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Platt-Le Page XR-1

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Platt-Le Page XR-1
Type Experimental Helicopter
Manufacturer Platt-Le Page Aircraft Company
Maiden flight 1941
Primary user United States Army Air Force
Number built 2

The Platt-Le Page XR-1 was an early American twin-rotor helicopter built by the Platt-Le Page Aircraft Company of Eddystone, Pennsylvania. They were the first helicopters tested by the United States Army Air Force.

Design and development

Platt-Le Page were contracted in 1941 to supply two prototype helicopters to the United States Army Air Force designated XR-1. The company had licensed the patented Focke-Wulf Fw 61 transverse twin-rotor design prior to the outbreak of war.[1] The first prototype (Serial Number 41-1) first flew on the May 12 1941, it had a fuselage with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage and a conventional tail unit. It had two counter-rotating rotors mounted on faired outriggers (stub-wings) on each side of the fuselage. The rotors were powered by a 440hp (328kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-21 engine mounted in the fuselage. The second prototype was designated XR-1A (Serial Number 42-6581) and had increased glazing around the two-seat cockpit and a 450hp (336kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-1 engine.

Operational history

The two prototypes were accepted by the Army Air Force and were used for test and evaluation but no further orders were placed.

Variants

XR-1
First prototype
XR-1A
Second prototype with increased cockpit glazing and more powerful engine.

Operators

Specifications (XR-1A)

Template:Aerospecs

References

  1. Francillon, René J. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920: Volume II. London: Putnam, 1997. ISBN 0-851-77827-5
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. 


See also

Template:USAF helicopters


This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Platt-Le Page XR-1".