Aeroplane – June 2018

Development

Technical Details

Flight Testing

Cancellation

Insights

AEROPLANE JULY 2018 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com 99

This Fairey brochure artwork shows an example of the original military Rotodyne landing in a jungle

clearing in the Far East. Some members of the General Staff were concerned about the Rotodyne’s lack

of ‘surprise’ due to noise and tip-jet flames alerting the enemy. VIA RAF MUSEUM

Rotor and prop-wash were

not too much of an issue for

possible military Rotodyne

operations from enclosed

spaces, but more so for civil

usage. AEROPLANE

required to take delivery of the

aircraft it had ordered.

In a letter to Watkinson,

Sandys said the Ministry of

Aviation had “great hopes of

the Rotodyne for civil use

between city centres” but

recognised that noise was “a

difficult problem to be faced”.

He therefore proposed that

the government should give

BEA the undertaking it sought

and that if the noise level was

found to be unacceptable the

six machines should be

diverted to the RAF.

BEA’s request for a

government indemnity was to

overshadow the project for the

rest of its life. Predictably,

officials were outraged by

Sandys’ proposal. The RAF

didn’t want the 12 Rotodynes

provisionally allocated to it, let

alone another six. It argued

that to modify aircraft intended

for civilian use would incur

prohibitive additional costs.

The author of an internal

minute dated 16 July 1960

added darkly, “Moreover,

there is no guarantee that a

Rotodyne which happened to

make too much noise would

not have other faults as well”.

It was also noted that the RAF

was considering fixed-wing

aircraft — which would be

“more reliable” — for the light

cargo role. Despite his

enthusiasm for the Rotodyne,

Watkinson accepted his

officials’ advice. He told

Sandys, “If we need more than

the dozen [Rotodynes] for

which an order has been

approved we should not rely

on discards from BEA.”

A change of minister

seemed to make no difference

to the level of official

enthusiasm. In March 1961

Thorneycroft told Watkinson

the Rotodyne programme

should go ahead “as

previously agreed” on the

basis of the guarantees sought

by BEA. “Potentially”, he

wrote, “there is no more

promising helicopter in the

world and nothing else which

offers prospects of such

economic operation in the

same timescale.”

Within a month the position

had changed. In March 1960

the Treasury had given

authority for negotiations to

CANCELLATION FAIREY ROTODYNE

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