july 2016 AH 55Rota I, for the former task on
July 9, 1934, later ordering
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designated Rota IIs.
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Haworth-Booth trained on
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accepted for service. The new
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vation prompted the War
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with limited success. While the
authorities had originally
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unit communications, artil-
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performance under actual
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resonance when landing on
rough terrain, sometimes re-
sulting in rotor damage. Those
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research, including wind-
tunnel testing of a model at
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Meudon outside Paris.
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efforts to acquire additional
Rota Is, relying instead on
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communication and recon-
naissance. But the Rota I
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tory at Old Sarum, seemingly
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would change in 1939 with
the onset of war.
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under contract with Cierva,
played a key role while at -
tached to No. 24 Communi-
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special aerial attached to a
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installed under the direction
of Bernhard B. Kinsey of
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initial assignment was to cali-
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flying in tight circles over
known points while the station
took readings. His success led
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specialized units dedicated
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Having finally found a
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British military also requi-AUTOGIRO EXPERT Brie with
the C.19 Mark IVP, the first
Cierva fitted with mechanical
rotor spin-up drive, in 1933.TECH NOTES
KEY TO CONTROL The C.30A/Rota I (shown at top being
rolled out for a radar calibration mission) featured a long
control arm attached to a tilting rotor mount (illustrated
above) that gave pilots direct control over the Autogiro’s
movements and greatly improved low-speed handling.