YH-32 Hornet

YH-32 Hornet

Infobox Aircraft
name= YH-32 Hornet


caption=Hiller YH-32 Hornet in museum display
type=Experimental helicopter
manufacturer=Hiller Aircraft
designer=
first flight=1950
introduced=1954
retired=
status=
primary user=United States Army
more users=United States Navy
produced=
number built=18
unit cost=
variants with their own articles=

The Hiller YH-32 Hornet (company designation HJ-1) was an American ultralight helicopter built by Hiller Aircraft in the early 1950s. It was a small and unique design because it was powered by two Hiller 8RJ2B ramjet engines mounted on the rotor blade tips. Versions of the HJ-1 Hornet were built for the United States Army and the United States Navy in the early 1950s.

The Hiller Museum identifies the YH-32A, named the "Sally Rand", as the first helicopter gunship.

Design and development

The Hiller HJ-1 Hornet was an early attempt to build a jet powered helicopter. Its ramjet tipped rotor propels the rotor and the aircraft. Unlike a conventional helicopter, this mechanically simple design avoids the need for a tail rotor.

Unfortunately, the tip speeds on helicopters are subsonic, and ramjets are inefficient at subsonic speeds due to low compression ratio of the inlets. Therefore, the Hornet suffered from poor fuel consumption and range. Also, the vehicle suffered from low translational speeds and the ramjet tips were extremely noisy. In the event of power loss, autorotation was found to be difficult due to the drag from the ramjet nacelles. [cite web | title=Tip-Jet Rotor Helicopters | url=http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/helicopters/q0141.shtml | publisher=Aerospaceweb.org | date=2003-09-14 | accessdate=2008-06-23]

The vehicle exhibited powerful lifting capacity, and there was some hope for military uses, but the high noise, poor range, and high night-time visibility of the ramjet flames failed to attract sales.

Operational service

The HJ-1 was evaluated by the United States Army as the YH-32, and the United States Navy as the XHOE-1. In 1957 two YH-32s were modified as the YH-32A for trials as an armed helicopter, all the fibreglass cockpit fairing were removed and the tail was modified. The test were successful in proving the viability of a helicopter as a weapons platform, but due to marginal performance no further conversions or orders were placed.

Variants

;HJ-1:Company designation, one prototype.;YH-32:United States Army, Similar to HJ.1 with two small v-shaped stabilisers, 14 built.;YH-32A:Two YH-32s modified for trials as an armed helicopter.;XHOE-1:Three HJ-1s for evaluation by the United States Navy in 1951.

Aircraft on display

*HOE-1 (HJ-1) is on display at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California
*HOE-1 (XH06-1) is on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia
*HOE-1 (YH-32) s/n 55-4965 "Sally Rand" is on display at the US Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker in Ozark, Alabama
*HOE-1 (YH-32) s/n 55-4969 is on display at the Museum of Flight in Everett, Washington
*HOK-1 s/n 139990 is on display at the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina
*YH-32 Hornet is on display at the Hiller Avaiation Museum in San Carlos, California
*YH-32 Hornet is on display at Classic Rotors in Ramona, California

pecifications (YH-32)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?= copter
jet or prop?= jet
crew=two pilots
length main=
length alt=
span main= 23 ft
span alt= 6.9 m
height main=7 ft 10 in
height alt=2.4 m
area main= 402 ft²
area alt=37.4 m²
empty weight main=544 lb
empty weight alt=247 kg
loaded weight main=1,080 lb
loaded weight alt=490 kg
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
engine (jet)= Hiller 8RJ2B
type of jet= ramjets
number of jets= 2
thrust main= 40 lbf
thrust alt= 178 N
max speed main=
max speed alt=
range main=28 miles
range alt= 52 km
ceiling main= 6,900 ft
ceiling alt= 2,100 m
climb rate main=700 ft/min
climb rate alt=213 m/min
loading main= 2.7 lb/ft²
loading alt= 13 kg/m²
thrust/weight=

ee also

aircontent
related=
similar aircraft=
* XH-26 Jet Jeep
* Fairey Rotodyne
* Rotary Rocket
see also=

References

* Display information at Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington
* [http://www.hiller.org/exhibits/thefirst100years.html Hiller Aviation Museum timeline] "The First 100 Years of Aviation"

External links

* [http://www.hiller.org/thefirst100years.shtml Hiller Aviation Museum: The First 100 Years of Aviation]
* [http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/hiller_hoe.htm National Air and Space Museum Hiller HOE page]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV2lS5mUSj4 Video of Hiller HJ-1 Hornet hovering]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Hornet — (engl. für „Hornisse“) ist eine verbreitete militärische Bezeichnung für Schiffe, Flugzeuge und Waffen und steht u. a. für: USS Hornet, ein traditioneller Schiffsname der US Marine F/A 18 Hornet, ein Jagdbomber der US Marine 206 Hornet, ein… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hornet Malkara — Malkara Humber Hornet im Bovington Tank Museum Allgemeine Eigenschaften …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hornet Flight — is a World War II based spy thriller written by British author Ken Follett. The U.S. hardcover edition was published by Dutton Books in 2002; the paperback printing (ISBN 0 451 21074 3) from Signet Books followed in 2003.Plot introductionBy late… …   Wikipedia

  • Hornet Squadron — is the name of a fictional Royal Flying Corps, and later Royal Air Force, fighter squadron featured in a number of novels by British author Derek Robinson.Hornet Squadron first appeared in Robinson s 1983 novel Piece of Cake , which spans the… …   Wikipedia

  • HORNET — (Heb. צִרְעָה), insect. Three times the Bible mentions that the hornet would be sent ahead of the Israelites to drive out the inhabitants of the land of Canaan before them (Ex. 23:28; Deut. 7:20; Josh. 24:12). Some contend that the reference here …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Hornet — Hor net, n. [AS. hyrnet; akin to OHG. hornaz, hornuz, G. horniss; perh. akin to E. horn, and named from the sound it makes as if blowing the horn; but more prob. akin to D. horzel, Lith. szirszone, L. crabo.] (Zo[ o]l.) A large, strong wasp. The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hornet fly — Hornet Hor net, n. [AS. hyrnet; akin to OHG. hornaz, hornuz, G. horniss; perh. akin to E. horn, and named from the sound it makes as if blowing the horn; but more prob. akin to D. horzel, Lith. szirszone, L. crabo.] (Zo[ o]l.) A large, strong… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hornet's Sting — is a 1999 novel by Derek Robinson that takes place during the First World War. It is the final book in the trilogy containing War Story and Goshawk Squadron . While the final book written, it is only the second in the chronology of the series,… …   Wikipedia

  • Hornet — es un término que puede referirse a: El avión F/A 18 Hornet. Al personaje de ficción de Marvel Spiderman, cuando adoptó la personalidad de Hornet. Al personaje de ficción de Marvel Hornet. Esta página de desambiguación cataloga artículos… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Hornet, Missouri — Hornet is an unincorported community in western Newton County, Missouri, United States. It is located about six miles southwest of Joplin less than a mile west of Route 43. A church and a few houses are located there. West of Hornet is the… …   Wikipedia

  • horneţ — HORNÉŢ, horneţe, s.n. (reg.) Diminutiv al lui horn; coş (la o casă). – Horn + suf. eţ. Trimis de gall, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  HORNÉŢ s. v. cămin, coş, horn. Trimis de siveco, 13.09.2007. Sursa: Sinonime  hornéţ s. n …   Dicționar Român

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”