SNCAC NC.2001 Abeille
SNCAC · France · first flew 1949 · helicopter
The SNCAC NC.2001 Abeille (Bee) was a single-engined helicopter with twin intermeshing rotors, designed and built in France in the late 1940s.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, rotary |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Pod and boom fuselage with a high-mounted boom carrying the tail, and fixed main landing gear |
| T — Tail | Twin fin |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Twin two-blade intermeshing rotors with no tail rotor
- Fully glazed nose with two side-by-side crew seats and a cabin bench seat for three passengers
- Pod and boom fuselage with a high-mounted boom carrying the tail, and fixed main landing gear
A pod-and-boom helicopter with a glazed nose and two intermeshing rotors leaning out of the fuselage sides.
Specifications
- The SNCAC NC.2001 Abeille has a length of 9.7 m (32 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 13.7 m (45 ft).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The design was directed by René Dorand and used an intermeshing rotor layout in place of a tail rotor. It was powered by a 575 hp Renault 12S inverted V-12 engine, and the second machine first flew on 28 June 1949.
Variants
The first prototype had a tall T-tail. On the second machine the tailplane was lowered to the top of the fuselage with a pair of fins at its extremities.
Where you'll see it
Three were completed but only one flew, flown by Claude Dellys. SNCAC was closed in June 1949 and the programme was abandoned.
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- SNCAC NC.860
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- SNCAC NC.1070
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- Piasecki HUP-1 Retriever
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