-Cierva, Pitcairn-Larsen". Aerofiles. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  12. Duda, Holger; Insa Pruter (2012). "FLIGHT PERFORMANCE OF LIGHTWEIGHT GYROPLANES" (PDF). German Aerospace Center. p. 5. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  13. Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". Retrieved 2 September 2017.

Bibliography
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.