Fairey Jet Gyrodyne

The Fairey Jet Gyrodyne was a British experimental compound gyroplane built by the Fairey Aviation Company that combined features of the helicopter, gyrodyne and autogyro. It was the subject of a Ministry of Supply research contract to gather data for the Rotodyne, and was a modification of the second prototype FB-1 Gyrodyne, registered G-AJJP, built to develop the pressure-jet rotor drive and its operating procedures. It kept the fuselage, undercarriage and Alvis Leonides radial engine of the FB-1, which drove a pusher propeller at each wing tip and two superchargers, and its two-blade rotor was driven by air burned with fuel in tip pressure-jets for take-off, landing and low-speed flight. Tethered flights were followed by the first free flight in January 1954, and a full transition from helicopter to autogyro flight was achieved in March 1955. It was retired once ground testing of the Rotodyne rotor drive system began.