| C.8 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The Cierva C.8 in flight | |
| Role | experimentalautogyro Type of aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Cierva |
| Designer | Juan de la Cierva |
| First flight | 1926 |
| Number built | 6 |
TheCierva C.8 is an experimentalautogyro built byJuan de la Cierva in England in 1926 in association withAvro. Like Cierva's earlier autogyros, the C.8s were based on existing fixed-wing aircraft fuselages – in this case, theAvro 552.
The first example, theC.8R (known to Avro as theType 587) was a rebuild of theC.6D, fitted with stub wings and paddle-shaped main rotor blades. This was followed by the new-builtC.8V (orType 586) that was eventually converted back into an Avro 552 after testing. The next model was the definitiveC.8L prototype (orType 575). The Mark II was based on the Lynx-enginedAvro 504N two-seat trainer.[1]
By now, Cierva's efforts were attracting the attention of buyers. The first customer was the BritishAir Ministry, which placed an order for a machine in 1927. This was completed as theType 611, test flown byBert Hinkler atHamble and then delivered to theRoyal Aircraft Establishment by Cierva himself in Britain's first cross-country rotorcraft flight on 30 September that year. The next example was purchased by Air CommodoreJames G. Weir, chairman of Cierva, and flown in the 1928King's Cup Air Race before being used to make demonstration flights around continental Europe.
The two final C.8s were sold in 1928, one to the Italian government, and one to AmericanHarold Pitcairn, who would go on to purchase manufacturing rights for the United States. TheC.8W bought by Pitcairn would make the first autogyro flight in the United States atWillow Grove, Pennsylvania, on 18 December 1928. The C.8W is the oldest autogyro in the United States.[2]
As of 2007, two examples are extant: Weir's machine preserved at theMusée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Paris, and Pitcairn's at theNational Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928,[4] Flight 5 July 1928 p. 543[1]
General characteristics
Performance
Media related toCierva C.8 at Wikimedia Commons