|
Wilford WRK 
In 1928 Wilford visited Europe, and while there acquired the patent rights for the United States of a rotary wing aircraft conceived by a German named Rieseler. In 1929 Wilford began building his own gyroplanes.
 The idea behind this American/German partnership was a scheme for feathering the pitch of the blades rotating round the hub instead of the blade flapping system which La Cierva employed in his autogyros. The feathering control, operated through a system of cams, affected only the lateral parts of the circle described by the rotor.
Wind-tunnel tests proved the effectiveness of the idea.
 A Fleet XOZ-1 was modified to an autogiro configuration by the Pennsylvania Aircraft Syndicate, with a four-bladed autogiro rotor, held aloft over the forward cockpit by four steel struts, replacing the upper wing. The lower wing was retained and supports added, and the wheeled undercarriage was replaced by twin floats. The two-bladed wooden airscrew was retained, as were the two open, tandem cockpits. Wingspan was 8.33m.
 The first Wilford gyroplane (X794W) made successful first flight on August 5, 1931 at Paoli, Pennsylvania, piloted by Frank P. Brown. The original model had an engine of only 85hp.
|
