Michael Nichols

The AirGeep was one of three winners of an Army competition for an “invisible” aerial vehicle in nap-of-the-earth flight, and the only one to be field tested. Type “Ducted-Fan” Flying Geep Length 26 ft Width 9.4 ft Height 6.75 ft…

AirGeep II was powered by two turbines to provide one engine out safety, and a larger payload. Compactness in width, length and height gave it a mobility that no other VTOL system possessed. It could operate with ease along roadways,…

Great efforts have been made to advance the lifting capacity of the helicopter, but as helicopter capacity was successfully increased the next growth became even more difficult. Since the ‘50’s, the U.S. Army has aimed at lifting its main battle…

With the advent of nuclear submarines, U.S. Navy efforts to base helicopters aboard destroyers as a weapon delivery system increased. Limitations of storage space gave impetus to a drone concept. Piasecki proposed such a concept – the “SeaBat” – specifically…

The PA-2C was designed to be a vertical take-off aircraft capable of sustained, high-speed level flight (operating from aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and unprepared landing sites). Called the “RingWing”, it combined two ducted propellers that contained an integrated system of…

In 1945, the Navy issued requirements for a compact utility/rescue helicopter to operate from aircraft carriers, battleships, and cruisers. The industry wide paper competition was won by single-rotor Sikorsky (XHJS-1) and Piasecki overlapped tandem (XHJP-1). A side-by-side flight/mission evaluation by…

The HRP-2, an improved version of the HRP-1 “Rescuer”, with an aerodynamically streamlined all-metal fuselage, was developed for the assault mission of the U.S. Marine Corps. In the earlier tandems, the long distance from the cockpit to the landing gear…

The concept of a flying mock-up permitted a rapid demonstration of the unique configuration and a measurement of the XHRP-X flight and control characteristics. Early design improvements in the XHRP-1 prototype resulted. Mission Transport, Crane, Tow, ASW Crew 2 Passengers…

The H-21 used the same basic configuration as the HRP-2. The 41 foot rotor was increased to 44 feet, and a 1,425 horsepower engine installed, increasing the gross weight from 7,255 to 14,700 lbs. The H-21A was the winner of…

Weight and Performance Summary: (2) UCAL Turbines at 750 shp each Characteristics VTO (lb) STO (lb)*** Weights 10,440 10,700 Design Gross Weight 5,995 5,995 Empty Weight 4,445 4,745 Payload (plus 1 pilot) with 2,118 lb fuel and oil (full tanks)*…