Belgian Helicopter Projects & Prototypes

[hesham]

From VTB magazine,free download,

the Gyrocopter of Watteyne and Glymes.

Les Vieilles Tiges - Magazines VTB

 

[dan_inbox]

Note that this is a project from Belgium, not from Switzerland.

 

[hesham]

Note that this is a project from Belgium, not from Switzerland.

As I know the Andre Watteyne was from Switzerland.

https://documentation.musee-aeroscopia.fr/media/collectiveaccess/images/2/9/7/38824_ca_object_representations_media_29709_original.pdf

 

[dan_inbox]

As I know the Andre Watteyne was from Switzerland.

I don't where you got this impression.
The pdf file you linked, under the title of "history of aircraft consttruction in BELGIUM", mentions that Mssrs de Glyme and Wateyne created a company named
"Deglywa BELGIAN National Society for Gyronefs (rotary wing craft)".

Also the illustration in your post #22 mentions Brussels (capital of Belgium) and is French and Flemish (Dutch) languages. Flemish is not a Swiss language.

This project was definitely Belgian.

 

[watt]

From Ailes 23/10/1954,

Mr. Robert Stierlin and Mr. Roger Mercier designed and built Type-1,as an open airframe helicopter in 1948,followed
by Type-2 in 1953 and Type-3 again with Mercier in 1956,later created Type-4 in 1962 and Type-5 in 1967,but the last
one made accident in 1969,Michel Devaux rebuilt the helicopter after the accident. The new helicopter known as the
SD 90 (or SD 100 when it was equipped with a boxer aircooled VW-Porsche engine) was registered HB-YAD between
1972 and 1989.

https://www.heli-archive.ch/en/people/swiss-builders/stierlin-robert/

Also in Ailes journal,they spoke about Gyrocopter,designed by Mr. A. Watteyne and took assist from a Belgium designer,
Mr. de Glymes,very strange configuration,I think it was a tailsitter concept looks like FW Triebflügel ?.

André Watteyne was my father's first cousin on his father's side. André was a well-known architect in Brussels. He was Belgian, not Swiss.I used to go to his house for lessons on drawing perspective when I was a boy. André designed a helicopter that had double rotary blades turning opposite to one another. The helicopter lifted straight up vertically, and at the desired elevation the front end could lean forward and fly horizontally. My father an I were invited to the demonstration of a model of this helicopter (powered by rubber bands) in a field near Brussels. André Watteyne was looking for a sponsor, but a full-sized model needed to be built, and André asked my father, who was an engineer and inventor, if he could build the prototype. I also recall that representatives of the Belgian military were present to view the demonstration. The advantage of this design was the blades did not have to rotate at each turn. They were fixed, and therefore very silent and efficient. There were some disadvantages to the design: 1) the seats would have to rotate 90 degrees to go from vertical to horizontal flight, 2) one set of blades was close to ground level, and this would have been hazardous during landing. If someone is interested in more detail about how the helicopter moved from vertical to horizontal, please contact me.

 

[hesham]

Many thanks Watt,and welcome abaord,and please see;

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/swiss-little-known-helicopters-light-aircraft-and-projects.31667/#post-382525

 

[Manuducati]

I'm a Belgian interested in aviation since my childhood and I have never seen this before!

Thanks Hesham for the discovery and Watt for the details! Watt if you have any other information about it, do not hesitate to share here.

 

[watt]

The model did not have ground control, and only moved to a horizontal position as the
rotating rubber bands started losing power. If there had been radio controls on the ground,
the front wing could have moved to force the front of the helicopter to lean forward, and
stabilize the craft after it began horizontal flight. The front of the craft would also have had
directional controls if there were radio controls on the ground. A pilot could have performed
these functions in the real craft.

André Watteyne was hoping to attract a sponsor to provide funding for the further
refinement of his project. This, unfortunately didn't happen.

André built several model planes. That was his hobby. He co-designed the Church of Saint Augustine in
Brussels.

 

[hesham]

Thank you Watt,

and please if you have more pictures or drawings to anther Projects,send it and thanks.

 

[Aerohydro]

Attached is a PDF from the 1961 Aeromodeller Annual which people may find interesting. It's a translated, and edited, version of a longer article which had been written by Andre Watteyne himself.

As the publication's editor notes in his introduction to the article: "M. Andre Watteyne of Brussels enjoys a worldwide reputation for his many years' work on the subject."

Somewhere out there - hopefully accessible on the internet - is the original full-length Andre Watteyne article.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[watt]

Attached is a PDF from the 1961 Aeromodeller Annual which people may find interesting. It's a translated, and edited, version of a longer article which had been written by Andre Watteyne himself.

As the publication's editor notes in his introduction to the article: "M. Andre Watteyne of Brussels enjoys a worldwide reputation for his many years' work on the subject."

Somewhere out there - hopefully accessible on the internet - is the original full-length Andre Watteyne article.

Cheers,
Paul

Thanks for sending this, Paul. My cousin André Watteyne's hobby was making model aircraft. The helicopter design was an attempt
to create something on a larger scale.

Best,
Jacques

 

[hesham]

Many thanks to you Aerohydro,

and we want to know more about him.

 

[ndeglymesdehollebecque]

From Ailes 23/10/1954,

Mr. Robert Stierlin and Mr. Roger Mercier designed and built Type-1,as an open airframe helicopter in 1948,followed
by Type-2 in 1953 and Type-3 again with Mercier in 1956,later created Type-4 in 1962 and Type-5 in 1967,but the last
one made accident in 1969,Michel Devaux rebuilt the helicopter after the accident. The new helicopter known as the
SD 90 (or SD 100 when it was equipped with a boxer aircooled VW-Porsche engine) was registered HB-YAD between
1972 and 1989.

https://www.heli-archive.ch/en/people/swiss-builders/stierlin-robert/

Also in Ailes journal,they spoke about Gyrocopter,designed by Mr. A. Watteyne and took assist from a Belgium designer,
Mr. de Glymes,very strange configuration,I think it was a tailsitter concept looks like FW Triebflügel ?.

André Watteyne was my father's first cousin on his father's side. André was a well-known architect in Brussels. He was Belgian, not Swiss.I used to go to his house for lessons on drawing perspective when I was a boy. André designed a helicopter that had double rotary blades turning opposite to one another. The helicopter lifted straight up vertically, and at the desired elevation the front end could lean forward and fly horizontally. My father an I were invited to the demonstration of a model of this helicopter (powered by rubber bands) in a field near Brussels. André Watteyne was looking for a sponsor, but a full-sized model needed to be built, and André asked my father, who was an engineer and inventor, if he could build the prototype. I also recall that representatives of the Belgian military were present to view the demonstration. The advantage of this design was the blades did not have to rotate at each turn. They were fixed, and therefore very silent and efficient. There were some disadvantages to the design: 1) the seats would have to rotate 90 degrees to go from vertical to horizontal flight, 2) one set of blades was close to ground level, and this would have been hazardous during landing. If someone is interested in more detail about how the helicopter moved from vertical to horizontal, please contact me.

I am interested to learn more about their work together. What is the best way to contact you?

-Nicholas de Glymes de Hollebecque

 

[hesham]

I am interested to learn more about their work together. What is the best way to contact you?

Welcome aboard at first,

and I think you can contact them directly in their link,fortunately there is no
enough informations about those two designers on Net.

If you want to talk to me,you can send a special message.

 

[hesham]

From Air Pictorial 1954,

I don't know if they meant this project or not ?.

 

[hesham]

Maschelin M.58 Masquito: was a side-by-side ultra light two seat of
all-composite construction with a pod and boom fuselage,skid under-
carriage and a 65 hp Rotax 582 engine.

 

[persil]

of all-composite construction

Not true at all.

It happens that I know this helicopter and its successor (in three variants distinguished by its manufacturer - Masquito Aircraft), and on top of that I am friends with one of the project founders. But there is more - It also happens that on my eyes its successor (the M80) was being dismantled, most likely for the last time - I didn't hear anything since, that someone at least put it together to be on some display or something.

M58 had metal frame:


The next one - M80 had engine which started as Jabiru flat-four engine - so it is clear indication that you see M80 - but which variant/stage, it is more complex.

Attached is original Masquito brochure which points prototypes.

I do have couple of hundreds of pictures of M80 on its final times. Here is one, when it arrived to its dismantling place on August 22nd, 2013: