Fairey Ultra-light Helicopter
Fairey Aviation Company · United Kingdom · first flew 1955 · helicopter
The Fairey Ultra-light Helicopter was a small British military helicopter intended for reconnaissance and casualty evacuation. It was designed to be low-cost and transportable on the back of an Army three-ton truck.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, rotary |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × turbojet, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 4.29 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | No tailplane |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- No tail rotor: the main rotor is driven by tip jets at the blade ends
- Compact side-by-side two-seater
- Palouste gas generator mounted semi-externally at floor level behind the seats
A tiny two-seat helicopter with a rotor tipped by jets and no tail rotor, powered by an engine mounted behind the seats.
Specifications
- The Fairey Ultra-light Helicopter has a length of 4.29 m (14 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 8.62 m (28 ft).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was developed to a 1953 Ministry of Supply requirement for a low-cost two-seat helicopter. A single Blackburn-built Turbomeca Palouste supplied compressed air to the tip burners, which removed the need for a tail rotor. The first flight was on 14 August 1955.
Variants
Six were built: four development aircraft ordered by the Ministry and two more built by Fairey as a private venture.
Where you'll see it
Early trials were promising, but the type was a casualty of British defence economies in the later 1950s and of competition from the Saunders-Roe Skeeter.
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