https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_30
The Bell 30 was the prototype for the first commercial helicopter, and the first
helicopter built by the Bell Aircraft Company. Designed by Arthur M. Young, the
type served as a demonstration testbed for the successful Bell 47.
Young had experimented with helicopter designs using mainly scale models, and in
1941 he approached the Bell Aircraft Corporation in Buffalo, New York. The
company agreed to build a number of full-scale prototypes, and Young moved to
Buffalo. With the main Bell factories immersed in war production, and to ensure
a research and development program that was sufficiently private and free of
distractions, Young and his team moved to the Buffalo suburb of Gardenville
(West Seneca). The Ship 1 prototype's first serious mishap occurred near the
very end of 1942 in captive testing, when a Bell corporate pilot asked to try
the Ship 1, while not using a seat belt and hanging onto the controls instead to
stay in the open cockpit - this captive flight attempt resulted in the rotor
system "going through resonance" as designer Arthur Young had warned about,
resulting in a "bucking" instability and accident which cracked the rotor blades
loose. The first free flight of Ship 1 was carried out on June 26, 1943, only
the third American helicopter to fly.
The Ship 1 prototype registration NX41860 had an open cockpit, an enclosed
fuselage for the Franklin piston engine, and fixed three-wheel landing gear. The
engine drove a two-bladed main rotor and a two-bladed anti-torque tail rotor.
The prototype crashed in September 1943 and was subsequently modified with
several improvements, including an enclosed cabin for the pilot and passenger,
who sat side by side in the cockpit. With all the lessons learned, the third
prototype became the basis for the production model, the Bell Model 47. The
Model 30 Ship 1A, Genevieve, is now on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy
Center of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
Role
Experimental helicopter
National origin
United States
Manufacturer
Bell Aircraft
Designer
Arthur M. Young
First flight
26 June 1943
Number built
3
Developed into
Bell 47
Ship No.1(c/n 1) The original Bell 30, built with an open-frame tubular steel
framework with an open cockpit and four widely splayed undercarriage legs with
skids at the ends, made from 3 in (76 mm) Aluminium alloy tubing. First flown on
29 December 1942, test flying continued until a serious crash in September 1943.
Ship No.1A(c/n 1A) Ship No.1, rebuilt after the crash with a strutted tricycle
undercarriage with nosewheel, and semi-enclosed cockpit, rejoined the test
programme by March 1944.
Ship No.2(c/n 2) The second aircraft was built with a new three wheeled
undercarriage, semi-monocoque fuselage, new tail rotor mounting and fully
enclosed cockpit for pilot and passenger.
Ship No.3(c/n 3) The third aircraft was built with a triangular-section welded
tubular steel tailboom, four-wheeled undercarriage, full set of instruments, but
a completely open cockpit. Performance and handling of this aircraft were found
to be much better than its predecessors but the open cockpit was viewed as a
major handicap. Young described flying the aircraft as being "like sitting in a
chair and flying through space." However, Bell company officials who flew in it
found the experience to be thoroughly frightening. The solution to the open
cockpit was the plexiglas bubble that was to become iconic on Bell 47/H-13
production aircraft.
Specifications
General characteristics
Crew: one
Capacity: two passengers
Main rotor diameter: 33 ft 0 in (10.06 m)
Main rotor area: 855.3 sq ft (79.46 m2)
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