Czechoslovakian helicopters, Prototypes & Projects

[Matej]

Interesting projects from czech archives. In secod half of the 50s Ing. Jaroslav Schlechta started to materialize his idea about militarized version of light utility helicopter HC-3. First was HC-3A (OK-VZB) with M 360 RF engine (rebulit soviet AI 14 VF - 221 kW). It had on every side rocket system with unguided rockets: early time there were two three tubes systems with 130 mm rotary stabilised JRRO-130 rockets, later replaced by two sixteen tubes systems. Helicopter weighted 1520 kg, achieved maximal speed 168 km/h and was revealed in Warsaw pakt military exercise "Vltava" in 1966.

A few years later Richard Schon derived improved version HC-3B that differed with thinner fuselage, two seat cockpit (one after another), ski gear, aerodynamic cover of rotor head and on the bottom of the fuselage machine gun.

HC-4 originated in 1967 - 1971 era and was made by Jaroslav Tekl. It had two two-barrel machine guns in the front part. During targeting it was necessary to move the whole helicopter. Third gun was placed on circular hanger in the rear part and was able to fire backwards, down and to the sides.

HC-4B also from Jaroslav Tekl, dated in 1968. Attack/reccon helicopter, armed escort or CSAR. Fuselage was only 0,9 m thin, armour able to defend 8 mm bullets, first cockpit place for weapon officer, second for pilot. Equipped with M 601 H engine (405 kW), empty weight 1050 kg, useful load 950 kg (weapons 400 to 600 kg), rotor diameter 10,6 m, max. speed 240 km/h, range 200 - 400 km.

 

[Matej]

A bit modified HC-4B.

There was also armored attack variant of multipurpose VK-4 with M 601 H engine, but I have currently no information or picture of that.

XV-1 designed by Ing. Jan Kohoutek in 1971. Single-purpose attack helicopter with M 601 H engine (383 kW), two seat cockpit, three blade rotor diameter 10,6 m, max speed 260 km/h and rangefrom 500 - 1300 km.

Attack modification of Mi-1 from 1976 born in cooperation of Zdenek Pondelicek, Richard Schon and Ing. Ladislav Benes. Attack version of modernised czechoslovakian Mi-1 with domestic engine placed just behind the pilot, with lower weight, smaller height and rocket launchers on both sides of the fuselage.

 

[rousseau]

Very interesting! This layout fitting the engine behind the cockpit on Helicopter looks much superiorer than fitting the engine in nose as British Helicopter! Czech did good job!

 

[Justo Miranda]

Unknown source

 

[Justo Miranda]

Unknown source
Post 2

 

[airman]

L-16 project remember me russian Mil-2,last three projects french helicopters like Alouette III or Gazelle

 

[Just call me Ray]

Very interesting and appreciated, looks like they focused on flying cranes for quite a while.

 

[Petrus]

If you are interested in Czechoslovak helicopter projects you should take a look at a Czech website http://www.vrtulnik.cz, where you'll find more info (in the Czech language, really easy to understand as it's quite similar to Polish ;D...) on the development of the Czechoslovak helicopters.
As for the HC-4, there are two webpages http://www.vrtulnik.cz/hc-4.htm and http://www.vrtulnik.cz/orlican.htm devoted to the project. They contain quite a lot of information as well as some drawings and photos of the HC-4's mock-up.

E.g.:

The HC-7 project does have its own website too. Its address is http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/czech_hc-7.php.

Best regards,
Piotr

 

[turboshaft]

Might also want to take a look at http://www.nadc.cz/bongo. Project was stillborn due to lack of funds and over-optimistic development capabilities.

 

[hesham]

Hi,

the HC-4 from Air Enthusiast magazine of 1972.

 

[hesham]

Also HC-4 mock-up.

 

[Stargazer]

• HC-4 mockup
• Evolution of the HC-4 design
• HC-3A project
• Various HC-3/HC-4 related designs
• XV-1 project

Enjoy!

 

[hesham]

Hi,


here is the HC-5 2,L-16 early design and HC-203 projects,also some info
about HC-102;


http://www.vrtulnik.cz/

 

[hesham]

Hi,

http://www.vrtulnik.cz/

Also from the same source,


the flying crane projects.

 

[hesham]

Hi,


here is a HC-4 Model.

 

[Pioneer]

Very, very interesting!!
The poor Czech's have always been excellent and talented designer's in the relative short period of time they have been around! Unfortunately, history and world events doesn't seem to want them to prosper - German occupation, Soviet occupation and then the country's break-up ............. ???
I often wonder where Czechoslovakia might be today in terms of civil and military designs, manufacturing and exporting, if these two dramatic events never happened

Regards
Pioneer

 

[hesham]

Very, very interesting!!
The poor Czech's have always been excellent and talented designer's in the relative short period of time they have been around! Unfortunately, history and world events doesn't seem to want them to prosper - German occupation, Soviet occupation and then the country's break-up ............. ???
I often wonder where Czechoslovakia might be today in terms of civil and military designs, manufacturing and exporting, if these two dramatic events never happened

Regards
Pioneer

My dear Pioneer,


in early 1980s,my father went to many contries,and saw a large basis of industry,and exceeded on any east
Europe countries by that time.

 

[bigvlada]

They had the industrial heritage, being the largest manufacturing region of Austro-Hungarian empire. Kingdom of Yugoslavia bought a lion's share of it's armament from the Czechs and they in return bought raw materials from the Balkans. Both were part of little Antante, with Romania. Their craftsmanship was held in high esteem in Yugoslavia.

 

[hesham]

A 3-view to HC-4;

http://archive.aviationweek.com/image/spread/19720619/27/2

 

[hesham]

The HC-202;

http://www.vrtulnik.cz/helo675.JPG
http://kulturserver-nds.de/home/hubtest/medien/Typenkartei3953xGUN7x9T3Z7.pdf

 

[hesham]

From L+K 12-13/1976,

here is a drawings to HC-102,HC-202,HC-4,HC-5 (L-15) & HC-6.

 

[Grey Havoc]

I often wonder where Czechoslovakia might be today in terms of civil and military designs, manufacturing and exporting, if these two dramatic events never happened

A good question indeed.

 

[edwest4]

I am Polish and I can read Russian but not Czech.

 

[hesham]

From L+K 14/1976.

 

[hesham]

From L+K 15-18/1976.

 

[hesham]

From L+K 20-21/1976.

 

[pegasus]

From L+K 20-21/1976.

beautiful helicopter

 

[hesham]

From L+K 12/1966,

does anyone hear about this Czech DX-3 helicopter ?.

 

[Aubi]

That scheme depict a general layout of a modular utility autogyro similar to Ka-26 (which was obviously a helicopter). It serves only as ilustration to the text discusing uses of such machine (relevant text is in the next part of the article in 1966/13). Next part has similarly "conceptual" ilistrations of light tourist autogyro and turbine-engined future autogyro.
DX-3 was an autogyro built by the authors of the article. They founded a Svazarm club (Svazarm - Union for cooperation with the Army, organisation analogical to Soviet DOSAAF containing all clubs dealing with hobbies with possible military use, like electronics, flying, even model building) at the premises of Moravan company in Otrokovice (more famous as Zlín Aircraft). Part two of the article (L+K 1966/02) mentions more details about the construction and flying tests, the rest of this serial deals with autogyro theory, construction, flying etc.

 

[hesham]

Thank you Aubi,

and from L+K 14/1966.

 

[hesham]

From L+K 5/1976,

you feel the drawing differs from previous drawings to HC-4.

 

[hesham]

Hi,

here is a helicopters No.1,No.2 & No.3,designed by Mr. Eduard Steiner.

http://kulturserver-nds.de/home/hubtest/medien/Typenkartei3953xGUN7x9T3Z7.pdf

Czech helicopters

 

[hesham]

Hi,

here is a single seat helicopter prototype,designed by Mr. Karel Horak in 1950.

http://kulturserver-nds.de/home/hubtest/medien/Typenkartei3953xGUN7x9T3Z7.pdf
Czech helicopters

 

[hesham]

Hi,

The power-plant of the Maier helicopter. There are two single-cylinder engines, each driving a three-blade propellor. I suspect the conical thing above the hub is the fuel-tank, which avoid the problem of trying to feed petrol through a rotating bearing. It does not look big enough for very long flights...

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[hesham]

The power-plant of the Maier helicopter.

From L+K 2009 magazine,need good translate.

 

[Aubi]

In September 1942, Major Josef Crha accepted two new students, Jiří Maier and Antonín Livers, to the Aero company trade school. In 1944 Maier constructed a tiny gasoline-fueled aviation engine made from dural-aluminum alloy developed by Livers. Impressed Crha ordered twenty more engines to be made as gifts for various important people. Right after the end of the war both boys togeher with Jan Plachta joined the army under a six-year contract and started teaching at the new School for aviation youth Crha founded in Liberec. Maier and his friends decided to made a helicopter, for which they salvaged anything remotely useful from the German wrecks and warehouses at the Liberec airfield. For working place they used old barn in the garden of a house of Maier's girlfriend family. In 1947, the Ministry of defence decided to forgave all instructors the remaining years of service, so they were free to go civilian or join the army under new contract. Livers and Plachta joined again, but Maier decided to leave army so he could marry the girl and finish his civilian glider training. He started working at the POL factory, where his new boss, former bomber from a Czechoslovak squadron in the RAF, allowed him to continue working on his helicopter using the factory equipment. In late 1948 the helicopter managed few short hops, but the engines mounted on the main rotor were too weak. Even with weak engines, he managed to gain altitude of 20 meters and the helicopter behaved like his calculations predicted. Maier had plan for development with stronger engines, but the needs of his family forced him to offer the prototype to various aviation companies. None showed interrest. In 1951, Maier moved to Teplice to a new job, and sold his helicopter for scrap.

 

[hesham]

I think that,I saw in L+K magazine,this designation HC-201 ?,was it real one ?.

 

[Stargazer]

Šlechta helicopters (I exp, E-I, XE-II):

The first of Šlechta’s projects, known as Praga I exp., came into existence in 1945. An interesting helicopter with two counter-rotating, side-by-side intermeshing rotors (7.4 m rotor diameter), whose axles were inclined from the vertical axis, got no further than the documentation. Šlechta’s next project, called Praga E-I, was designed as a two-seater, powered by an M-107 engine (81 kW), which drove two intermeshing rotors. A model and a set of engine-reduction gear box-rotors were created. Development suffered from a shortage of workers and was subsequently moved to Aero in Vysočany where work on a new type – the XE-II – began.

The XE-II project was to be based on a simple design because the existing completed projects borrowed too much from the complex designs of German helicopters, e.g., Flettner Fl-282 Kolibri ("Hummingbird") or twin-rotor helicopter Focke Achgelis Fa-233 Drache ("Dragon"). The easier solution was the design with a single main rotor and anti-torque tail rotor configuration, which was successfully used, for example, in American helicopters such as Sikorsky R-4 or Bell 47. In the immediate post-war period, there were no helicopter pilots in Czechoslovakia. František Janča was the first pilot in Czechoslovakia who passed his examinations (flying with Bell 47) and obtained a helicopter pilot licence in Sweden at the turn of 1947 and 1948.

The XE-II was a simple experimental single-seat helicopter powered by the Praga D engine (55 kW). On 14th December 1949, the XE-II took off for the first time, and on 5th September František Janča took off on his first solo flight. After performing flight tests, the XE-II became a much-in-demand attraction at air shows. The prototype went through progressive development, and each subsequent adjustment was made clear in the helicopters serial number, from XE-II-A to XE-II-F. The operation of the XE-II helicopter ended with the fatal accident of František Janča at the airport in Chrudim on 16th May 1952. He was flying this very model of aircraft, registration number OK-FYA, at the moment of this personal and historical tragedy.

Source: Development and use of Czechoslovak helicopters 1945-1971, by Vojtěch Hájek.​

A unique photo of XE-II-F helicopter. Source: Propriety of Vojtěch Hájek

 

[Stargazer]

XZ-35 and XZ-135 ("Heli-Trener"):

In the late fifties, the HC-2/102 started to be manufactured in Moravan Otrokovice. The first experimental type was the XZ-35, unofficially called Heli-Trener. Owing to the high importance of HC-2/102 production, its production was delayed. The first prototype of the XZ-35 was flown with an M-332 motor. The first flight took place on 7th October 1960. This project was noteworthy for its unusual engine placement, namely in the lower part of fuselage. Ing. J. Mikula, who conceived the designed, received a patent for its originality and technical advantages. The helicopter was in service until the end of 1964. After transfer to a manufacturing facility, it was decided to rebuild it into the XZ-135 version. This reconstruction took place in the first half of 1965. The main modification was the installation of the M-337 motor, which had its power on land reduced to 117.76 kW. The helicopter ended its operation in 1974 and was finally handed over to an aircraft museum in Kbely.

Source: Development and use of Czechoslovak helicopters 1945-1971, by Vojtěch Hájek.
​

XZ-35/135 helicopter. Source: Propriety of Ivo Pujman.