Hiller YH-32 Hornet
Hiller Aircraft Company · United States · first flew 1950 · helicopter
The Hiller YH-32 Hornet was an ultralight ramjet tip-drive helicopter that used small ramjet units mounted on the rotor blade tips to spin the rotor, entirely eliminating the need for a mechanical transmission or anti-torque tail rotor.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, rotary |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 2 × piston, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Extremely simple transmission-free rotor head; tiny tubular fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Tip-jet ramjet drive — visible flame at blade tips, no tail rotor needed
- Extremely simple transmission-free rotor head; tiny tubular fuselage
- Two ramjet units on rotor blade tips produce thrust and eliminate torque
The complete absence of a tail rotor, a skeletal tubular fuselage that barely qualifies as a fuselage, and the tiny but audible ramjets at the rotor tips make this one of the most distinctive helicopters ever built.
Specifications
- The Hiller YH-32 Hornet has a length of 3.45 m (11 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 7 m (23 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 129 km/h (80 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Developed by Stanley Hiller in the late 1940s, the Hornet first flew in 1950 and attracted US Army and Navy interest for its mechanical simplicity. Eighteen examples were built and evaluated, but the ramjet engines proved extremely noisy and fuel-hungry, and the concept was abandoned in favour of conventional turboshaft helicopters by the late 1950s.
Variants
The YH-32A was a proposed armed variant with machine guns, but it did not enter production. The civil HJ-1 Hornet was the commercial designation.
Where you'll see it
Evaluated by the US Army and US Navy but never adopted for operational service; a small number were used for experimental and test purposes only.
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- Sikorsky HRS-2
- Bristol Type 171 Sycamore Mk 2
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