SNCASE SE-3110

SNCASE · France · first flew 1950 · helicopter

The SNCASE SE-3110 was a French two-seat experimental helicopter with unusual twin, angled tail rotors. It first flew in 1950.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, rotary
E — Engines	1 × piston, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	11.13 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Two tail rotors mounted above the end of a slender tail boom, leaning inwards at 45 degrees to the vertical
Rounded forward pod with a fully glazed nose and two crew seated side by side
Three-blade main rotor, small wheels on cantilever legs and a long forward-pointing sprung skid

The twin tail rotors compensated main rotor torque by differential pitch, and the tail could be lifted or depressed to give pitch control. The two tail rotor drive shafts were sometimes shown in slender fairings and sometimes bare.

Specifications

The SNCASE SE-3110 has a length of 11.13 m (37 ft).
It has a wingspan of 12 m (39 ft).
Its maximum speed is 177 km/h (110 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

It drew heavily on the 1948 SE-3101, sharing much of its control system and its twin tail rotors. A 200 hp Salmson 9 Nh nine-cylinder radial engine was mounted horizontally under a transmission box.

Variants

One or two were built. After brief tests SNCASE decided to concentrate on the closely related SE-3120 Alouette I, which had a single tail rotor.

Where you'll see it

It was experimental only. The first flight was on 10 June 1950, piloted by Jaques Lacarme, and one account says the second prototype crashed after losing control on 15 September 1950.

Related aircraft

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