Scheutzow Bee

The aircraft was designed by Webb Scheutzow around a new type of rotorhead that he had developed, the FLEXIHUB. In this system, the two main rotor blades were mounted in rubber bushes, reducing vibration and requiring no lubrication.Scheutzow 1966, p.5 The design was otherwise entirely conventional, consisting of a cabin with two seats arranged side-by-side, a centrally-mounted engine and rotor mast, and an open-truss tail boom of triangular section that carried a two-blade tail rotor.Taylor 1977, p.399 The undercarriage consisted of skids. The frame was constructed of welded steel tube and the cabin was constructed of sheet metal. Power was transmitted from the engine to the rotor by a series of belts, eliminating the need for a gearboxFlight International 1968, p.824a and minimizing cabin noise.

The prototype (registration N564A) first flew on 26 January 1967 and Scheutzow initially planned to have flight testing for type certification completed by the end of the year.Flight International 1967, p.263 At the time, Scheutzow hoped to sell the helicopter for somewhere in the region of $10,000–$12,000, although the following year, the estimated price rose to $16,700. Scheutzow still hoped that the helicopter would be in production the following year and planned to build 191 examples in 1969. However, the flight test program to obtain type certification did not commence until 1971. Certification tests were almost complete by the end of 1973, at which point funding ran out. Testing resumed again in February 1975 and the Bee was certified in May 1976.Type Certificate H1GL Development was abandoned during the 1970s after only four examples were built.

{{Aircraft specs

|ref= Taylor, J.W.R. (1977), p.399

|prime units? = imp

|crew=one pilot

|capacity=1 passenger

|length m=9.50

|length ft=31

|length in=2

|rot number=1

|rot dia m=8.23

|rot dia ft=27

|rot dia in=0

|height m=2.59

|height ft=8

|height in=6

|rot area sqm=53.2

|rot area sqft=573

|empty weight kg=514

|empty weight lb=1,135

|gross weight kg=764

|gross weight lb=1,685

|eng1 number=1

|eng1 name=Lycoming IVO-360-A1A

|eng1 kw=134

|eng1 hp=180

|max speed kmh=150

|max speed mph=94

|range km=280

|range miles=175

|ceiling m=1,960

|ceiling ft=13,000

}}

{{aircontent

|see also=

|related=

|similar aircraft=

|lists=

}}

{{reflist}}

• Federal Aviation Administration (1976) [http://rgl.faa.gov/REGULATORY_AND_GUIDANCE_LIBRARY/RGMAKEMODEL.NSF/0/409d4de2e47a55be85256716006d7ecd/$FILE/H1gl.PDF Type Certificate Data Sheet No. HIGL]. Washington, DC: Federal Aviation Administration.
• {{cite journal |date=16 February 1967 |title= Low-cost Helicopter? |journal=Flight International |page=263 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%200265.html |accessdate=2010-02-08 }}
• {{cite journal |date=30 May 1968 |title= Low-cost Helicopter |journal=Flight International |page=824a |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1968/1968%20-%200862.html |accessdate=2010-02-08 }}
• Scheutzow, Wilbur J. (1966) [http://patimg1.uspto.gov/.piw?docid=03231222 U.S. Patent No. 3,231,222]. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• {{cite book |last= Simpson |first= Rod |title=Airlife's Helicopters and Rotorcraft |year=1998 |publisher=Airlife Publishing |location=Shrewsbury |pages=232 }}
• {{cite book |last= Taylor |first= John W. R. |title=Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977–78 |year=1977 |publisher=Jane's Yearbooks |location=London |pages=398–99 }}
• {{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages=793 }}

Category:1960s United States civil utility aircraft

Category:1960s United States helicopters

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1967