The Cessna CH-1 Skyhook is the only helicopter that Cessna ever built. Cessna bought the Seibel Helicopter Company of Wichita, Kansas, on 14 January 1952 and began work on the CH-1 design that summer. The helicopter has a single two-bladed main rotor and a front-mounted reciprocating engine that gives it a stable center of gravity, in a semi-monocoque airframe that resembles Cessna light airplanes. The first test bed hovered in July 1953, the Civil Aeronautics Administration issued type certificate 3H10 on 9 June 1955, and the CH-1A became the first helicopter to land on the summit of Pikes Peak on 15 September 1955. A CH-1B set a world altitude record for helicopters, and the United States Army evaluated ten CH-1Bs and designated the CH-1C the YH-41 Seneca. About 50 machines were built before Cessna ended production in December 1962.
Facts
Engine Class Top Speed (km/h) Maximum Mass (kg) EngineContinental FSO-526-A air-cooled six-cylinder horizontally-opposed engine, 270 hp 1 Comparison
Body StyleAircraft (no road body style) 1 Connections
Exemplifies
Source Cessna CH-1 Skyhook (Wikipedia)
Of Make
Source Cessna CH-1 Skyhook (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Cessna CH-1 Skyhook (Wikipedia)
Development, first hover
This test bed skeleton, referred to as CH1-1, first hovered in July 1953, eventually making test flights as high as 10,000 feet (3,000 m).
Specifications (CH-1C), powerplant
Powerplant: 1 × Continental FSO-526-A air-cooled six-cylinder horizontally-opposed engine, 270 hp (200 kW)
Specifications (CH-1C), empty weight
Empty weight: 2,080 lb (943 kg)
Specifications (CH-1C), gross weight
Gross weight: 3,100 lb (1,406 kg)
Specifications (CH-1C), maximum speed
Maximum speed: 108 mph (174 km/h, 94 kn) at sea level
Production, total built
Approximately 50 machines were built before Cessna ended their venture into helicopters.
Lead
The CH-1 had a single, two-bladed main rotor, and a front-mounted reciprocating engine which gave the aircraft a stable center of gravity (CG).
Lead, body style
The Cessna CH-1 Skyhook is the only helicopter ever built by the Cessna Aircraft Company.
Production end
Production was ended in December 1962. The company indicated that this was due to the civil aviation market not being ready for this type of aircraft, although CH-1 owner Rex Trailer claimed that it was due to catastrophic transmission failures.
Lead, maker
The Cessna CH-1 Skyhook is the only helicopter ever built by the Cessna Aircraft Company.
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