Pitcairn PCA-2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitcairn_PCA-2

The Pitcairn PCA-2 was an autogyro developed in the United States in the early
1930s. It was Harold F. Pitcairn's first autogyro design to sell in quantity. It
had a conventional design for its day – an airplane-like fuselage with two open
cockpits in tandem, and an engine mounted tractor-fashion in the nose. The lift
by the four-blade main rotor was augmented by stubby, low-set monoplane wings
that also carried the control surfaces. The wingtips featured considerable
dihedral that acted as winglets for added stability.

Role
Utility autogyro

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro Company

Designer
Harold F. Pitcairn

First flight
1931

Number built
20–30

Variants
Pitcairn OP-1

The PCA-2 was the first rotary-wing aircraft to achieve type certification in
the United States and was used in a number of high-profile activities including
a landing on the White House lawn and the first flight across the United States
in a rotorcraft. This latter feat was attempted by Amelia Earhart, flying for
the Beech-Nut food company, but was actually accomplished by John M. Miller who
completed his flight nine days before Earhart on 28 May 1931, in his PCA-2 named
Missing Link. Learning of Miller's achievement upon her arrival in California,
Earhart set out to turn her flight into a round-trip record by flying east
again, but abandoned the attempt after three crashes. Earhart set an altitude
record in a PCA-2 on 8 April 1931 with a height of 18,415 ft (5,615 m). This
record was broken in another PCA-2 by Lewis Yancey who flew to 21,500 ft (6,600
m) on 25 September 1932.

In 1931, The Detroit News made history when it bought a PCA-2 for use as a news
aircraft due to its ability to fly well at low altitude, land and take off from
restricted spaces, and semi-hover for better camera shots. In May 1933, Scripps
donated the autogyro to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

The Champion spark plug company operated a PCA-2 as a promotional machine in
1931 and 1932 as Miss Champion. It was flown over 6,500 miles in the 1931 Ford
National Reliability Air Tour. This machine was restored to flying condition in
1982 by Steve Pitcairn, Harold's son. In 2005, he donated it to the EAA
AirVenture Museum. Other PCA-2s are preserved at The Henry Ford and the Canada
Aviation Museum.

Specifications (PCA-2)

General characteristics
Crew: One pilot
Capacity: 2 passengers
Length: 23 ft 1 in (7.04 m)
Wingspan: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
Airfoil: NACA M-3 mod
Empty weight: 2,233 lb (1,013 kg)
Gross weight: 3,000 lb (1,361 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-975 (J6-9) 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine,
330 hp (250 kW)
Main rotor diameter: 45 ft 0 in (13.72 m)
Main rotor area: 1,580 sq ft (147 m2) 4-bladed wire braced rotor
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch wooden propeller

Performance
Maximum speed: 118 mph; 103 kn (190 km/h)
Range: 290 mi (252 nmi; 467 km)
Service ceiling: 15,010 ft (4,575 m)
Maximum glide ratio: 4.8




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