L.H. Leonard VTO Projects

[hesham]

Hi,

the British designer Mr. L. H. Leonard submitted to the Helicopter Association
of Great Britain a paper entitled "A Review of Helicopter Patents",he developed
those helicopters for Fairey.

http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1952/1952%20-%200220.html

 

[Justo Miranda]

Here two unknown (for me ) projects

 

[Orionblamblam]

The first one looks like something designed b y L.H.Leonard.

 

[Justo Miranda]

The first one looks like something designed b y L.H.Leonard.

You are right ....Leonard!
I found it, please see attached patent

 

[Orionblamblam]

He designs some pretty slick stuff, including an "American Triebflugel." However, I've never been able to find out anything about him. All of his patents are in his name, not in, say, Bell Aircraft or Sikorsky. So he might have been Just Some Guy.

 

[Wingknut]

Great images, Justo (as ever).
I note the Leonard patent design has two wings/rotor blades, whereas the artist's impression has three. A third wing surface for forward flight seems redundant for generating lift, (unless I'm missing something). Still, it looks like a lower-risk option than a Triebflugel.
Cheers,

'Wingknut'

 

[borovik]

I note the Leonard patent design has two wings/rotor blades, whereas the artist's impression has three. A third wing surface for forward flight seems redundant for generating lift, (unless I'm missing something). Still, it looks like a lower-risk option than a Triebflugel.
Cheers,

'Wingknut'

Here is inverse example, when a version expressed by artist differs from base line.
from.Myhra "Secret Aircraft Designs of the Third Reich"

 

[Justo Miranda]

Great images, Justo (as ever).
I note the Leonard patent design has two wings/rotor blades, whereas the artist's impression has three. A third wing surface for forward flight seems redundant for generating lift, (unless I'm missing something). Still, it looks like a lower-risk option than a Triebflugel.
Cheers,

'Wingknut'

And fouir also

 

[jzichek]

Just put up a new article at RetroMechanix.com on L.H. Leonard's unorthodox "Helicopter-Type Aircraft" VTOL tailsitters proposed to the US Navy & Army Air Corps in 1939:

It features 26 images, including an artist's impression, plans, and an engineering analysis.

-Jared

 

[Stargazer]

Though the 22-page analysis is esoteric to me at best, the unveiling of these projects is serendipity to me! Extremely advanced designs for the time, eight years before the Navy's VTO fighter program even started! Last view in Plan 1 is also extremely reminiscent of what Rutan did several decades later with the Freewing Scorpion UAV. Great find!

 

[jzichek]

Thanks; hopefully more information will emerge on Leonard and his other projects in the future. I put up the engineering analysis for the quantitative types who appreciate that sort of thing.

 

[jzichek]

RetroMechanix.com is back up and this article should be accessible again; if you experience any problems, let me know.

 

[Orionblamblam]

hopefully more information will emerge on Leonard and his other projects in the future.

Agreed. He was definitely ahead of his time... but who the hell was he? All I know about him is what I've gleaned from his patents... and that his designs are one of the "go-to" concepts for "aerospace historians" who are either lazy or dishonest or both, and who want to prove that the Nazis had really advanced stuff in the pipelines. When it was, in fact, the US.

 

[Tophe]

hopefully more information will emerge on Leonard and his other projects in the future

Much more is available through LH Leonard patents on these VTOL 'helicopters':
http://www.google.com/patents?id=W-VlAAAAEBAJ
http://www.google.com/patents?id=o59xAAAAEBAJ
http://www.google.com/patents?id=dD1-AAAAEBAJ

 

[Stargazer]

Also this British patent from Leonard:

http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=GB&NR=600374

 

[Wurger]

Hello,

I attach here the drawings from the german 1938 patents whose links I provide:


http://depatisnet.dpma.de/DepatisNet/depatisnet?action=bibdat&docid=DE000000728256A
http://depatisnet.dpma.de/DepatisNet/depatisnet?action=bibdat&docid=DE000000714001A

The drawings were published in Steve Coates "Helicopters of the Third Reich", a book you should/must have.

A his designs are one of the "go-to" concepts for "aerospace historians" who are either lazy or dishonest or both, and who want to prove that the Nazis had really advanced stuff in the pipelines. When it was, in fact, the US

.

I guess those lazy and dishonest pseudo "aerospace historians" could be also chauvinistic ones. That makes these two kinds unacceptable to the readers interested in hard evidence, supported by proved sources, freed of prejudice of any kind.

Also, take a pick at these VTOL projects, images made by Gino Marcomini on plans supplied by David Myhra:

http://www.oxygino.com/site/?p=894

They were, according David, "Triebflügel" variants. Remarkably similar to Leonard`s, do they?

 

[Orionblamblam]

I guess those lazy and dishonest pseudo "aerospace historians" could be also chauvinistic ones.

I suspect something simpler: books on "Luftwaffe, 1946" sell (or at least they did, for a good long while). Books on "USAAF, 1946" don't, or at least not as well. There is almost no recognizable clamor for finding some previously unseen bit of American/British/Soviet WWII-era design interestingness. But some Nazi Secret Project that the world hasn't seen before? That's interesting! Who cares if the research behind it is, at best, shoddy?

Similarly, you see lots of bullcrap about "Nazi flying saucers." Never once anything good about how Boeing had a hypersonic flying saucer in the testing phases in August of 1945, but it accidentally got blown into orbit around Mars by the explosion of the experimental quantum torpedo over Nagasaki.

Remarkably similar to Leonard`s, do they?

Remarkably.

 

[Antonio]

Books on "USAAF, 1946" don't, or at least not as well

I pray every night before going to sleep for "US unbuilt secret projects 1920-1945" books :'(

 

[Orionblamblam]

Books on "USAAF, 1946" don't, or at least not as well

I pray every night before going to sleep for "US unbuilt secret projects 1920-1945" books :'(

There's probably enough info out there for a few such books. But American designs don't have the cache that "Nazi secret projects" have. This, I think, helps dampen the interest of publishers. Plus, the German archives got thrown open to the world after WWII; American archives got fed into shredders and incinerators.

I've found a fair deal of stuff at a few archives. I suspect Jared has a *lot* of stuff. But one of the big problems here is that if I happened to have Goering's Own Big Book Of Aircraft Projects, complete with blueprints and full color artwork, I could republish it. if I had, say, The Major Aerospace Company In The Pacific Northwest's Big Book Of Projects and tried republishing it... well, they have lawyers and a determination to control their "intellectual property." Last I heard, the rights to republish art was something along the lines of $400 per picture. Imagine a book with 200 pages and 300 pieces of art. What publisher would plunk down $120,000 just in *licensing?*

Bob Bradley got lucky with his Convair projects book: Lockheed , which owns the legacy of Convair, apparently doesn't have the slightest problem with their 60-year-old designs being shown in a respectful manner.

Anyway, getting off-topic. The question remains about Leonard: was he Just Some Guy, with no prospects for actually getting his designs built, or was he a respected engineer/designer for the NACA or an aeronautical company?

My hope is for the latter.

 

[Apophenia]

Anyway, getting off-topic. The question remains about Leonard: was he Just Some Guy, with no prospects for actually getting his designs built, or was he a respected engineer/designer for the NACA or an aeronautical company?

My hope is for the latter.

That RetroMechanix entry does say: "engineer Lloyd Hugo Leonard, employed at the NACA Laboratory at Langley Field, Virginia."

 

[Stargazer]

Rest assured, Scott, the guy was no Sunday afternoon tinkerer, but a legit engineer whose research appears in NASA's publications.

Earliest evidence found of Lloyd H. Leonard can be found in the Blue and Gold Yearbook - Class of 1929 of the University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA). Originating from Los Angeles, he graduated in Mechanics. Next to this information are the following mentions: " A. S. M. E.; A. E. M. E.; Ashlar Club." which I believe were some social clubs which he was involved in.

In 1940, he co-authored with John V. Becker a study entitled "High-Speed Tests of a Model Twin-Engine Low-Wing Transport Airplane".

NASA Center: Langley Research Center
Publication Year: 1940
Document ID: 20090014136
Report/Patent Number: NACA-SR-143
Updated/Added to NTRS: Apr 27, 2010

Online Source:
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20090014136 [PDF Size: 3.3 MB]


This was expanded and re-published two years later, in 1942, as a second "High-Speed Tests of a Model Twin-Engine Low-Wing Transport Airplane", again co-authored with John V. Becker. The abstract explains that "Report presents the results of force tests made of a 1/8-scale model of a twin-engine low-wing transport airplane in the NACA 8-foot high-speed tunnel to investigate compressibility and interference effects of speeds up to 450 miles per hour. In addition to tests of the standard arrangement of the model, tests were made with several modifications designed to reduce the drag and to increase the critical speed."

NASA Center: NACA (Unspecified Center)
Publication Year: 1942
Document ID: 19930091828
Accession Number: 93R21118
Report/Patent Number: NACA-TR-750
Updated/Added to NTRS: Apr 07, 2011

Online Source:
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19930091828 [PDF Size: 1.8 MB]
http://naca.larc.nasa.gov/reports/1942/naca-report-750/


Yet another publication can be found, which he signed alone this time:

"Design Studies of Various Tilting Fuselage Convertible Aircraft"
Proceedings of the Ist Convertible Aircraft
Congress, Philadelphia, PA, Dec 9, 1949. published by Institute of Aeronautical Sciences.
This was quoted as a major reference in:
- A Promising New Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Aircraft Concept, which contains artwork drawing heavily on Leonard's own designs.
- Design, Fabrication and Test of a Vertical Attitude Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Air Vehicle


Next in the chronology comes a series of patents, all related to his previous research:

Axial Flow Helicopter
United States Patent 2,444,781
Issue date: 6 July 1948
This patent has been referenced since 1978 in eight other U.S. Patents, including four by Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation in 2008-2009.

Variable attitude helicopter airplane
United States Patent 2,479,125
Issue date: 16 Aug 1949
This patent has been referenced since 1998 in eight other U.S. Patents, including one by the Boeing Company in 1998 and four by Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation in 2008-2009.

Vertical Take Off Type Aircraft With Jet Driven Rotor System
United States Patent 2,866,608
Issue date: 30 Dec 1958
This patent has been referenced since 1996 in eight other U.S. Patents, including four by Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation in 2008-2009.



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At least two other people named Lloyd H. Leonard have existed, one who was born circa 1925 and died in 2004, and another who was born in 1941 and died in 1992.
Of course none of these correspond to the inventor above, although either of these could very well be the same Lloyd H. Leonard that patented any of the following:

Folding crib
United States Patent 2,691,177
Issue date: 12 Oct 1954
(inventor was Lloyd H. Leonard from Valdosta, Ga.)

Power operated golf shoe cleaner
United States Patent 3,226,750
Issue date: 4 Jan 1966
(inventor was Lloyd H. Leonard living at 14877 Valley Vista Blvd. Sherman Oaks, Calif.)


Besides these, two more inventions were registered commercially by the same "Lloyd H. Leonard" as above:

"NEET KLEET" - Motor driven rotary brush shoe cleaning apparatus
Owner: LLOYD H. LEONARD, DOING BUSINESS AS LEONARD INDUSTRIES
14877 VALLEY VISTA BLVD. SHERMAN OAKS, CALIF.
Date Registered: 1965-12-14
Serial No: U.S. 72,206,628

"SHOEMASTER" - Electrically operated shoe cleaning and polishing machines
Owner: LLOYD H. LEONARD, DOING BUSINESS AS LEONARD INDUSTRIES
14877 VALLEY VISTA BLVD. SHERMAN OAKS, CALIF.
Canada Trademark #TMA176344

All of these have been added for the sake of completion/clarification, even though there is a 99% chance that they are from a different person.

 

[Orionblamblam]

That RetroMechanix entry does say: "engineer Lloyd Hugo Leonard, employed at the NACA Laboratory at Langley Field, Virginia."

Sure (from when to when, though?). But all his patents seem to indicate that he was working alone. Or did the NACA not get involved in patents in those days?

Some of his more interesting designs were during WWII and shortly after. Was he still working for the NACA then? Was he doing this work for the NACA... or on his free time?

 

[Stargazer]

Leonard patents:

 

[hesham]

Hi,


we must merge those topics;


http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,3458.0.html

 

[Jemiba]

Indeed ! I placed them in the postwar section, although some patents were filed before
1945, but I think, it's better this way.

 

[hesham]

Indeed ! I placed them in the postwar section, although some patents were filed before
1945, but I think, it's better this way.

OK my dear Jemiba.

 

[hesham]

Hi,

I feel this drawing differs a little,I could be wrong ?.

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

 

[Armin Derer]

Hi,

the British designer Mr. L. H. Leonard submitted to the Helicopter Association
of Great Britain a paper entitled "A Review of Helicopter Patents",he developed
those helicopters for Fairey.

http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1952/1952 - 0220.html

Dear Hesham,

unfortunately the link comes up 404. To find out more about this puzzle, I searched for the title „A Review of Helicopter Patents”. Search produced a sample image of the (or a) first page of the report (see attachment) and an academic citation, yet not the whole report.

However, from these bits it became clear that the author of said report is a person named L. H. Hayward. The report was published in 1952. The name Hayward corresponds to the names of the image-files in your post.

Further down in the thread Justo Miranda posted some drawings named escanear(x) in which (in the image) the name L. H. Leonard appears. I find it a strange coincidence that both men – Hayward and Leonhard – would have the same initials. But hey, why not.

However, it is fair to assume that L. H. Leonard developed the helicopter tech in question for Fairey, and not L. H. Hayward.

Or the other way around: L. H. Hayward submitted the report to the Helicopter Association of Great Britain, not L. H. Leonard.

My guess is – I would love to verify this by finding the actual report – that L. H. Leonard is mentioned in the report by L. H. Hayward and that the likeness of initials lead to both men being set into one.

Justo Miranda also posted a page from Popular Science mag of July 1951 with what appears to be some type of Triebflügel or Leonard-like craft. I tracked that respective issue. However, the article in question is an overview of contemporary rotorcraft and its role in the Korean War. The Triebflügel from the first page of the article stays an artist’s conception and is not further explained except for the general characteristics of such a plane. No Hayward or Leonard. I attach the article as an interesting read, if not in the context of this thread.

So far my five cents. Thanks for this great forum, everyone.

AD

postfix: Apparently I completely missed Stargazer2006’s entry in which he identifies Lloyd H. Leonard. Duh me …

 

[hesham]

Thank you dear Armin,

and that forum,is the greatest in the whole world.