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Designation: YRON-1

Gyrodyne YRON-1

GYRODYNE YRON-1 ROTORCYCLE

The Gyrodyne Rotorcycle was originally designed for the U.S. Navy but was adapted to a Marine Corps requirement for a small one man helicopter that could be used for battlefield observation.  The possibility of dropping the Rotorcycle to downed airmen behind enemy lines so that they could fly themselves to safety was also considered.  The craft’s first flights occurred in 1955.  The program was terminated by 1959 after the Marine Corps determined that the YRON was too heavy and too hard to fly to suit their needs.  However the coaxial rotor design, which allows the elimination of a stabilizing tail rotor was of interest to the Navy.  This led to the development of the remote controlled QH-50 DASH anti-submarine drone which served for several years on smaller Navy escort ships that could not support a full size helicopter.

Rotor Diameter 20 ft

Rotor Diameter

Length 11 ft 6 in.

Length

Weight 906 lbs (loaded)

Weight

Max. Speed 78 mph

Maximum Speed

Service Ceiling 12,400 ft

Service Ceiling

Range 55 miles

Range

Engine One Porsche YO-95-6 piston engine with 72 horsepower

Engine

Crew 1

Crew


Manufacturer
Gyrodyne

Markings
U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Experimental Helicopter Squadron 1 (HMX-1,) Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, 1958

Designation
YRON-1