Flettner Fl 185

Infobox Aircraft
name=Flettner Fl 185


caption=
type=Autogyro/helicopter
manufacturer=Flettner
designer=Anton Flettner
first flight=1936
introduced=
retired=
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produced=
number built=1
variants with their own articles=The Flettner Fl 185 was an experimental German helicopter developed by Anton Flettner.

This helicopter was developed in 1936 with support of the German Navy. It was powered by a 160-horsepower BMW-Bramo Sh 14 A radial piston engine with forced-air cooling, mounted at the nose. The engine drove a 12 m diameter main rotor and two auxiliary propellers mounted on outriggers attached to the fuselage. The auxiliary propellers worked in opposition to each other and served to cancel the torque of the main rotor, a function handled by a single, variable-pitch tail rotor on contemporary helicopters. The landing gear consisted of a nosewheel, two smaller stabilising wheels under the outriggers and a tail skid. Only one prototype was constructed.

References

Nowarra Heinz J.: "Die Deutsche Luftrüstung 1933-1945", Bernard & Graeffe Verlag, Koblenz 1993, ISBN 3-7637-5464-4 (in German)