Cyril Pullin - Rotary Wing Aircraft

Rotary Wing Aircraft

In 1932 Pullin joined G & J Weir Ltd's aircraft department, in Glasgow, Scotland, as Chief Designer to develop single place autogyros. Pullin converted the Weir W.4 autogyro into a helicopter by using two co-axial rotors, later replaced by two rotors mounted atop outriggers each side of the fuselage. The Weir W.5 was a single seat helicopter powered by an air-cooled engine, and established a maximum airspeed of 70 mph. Its two two-blade, fixed-pitch rotors had swashplate-actuated cyclic control. The W.5 made its first flight at Dalrymple, Ayrshire, on 7 June 1938, when it was piloted by Raymond Pullin and it became the first British helicopter to fly successfully. By World War II the W.5 had logged eighty hours' flying time and was followed by a scaled up version, the W.6, which was the first two-seater helicopter in the world. Further progress on this model was prevented by World War II.

In 1940 Pullin became Managing Director of Weirs at Cathcart Works in Glasgow, where he designed the 1500cc Flat-twin and the 4-cylinder Pixie engines which followed it and were used in the Weir autogyros.

After the war development at the Cierva Autogiro Company of the W.9 "Drainpipe" and the 24 passenger carrying W.11 Air Horse helicopters continued under the direction of Cyril Pullin.