Back Papin & Rouilly "Gyroptere"
1915

Papin & Rouilly Gyroptere

Papin and Rouilly's "Gyropter" possessed only a single hollow blade with a plan area of 12 square metres. The counterweight was a fan worked from a Le Rhone 80hp rotary engine revolving at 1.200 r.p.m. to give an output of just over 7 cubic metres of air per second. At the centre of gravity between the blade and the fan was the pilot's cab. The fan drove air through the hollow blade, from which it escaped through an L-shaped tube at a speed of 100 metres per second.

Papin & Rouilly Gyroptere

Including the float on which it was mounted the aircraft weighed 500kg. Directional control was to be achieved by means of a small auxiliary pipe through which some of the air was driven, and which could be directed in whatever direction the pilot wished.

Papin & Rouilly Gyroptere

Tests were carried out on 31st March 1915 on Lake Cercey on the Cote d'Or, and a rotor speed of 47 r.p.m. was reached. Unfortunately the aircraft became unstable and the pilot had to abandon it, after which it sank.

P.Lambermont "Helicopters and Autogyros of the World", 1958

Papin & Rouilly Gyroptere

Papin & Rouilly Gyroptere

Comments
Dan, e-mail, 30.07.2014reply

Been thinking and sketching up ideas for a one man kit helicopter along the lines of what Bruno Nagler came up with in 1944, but using a tip jet. Nice to know people with smarts and means have been working on this idea for one hundred years.

wangping, e-mail, 12.06.2010reply

between the blade and the fan was the pilot's cab. The fan drove air through the hollow blade, from which it escaped through an L-shaped tube at a speed of 100 between the blade and the fan was the pilot's cab. The fan drove air through the hollow blade, from which it escaped through an L-shaped tube at a speed of 100

rondim man, 09.12.2009reply

it looks like a whale sort of

Ron Darner, e-mail, 17.11.2007reply

The entire front cover of Popular Science's Sept. 1922 issue can be found at http: / /www.magazineart.org /main.php /v /technical /popularscience /PopularScience1922-09.jpg.html

Pat Flannery, e-mail, 08.08.2007reply

There is more data on this aircraft here:
http: / /home.att.net /~dannysoar2 /Whirlygig.htm
Including a painting of it in flight.

Pat

Carl A. Helsing, e-mail, 06.03.2007reply

A little earlier I sent a comment on a helicopter site.I somewhat automatically got around to the papin-Rouilly,then remembered doing the same thing about this time last year.I mentioned my Vectron Aero Saucer with it's double thrust effect by counter rotating the entire body as an air foil.From the Papin-Rouilly,I finally derived an answer to an air-only thrust force in aircraft.(no use of expanding gas combustion,as a turbine).Using the Papin-Rouilly "blade",as such,in any surface area form or number of blades as a propeller having a hollow hub inlet to allow air to move by centrifugal force within the hollow,then to rotate the Papin-Rouilly outlet 90 degree's,then another 90 so that it ejects directly away from the flat surface,combining a jet effect thrust behind the propeller by that means with the usual effect of the propeller blade outer surface,thrust would be compounded for such a propeller,per pound of it's weight and power consumed,as I am now conjecturing,in any case.All of this within a shroud around the propeller eliminating the usual throw-off,(as with one were using an old room air circulating fan).Engine in the aircraft fuselage,shafts to the propeller assembly hung on each wing,and I dream maybe near the speed of sound with the right internal combustion piston engine.Compliments,Papin-Rouilly--if it works out-(tell me what you think)

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