Goodyear GA-400R Gizmo

In 1954 Goodyear Aircraft Corporation produced a single-seater helicopter intended for the tactical requirements of transporting one man only. This single-seater open-frame ultra-light helicopter, designed by Paul Ziegler, is powered by a water-cooled, two-cycle engine driving the rotors through a belt and pulley arrangement. The main rotor consists of two laminated blades balanced about the feather axes and mounted in a steel hub underslung from a teetering hinge. The airframe is constructed from welded tubing, and the landing gear is formed of parallel aluminium skids.

The first flight took place on 9 May 1954 (N62N).

This prototype was designated GA-400R Gizmo, with the pilot seat on the forward frame, a narrow tailboom with a tail rotor and the 32hp Mercury 55 engine mounted amidships and driving a two-blade main rotor. It was followed by the GA-400R-2 and GA-400R-3 (N69N and N53A) which were powered by a 38hp Johnson two-stroke engine. The GA-400R did not progress beyond prototype stage.

GA-400R
Engine (outboard): Marine and MFG Big Twin, 31hp
Main rotor diameter: 5.49m
Length: 4.83m
Length with rotor: 6.77m
Height: 2.29m
Empty weight: 106kg
Take-off weight: 197kg
Max ceiling: 3660m
Cruising speed: 74km/h
Endurance: 45 min