WesWorld

Type: Three-seat light helicopter.

Rotor System: Three-blade main rotor. Blades have steel-tube spar, with plastic-bonded plywood covering. Fully-articulated hub with adjustable friction dampers. Main rotor blade area (each) 1.28 sq.m . Main rotor disc area 70 sq.m. Two tail rotors, inclined at 45° to horizontal, at extremities of tail stabilisers. Tail rotor blades of plastic-bonded plywood. Tail rotor disc area (total) 4.3 sq.m.

Rotor Drive: Main rotor drive via two-stage cam-wheel. Tail rotor drive via hollow steel-tube shaft and two bevel-gears. Main rotor/engine rpm ratio 1:10. Tail rotor/engine rpm ratio 1:6.75.

Fuselage: Uncovered steel-tube girder fuselage.

Landing Gear: Tricycle type. Shock-absorption by torsion spring and Borgward hydraulic damper. Wheel track 1.93m. Wheel base 1.80m.

Power Plant: One 260 hp Hirth air-cooled engine. Fuel tank aft of rear fire-wall, with capacity of 180 litres. Oil capacity 15 litres.

Accommodation: Normal seating for two persons. Alternative loads can include pilot with one internal and one external litter casualty, agricultural spraying or dusting equipment, or up to 300 kg of freight slung from an under-fuselage hook.

Technical Data:

Main rotor diameter: 9.40 metres, length of fuselage: 8.30 metres, height to top of main rotor head: 3.05 metres, tail rotor diameter: 1.66 metres.

Weight Empty: 800 kg, weight loaded: 1200 kg.

Maximum speed: 160 kph; cruising speed: 140 kph. Rate of climb at sea level: 240 metres/minute, vertical rate of climb at sea level: 60 metres/minute; Absolute ceiling: 4,500 metres, hovering ceiling: 600 metres, endurance: 3.0 hours.


Design History

Work on the Fa300 began in November 1941 in the wake of the Ivry-sur-Seine gathering of rotary wing designers. Inspired by the paper delivered by Igor Sikorsky Doctor Heinrich Focke and Gern Achgelis began work on a single-rotor design with tail rotors to provide stability. By May 1942 a prototype had been constructed, which, while successful in a technical sense, required considerable improvement before it could be considered a viable alternative to the Flettner Fl282 or to the Focke Achgelis Fa223. Work was further disrupted by the departure from the Focke-Achgelis collective of Raoul Hafner, who chose to continue the collective’s work on twin rotor designs.

In June 1943 the Luftwaffe placed orders for four machines for purposes of evaluation, two of which will be used to evaluate the design’s potential as a search-and-rescue aircraft while the second pair will be tested by the Heer for army-cooperation tasks.