A NEW AUTOGIRO WITH TILTING ROTOR.

THE dream of the aeroplane inventor has always been to design a machine capable of taking off and landing almost vertically. The Autogiro, with its horizontal rotor which allows the machine to land at quite low speeds in a confined space, has been. the nearest practical fulfilment of this ideal.

On the models produced up to now the rotor shaft has been installed .in such a way that its axis is vertical when the machine is in flight, so that its lift can only be exerted in this directions and lateral control was carried out by means of ailerons on the trailing edges of stumpy wings, while elevators on the normal type of tail assembly directed its movements in the looping plane. The latest development is to mount the rotor on a movable head, which can be tiltcd in any direction by the movement of two vertical streamlined members connected with the joy stick. The auxiliary planes and their ailerons are no longer required, which must reduce the drag on the machine very considerably, and the shock-absorbing legs are carried straight up to the fusilage. A tail plane is still used, but elevators are no longer required. On the cabin machine, incidentally, the joy stick is attached directly to

the movable head and projects downwards into the cabin. The fact that the axis of the rotor can be tilted should improve the take-off distance materially, and the photograph -confirms this. The reduction of drag effected on the latest

autogiro should put it on a more equal footing as regards speed with aircraft of similar power and of orthodox design.