Bee
Role Utility helicopter
National origin United States
Manufacturer Scheutzow Helicopter Corporation
Designer Webb Scheutzow[1]
First flight 26 January 1967[1]
Number built 4[1]

The Scheutzow Model B or Scheutzow Bee was a two-seat utility helicopter developed in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[1][2]

Development

The aircraft was designed by Webb Scheutzow around a new type of rotorhead that he had developed, the FLEXIHUB.[1] In this system, the two main rotor blades were mounted in rubber bushes, reducing vibration and requiring no lubrication.[1][3] The design was otherwise entirely conventional, consisting of a cabin with two seats arranged side-by-side, a centrally-mounted engine and rotor mast, and an open-truss tail boom of triangular section that carried a two-blade tail rotor.[1][4] The undercarriage consisted of skids.[4] The frame was constructed of welded steel tube[4] and the cabin was constructed of sheet metal.[4][5] Power was transmitted from the engine to the rotor by a series of belts, eliminating the need for a gearbox[6] and minimizing cabin noise.[4]

The prototype (registration N564A) first flew on 26 January 1967[1] and Scheutzow initially planned to have flight testing for type certification completed by the end of the year.[5] At the time, Scheutzow hoped to sell the helicopter for somewhere in the region of $10,000–$12,000,[5] although the following year, the estimated price rose to $16,700.[6] Scheutzow still hoped that the helicopter would be in production the following year and planned to build 191 examples in 1969.[6] However, the flight test program to obtain type certification did not commence until 1971.[4] Certification tests were almost complete by the end of 1973, at which point funding ran out.[4] Testing resumed again in February 1975[4] and the Bee was certified in May 1976.[7] Development was abandoned during the 1970s after only four examples were built.[1]


Specifications

Data from Taylor, J.W.R. (1977), p.399

General characteristics

  • Crew: one pilot
  • Capacity: 1 passenger
  • Length: 31 ft 2 in (9.50 m)
  • Height: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
  • Empty weight: 1,135 lb (514 kg)
  • Gross weight: 1,685 lb (764 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming IVO-360-A1A , 180 hp (134 kW)
  • Main rotor diameter: 27 ft 0 in (8.23 m)
  • Main rotor area: 573 sq ft (53.2 m2)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 94 mph (150 km/h, 82 kn)
  • Range: 175 mi (280 km, 152 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (1,960 m)

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Simpson 1998, p.232
  2. ↑ Taylor 1989, p.793
  3. ↑ Scheutzow 1966, p.5
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Taylor 1977, p.399
  5. 1 2 3 Flight International 1967, p.263
  6. 1 2 3 Flight International 1968, p.824a
  7. ↑ Type Certificate H1GL

References

  • Federal Aviation Administration (1976) Type Certificate Data Sheet No. HIGL. Washington, DC: Federal Aviation Administration.
  • "Low-cost Helicopter?". Flight International: 263. 16 February 1967. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  • "Low-cost Helicopter". Flight International: 824a. 30 May 1968. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  • Scheutzow, Wilbur J. (1966) U.S. Patent No. 3,231,222. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  • Simpson, Rod (1998). Airlife's Helicopters and Rotorcraft. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing. p. 232.
  • Taylor, John W. R. (1977). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977–78. London: Jane's Yearbooks. pp. 398–99.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 793.
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