Hiller Model 1010 and 1011 "Captive Helicopters"

[Harold Biondo]

Here's something new that I found recently in the US National Archives. The general concept is for an unmanned "helicopter" with underslung rotors, tethered to the ground with one or more cables, which could serve as an aerial platform for military use. The report doesn't expand on its possible uses due to them being "classified", but it is drawn with a communications dish. It's easy to imagine it being used as an elevated radar platform or observation post. The Model 1010 is electrically-powered from the ground; the Model 1011 is ramjet-powered.

Hiller references the WW2 German AEG Helicopter, which is extremely similar. It's another electrically-powered, tethered helicopter that could be operated off the back of a truck. Also mentioned are various small scale experiments Hiller performed with tethered helicopters, and an image of a ramjet-powered flying jeep is stuck into the report, but it doesn't seem to belong there.

The full document is available for free on my Patreon. It also has higher resolution versions of these images.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/hiller-report-no-110916304

 

[apparition13]

I could understand tethers below the rotors, but as shown that's just begging for a rotor strike.

 

[Harold Biondo]

I just realized I forgot to set the post to be publicly accessible. It's fixed now.