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The Pitcairn PCA-2 was an autogyro (designated as "autogiro" by Pitcairn) developed in the United States in the early 1930s.[1] It was Harold F. Pitcairn's first autogyro design to sell in quantity. It had a conventional design for its day – an airplane-like fuselage with two open cockpits in tandem, and an engine mounted tractor-fashion in the nose.[2] The lift by the four-blade main rotor was augmented by stubby, low-set monoplane wings that also carried the control surfaces.[2] The wingtips featured considerable dihedral that acted as winglets for added stability.[2]

PCA-2
PCA-2
Role	Utility autogyro Type of aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro Company
Designer	Harold F. Pitcairn
First flight	1918
Number built	20–30
Variants	Pitcairn OP-1

Operational history

The PCA-2 was the first rotary-wing aircraft to achieve type certification in the United States[3] and was used in a number of high-profile activities including a landing on the White House lawn[4][5] and the first flight across the United States in a rotorcraft. This latter feat was attempted by Amelia Earhart, flying for the Beech-Nut food company, but was actually accomplished by John M Miller who completed his flight nine days before Earhart on 28 May 1931, in his PCA-2 named Missing Link.[6] Learning of Miller's achievement upon her arrival in California, Earhart set out to turn her flight into a round-trip record by flying east again, but abandoned the attempt after three crashes.[6] Earhart set an altitude record in a PCA-2 on 8 April 1931 with a height of 18,415 ft (5,615 m). [7][2][3][4] This record was broken in another PCA-2 by Lewis Yancey who flew to 21,500 ft (6,600 m) on 25 September 1932.[3][8]

In 1931, The Detroit News made history when it bought a PCA-2 for use as a news aircraft due to its ability to fly well at low altitude, land and take off from restricted spaces, and semi-hover for better camera shots. In May 1933, Scripps donated the autogyro to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.[9]

The Champion spark plug company operated a PCA-2 as a promotional machine in 1931 and 1932 as Miss Champion.[4] It was flown over 6,500 miles in the 1931 Ford National Reliability Air Tour. This machine was restored to flying condition in 1982 by Steve Pitcairn, Harold's son.[4] In 2005, he donated it to the EAA AirVenture Museum.[4] Other PCA-2s are preserved at The Henry Ford[4][10] and the Canada Aviation Museum.[11]

Variants

• PCA-2 – major production version[2][3]
• PCA-3 – version with Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine and 48-ft (14.63-m) rotor[2] (1 built)[3]
• PA-21 – version with Wright R-975-E2 engine[2][3]
• OP-1 – Reconnaissance autogyro (1931); two aircraft acquired by the United States Navy (USN) in 1931 for trials, with limited success.

Operators (OP-1)

 United States

• United States Marine Corps
  • Marine Observation Squadron 6

Specifications (PCA-2)

Data from [12][13][14]

General characteristics

• Crew: One pilot
• Capacity: 2 passengers
• Length: 23 ft 1 in (7.04 m)
• Wingspan: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
• Airfoil: NACA M-3 mod
• Empty weight: 2,233 lb (1,013 kg)
• Gross weight: 3,000 lb (1,361 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-975 (J6-9) 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 330 hp (250 kW)
• Main rotor diameter: 45 ft 0 in (13.72 m)
• Main rotor area: 1,580 sq ft (147 m²) 4-bladed wire braced rotor
• Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch wooden propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 120 mph (190 km/h, 100 kn)
• Range: 290 mi (470 km, 250 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 15,010 ft (4,575 m)
• Maximum glide ratio: 4.8

See also

Related development

• Pitcairn OP

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Buhl A-1 Autogyro
• Cierva C.19
• Pitcairn PA-18

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Charnov, Bruce H. (2003a). "Amelia Earhart, John M. Miller and the First Transcontinental Autogiro Flight in 1931". The Aviation History On-Line Museum. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
• Charnov, Bruce H. (2003b). From Autogiro to Gyroplane: The Amazing Survival of an Aviation Technology. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers.
• "Pitcairn-Cierva PCA-2". Canada Aviation Museum website. Archived from the original on 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
• "Pitcairn, A G A, Pitcairn-Cierva, Pitcairn-Larsen". Aerofiles. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
• "Pitcairn PCA-2 Autogiro 'Miss Champion' – NC11609". AirVenture Museum website. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
• "Pitcairn PCA-2 Autogiro Specifications". AirVenture Museum website. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
• "The Planes: 1931 Pitcairn Autogiro". The Henry Ford website. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.

External links

• "Will Autogiro Banish Present Plane?", Popular Science. March 1931, pg 28
• A Pitcairn PCA-2 piloted by Claude Owens lands on the Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco in January 1932. Universal Newsreel.

На других языках

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[de] Pitcairn PCA-2

Die Pitcairn PCA-2 war ein dreisitziger Tragschrauber des US-amerikanischen Konstruktors Harold Frederick Pitcairn.

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- [en] Pitcairn PCA-2

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[fr] Pitcairn PCA-2

Le Pitcairn PCA-2 était un autogire développé aux États-Unis au début des années 1930[1]. Il fut le premier concept d'autogire d'Harold Pitcairn (en) à être vendu en quantités.

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[it] Pitcairn PCA-2

Il Pitcairn PCA-2 era un autogiro utility biposto sviluppato dall'azienda aeronautica statunitense Pitcairn Aircraft Company nei primi anni trenta[2].

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