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Westland's chief test pilot turned reluctant head of sales Harald Penrose has a bit to say about it in his wonderful autobiography Adventure with Fate (pub. Airlife, 1984). The Westminster was Westland's take on what to hang under the Sikorsky S-56 mechanical gubbins and was a private venture in direct competition with the Fairey Rotodyne, principally as an inner-city feeder. It was flown in skeletal part-finished form to get flight testing underway as quickly as possible. Later the fuselage was skinned to fake up the passenger version in a last-minute bid to woo the Ministry. But they went for the clunky noisy want-one-to-play-with solution which eventually failed anyway. Germany wanted the Westminster, but would not buy unless the RAF did. Sadly, there was no interest there either and the Westminster died.By then Westland had taken over Bristol's helicopter business, where they were working up a large twin-rotor the Type 194. It was allowed to continue for the time being, as a possible successor to the Westminster as well as their own Type 192 Belvedere, but was never built.
Westland's chief test pilot turned reluctant head of sales Harald Penrose has a bit to say about it in his wonderful autobiography Adventure with Fate (pub. Airlife, 1984). The Westminster was Westland's take on what to hang under the Sikorsky S-56 mechanical gubbins and was a private venture in direct competition with the Fairey Rotodyne, principally as an inner-city feeder. It was flown in skeletal part-finished form to get flight testing underway as quickly as possible. Later the fuselage was skinned to fake up the passenger version in a last-minute bid to woo the Ministry. But they went for the clunky noisy want-one-to-play-with solution which eventually failed anyway. Germany wanted the Westminster, but would not buy unless the RAF did. Sadly, there was no interest there either and the Westminster died.
By then Westland had taken over Bristol's helicopter business, where they were working up a large twin-rotor the Type 194. It was allowed to continue for the time being, as a possible successor to the Westminster as well as their own Type 192 Belvedere, but was never built.
