Flettner Fl 184

Infobox Aircraft
name=Flettner Fl 184


caption=
type=Autogyro
manufacturer=Flettner
designer=Anton Flettner
first flight=1930s
introduced=
retired=
status=
primary user=
more users=
produced=
number built=1
variants with their own articles=The Flettner 184 was a German night reconnaissance and anti-submarine autogyro developed during the 1930s.

Design

Its designer, Anton Flettner, designed the Fl 184 to have a single, torqueless rotor. This was done with two 30 hp (22 kW) engines that drove small propellers attached to the rotor blades. The Fl 184 was a two-seat autogyro with an enclosed cabin. The Fl 184 rotors had a length of 12 m and a cyclic pitch control system. The aircraft's power was supplied by a 140 hp Siemens-Halske Sh 14 radial engine that drove a two-bladed wooden propeller.

History

The history of the Fl 184 is quite short. There was only one Flettner 184 built that had the registration "D-EDVE". The Fl 184 was scheduled to be tested for night reconnaissance in late 1936. However, before these tests could take place, it caught fire whilst in flight and crashed.

After the crash the entire program was considered a write-off and no more aircraft were manufactured.

Specifications

*Engine type: One Siemens-Halske Sh 14 Radial
*Engine power: 140 hp (104 kW)

References

* "From Autogiro to Gyroplane: The Amazing Survival of an Aviation Technology" : Bruce H. Charnov (2003)