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A Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee in use with the USN.
Overview[]
The Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee (U.S. Army designation; earlier Army designation: HO-1) was a unique direct-lift rotor aircraft, using contra-rotating ducted fans for lift inside a platform upon which the single pilot shifted body weight for directional control.
The platform was developed starting in 1953 under an Office of Naval Research (ONR) contract to Hiller Aircraft, and flew successfully beginning in 1955.
The Idea[]
Hiller Flying Platform-0
Video from Hiller Aviation Museum about the Hiller Flying Platform.
Hiller built a flying platform as a possible civil and military transport, but the main idea was as a battlefield transport for Army and Navy personnel. It was seen as a way of flying over trenches, berms, barriers, blown-up bridges, masses of barbed wire, mine fields, etc.
Development[]
The original rotor-craft concept had been developed by Charles H. Zimmerman in the late 1940s, but over looked at the time. Hiller Aircraft's direct-lift rotor aircraft (Model 1031-A-1) first flew on the 20th of November, 1957. It barely flew out of the low ground cushion effect zone and was to slow to be of use to the military.
The device[]
Hiller Flying Platform
The Hiller Flying Platform, from the Discovery Wings Channel.
It was a approx 8 foot wide and 3 foot tall metal disc resembled the metal part from the car wheel's rim. Inside this were 2 counter rotating 7ft aluminum rotor blades. There was a tubular frame and hand rail with a small control panel on the front of it and 3 tubular metal legs below it.
The "Basic US GI factor"[]
It was assumed by the US Army that a 19 year old recruit with only basic training must be able to use the kit after a brief chat and couple of demonstrations without killing or seriously injuring himself or others. It was thought to be to complex for such a low level of add-hock, in-field on the spot training as they envisaged.
Stats[]
Also see[]
Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee Flying Platform Flight Test April 1955 US Navy Office of Naval Research (ONR)
more at http://scitech.quickfound.net/aviation_news_and_search.html The Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee Flying Platform VTOL aircraft is tested in April, 1955. The Pawnee was powered by a ducted fan, and steered by the pilot shifting his weight. After a tethered flight, Hiller test pilot Phil T. Johnston is interviewed. The sound is lost near the end of the interview, unfortunately. Then there is a free flight test. Public domain film from the US National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiller_VZ-1_Pawnee The Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee (U.S. Army designation; earlier Army designation: HO-1) was a unique direct lift rotor aircraft, using contra-rotating ducted fans for lift inside a platform upon which the single pilot shifted body weight for directional control. The platform was developed starting in 1953 under an Office of Naval Research (ONR) contract to Hiller Aircraft Corporation, and flew successfully, starting in 1955... Design and development The original concept had been developed by Charles H. Zimmerman in the late 1940s. Further development followed, both by Hiller and the De Lackner Company. There were two main models, the ONR model 1031-A-1 and the somewhat larger VZ-1 Pawnee model produced in 1956 for the U.S. Army. Three of each model were built as prototypes. Neither of the variants was put into production. The smaller ONR model used two 44 horsepower (33 kW) Nelson H-59 piston engines. The larger Pawnee model used three of the aforementioned engine and had an extended duct area. The Pawnee had ineffective "kinesthetic control" and instead had the operator seated on a platform controlling the flight with conventional helicopter controls. Testing and evaluation Due to aerodynamic effects in the duct within which the propellers rotated, the platform was dynamically stable, even though the pilot and center of gravity of the platform were fairly high up. In testing, the prototypes flew well enough, but the U.S. Army judged them to be impractical as combat vehicles as they were small, limited in speed and only barely flew out of the ground cushion effect. Two of the six prototypes are known to survive; both are ONR 1031-A-1 models. One is located at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California, the other is at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. The latter platform was formerly on loan to the Pima Air Museum. A replica of the 1031 platform is on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum... Specifications (Model 1031-A-1) General characteristics Data from National Air and Space Museum - Crew: One - Length: 8 ft 4 in diameter (2.54 m) - Rotor diameter: 7 ft (2.13 m) - Height: 7 ft (2.13 m) - Empty weight: 370 lb (167.8 kg) - Max. takeoff weight: 555 lb (251.7 kg) - Powerplant: × 2 × Nelson H-56 piston engines, 40 hp (30 kW) each - Propellers: 2 × contra-rotating two-bladed aluminum rotor Performance - Maximum speed: 16 mph (26 km/h) - Service ceiling: 32.8 ft (10 m).