Fairey Rotodyne - Spectacular product of Britain's aviation industry

Welcome to this latest edition of our Workbench blog and all the news, updates and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix.

In this latest update blog, our focus of attention is our scale model kit tribute to an aviation subject which must surely be considered one of the most impressive and visually impactful future additions to our popular Vintage Classics range, the eye-catching Fairey Rotodyne. The distinctive product of an age when aviation advancements appeared to be taking place almost on a weekly basis, the annual Society of British Aircraft Constructors Airshow at Farnborough could always be relied upon to showcase the very latest in aviation technology, thrilling the nation by debuting a never ending succession of new craft of all shapes and sizes, but all reaffirming the prowess of the UK's aviation industry. 

An aircraft which held great promise when making its first flight in November 1957, the Rotodyne must have captured the imagination of the nation at the time and certainly inspired its introduction as an ambitious new tooling addition to the ever-expanding Airfix kit range less than eighteen months later. In this latest review, we prepare the landing ground for this beautiful addition to the Vintage Classic range by looking at the history of this impressive craft and why an aircraft which proved to be just the sole example of its type, has proved to be such an enduring modelling project for so many people over the years, even though most will have never been fortunate enough to have clapped eyes on the real thing.

As we settle down with the latest Airfix Workbench update, we begin by posing the rhetorical question, 'It is a plane, or is it a helicopter? Neither - it's the Fairey Rotodyne compound gyroplane.

A revolutionary new kind of aircraft

In an age of exciting new aircraft, was there any sight more captivating than Fairey's new Rotodyne compound gyroplane?

When thinking about the golden era of British aviation, during the years which followed the end of the Second World War, it's difficult to think of another aircraft which held so much promise, received such widespread international interest at the time, yet failed to progress beyond the production of a single prototype aircraft than the Fairey Rotodyne. An aircraft which captured the imagination of the general public and the world's major airlines alike, how can an aircraft which looked so impressive, offered a host of civilian and military applications and proved to be safe, reliable and cost effective to operate ultimately fail to attract any customer backing? Thankfully, as aviation enthusiasts and modellers, we can still continue to commemorate the Rotodyne through the joy of modelling. 

The hugely impressive Fairey Rotodyne was the culmination of over 15 years of concerted research into compound gyroplane technologies, an extension of the work initially carried out by celebrated Spanish engineer, pilot and inventor Juan de la Cierva into efficient gyrocopter designs. Fairey's research culminated in the production of their experimental Jet Gyrodyne craft, a relatively small compound gyroplane which made its first flight in January 1954 and would go on to complete 190 transitions to forward flight, in addition to a further 140 autorotative landings under test conditions, all of which helped to prove the concept. The data provided by this aircraft was to form the basis of the research for an altogether more ambitious design, one which Fairey thought held the potential of being able to compete for many aviation applications, therefore becoming a lucrative prospect for the company's future.

The main potential sales market for the new aircraft was the booming commercial aviation industry of the day, with a growth in worldwide air travel bringing with it a perceived need for a short to medium range aircraft to transport around 40 passengers from city centre locations to major airports, allowing them to continue their onward journeys to destinations all over the world. With a similar service available at the destination city, it really did seem at that time that the aviation world was the lucrative financial oyster awaiting the introduction of the Fairey Rotodyne.

Encouraged by a British European Airways requirement for just such an aircraft, one they intended to market widely as their 'BEAline Bus' service, Fairey exhaustively tested their technology and associated manufacturing techniques, prior to the production of a prototype aircraft, XE521, a machine which captivated the world at that time, and one which appeared to be a sure-fire winner in terms of the sales potential it possessed, and that's just considering its commercial aviation prospects.

A stunning looking aeroplane from any angle, is it any wonder the new Airfix Fairey Rotodyne kit proves such a hit with modellers following its original release back in 1959?

At that time, it probably wouldn't have been too overoptimistic to describe the Rotodyne as possessing the potential to revolutionise the world of short haul and inter-city travel, carrying between 30 and 40 passengers in some comfort between heliports, or between heliports and airports, and onward journeys across the globe. Although it was a relatively large and impressive looking aircraft, the Rotodyne could offer this service by virtue of its ability to take-off and land vertically, making the transition to fast, forward flight for the majority of the journey, offering a speedy and convenient way to travel.

Obviously, the aircraft could operate from traditional airfield and airport sites, however, this wasn’t a necessity, as it could just as efficiently take-off and land in an area little bigger than the Rotodyne itself, offering the convenience, accessibility and speed required of the very latest mode of business class transport. Should the need arise, a suitable open space, such as a school playing field could be used for Rotodyne operations, if the type were selected for future VIP/Royal transportation duties.

This ease of use and unrivalled convenience obviously made the Rotodyne an extremely attractive proposition for commercial operators hoping to tap into the business sector around the major cities of the world, with American companies being particularly interested in the potential offered by Fairey's new aircraft. If the Rotodyne could operate from helipads in their major cities, or land atop their impressive city centre skyscrapers, this might offer a faster, more cost effective alternative to the loss-making helicopter services they were currently operating. It really did seem as if the future of the Fairey Rotodyne was incredibly bright.

Fairey's technological marvel

Not only was the Fairey Rotodyne spectacular to look at, during its test and development phase, it really did seem as if it was only a matter of time before hundreds of these aircraft were in service with operators all over the world. Image credit © J Thinesen, SFF photo archive www.sff.n.se.

The technology behind the Rotodyne was impressive and exhaustively tested in equal measure, because the design team were only too aware of the fact that they must satisfy the strict CAA safety parameters placed on aircraft operating over city centres and areas of large populations if it were to realise its full potential. Clearly, power and stability were going to be major considerations for the new aircraft, but how they went about achieving these proved to be particularly impressive. 

The extensive use of stainless steel throughout the design and manufacturing process was a particular feature of the Rotodyne and whilst the massive rotorhead unit certainly appears to be a complex piece of engineering, it was actually simpler in design than the units used on a traditional helicopter. Installed as a complete unit assembly, the ethos behind this major component was how it should allow for reliable and relatively maintenance free operation, ensuring the aircraft was in the air and earning money, as opposed to being in a hangar undergoing maintenance attention.

The prototype aircraft used two Napier Eland turbine engines with a maximum rated power output of 2,805 shaft horse power, both driving mighty four bladed Rotol propellers, which had an impressive diameter of 13 feet. These units also drove auxiliary compressors which fed compressed air along the length of the main steel rotor blades to tip mounted pressure jet units at their extremities, units which were powered up during both take-off and landing.

The fuselage of the Rotodyne was cavernous and unobstructed, meaning that not only were passengers transported in a certain level of comfort, but how it could also be used to carry a decent amount of freight cargo internally, using the large clamshell doors at the rear, or slinging larger and unconventional loads externally. With the rich and famous being targeted as potential customers, it was advertised that their favourite car might also accompany them on their journey, so large was the aircraft's configurable hold. Exhibiting a high degree of controllability and with significant loads able to be carried, the commercial and military potential of the Fairey Rotodyne appeared almost endless.

Airfix kit artwork file for the soon to be released Vintage Classics incarnation of this beautiful kit, showing XE521 in all her glory. They may have only made a single aircraft, but what an aircraft that was!

Making its first flight on 6th November 1957, the Rotodyne immediately showed great promise, with its impressive handling characteristics and the ability to operate in all weather conditions being particularly noteworthy. As an exhaustive test and evaluation programme followed, the aircraft would go on to meet and surpass all the stringent safety requirements the aircraft had to satisfy, even capable of operating and safely landing on just a single engine if required. With a growing number of suitors registering their interest in the aircraft, both in Britain and in the US, the future was looking bright for the distinctive Fairey Rotodyne and Britain surely had yet another aviation success story on their hands. 

With the new aircraft becoming something of a P.R phenomenon, the development team behind it were keen to show the Rotodyne to as many people as they possibly could, becoming increasingly confident in the capabilities of the aircraft and of its growing appeal. The aircraft managed to claim a world speed record for its classification type on 5th January 1959, the same year it performed with particular distinction at the massive Farnborough Airshow. In fact, the Rotodyne would go on to thrill and amaze many hundreds of thousands of spectators at respective Paris and Farnborough Airshows during its development programme and with the prospect of production aircraft actually being larger and featuring more powerful Rolls Royce engines, it only seemed a matter of time before the skies were full of Rotodynes.

Inter-city travel

Keen to highlight the commercial potential of the aircraft, Fairey's operated a shuttle service from London to Brussels, then onwards to Paris and back to London, all under the full glare of international media, an undertaking it performed flawlessly. As the crowds gathered for its arrival at Brussels Heliport, they must have marvelled at the magnificent sight of this large aircraft gracefully sweeping in to touch down in close proximity to them, with the sunlight glinting off the spinning main propeller disks, and the Rotodyne's large fuselage looming imperiously in a slight nose up attitude in the seconds prior to it touching down. At that time, was there a more impressive or awe-inspiring sight to be had in the world of aviation?

The retouched version of the stunning Roy Cross Fairey Rotodyne artwork prior to receiving its new Airfix Vintage Classics branding.

With the entire operation taking place with an impressively short turn around time, once the passengers had alighted and re-boarded, the Rotodyne was off again and heading for Paris, touching down just 58 minutes later at a location close to the Eiffel Tower, so definitely city centre to city centre. The flight cut almost 2 hours 20 minutes off a traditional commercial airline transit between the two cities and not much less off a comparable train journey, so as an exercise, things could hardly have gone any better for the Fairey aviation team. Now marketed as the world's first vertical take-off and landing airliner, how could it possibly be that the incredible potential possessed by the Fairey Rotodyne didn't result in sale success?

The reasons behind this particular aviation quandary are many and complex, like so many projects that went before it and subsequently came after. The noise produced by the tip jet units was always a source of concern for many potential operators, ultimately proving to be one of the factors preventing the world's airlines from converting their interest into firm orders. Would noise abatement directives prevent the Rotodyne from serving the very people it was intended to carry, over the city centre locations which made its operation so appealing? 

The issue created such concern that Fairey engineers developed and tested no fewer than 40 different noise suppression units during the aircraft's development, even though the tip jets themselves would only be used during take-off and landing. Noise levels would subsequently be quite significantly reduced, however, the noise issue was just one of many issues conveniently cited as reasons for the Rotodyne's eventual demise.

Job done. Are modellers ready for the significant arrival of the Vintage Classics Fairey Rotodyne?

Interest expressed by both BEA and the Royal Air Force failed to produce signed production contracts for the aircraft and whilst these delays were all undoubtedly contributory factors, the final coup de grâce was delivered by the Government of the day. At the time Fairey's were fully committed to the Rotodyne's sales charm offensive, the British aviation industry was in some disarray back then. There were simply too many different companies vying to compete in too few potential contracts, a situation which couldn't be allowed to continue. A series of high profile mergers were initiated in an attempt to streamline the industry for a modern marketplace, with existing/impending contracts used as aviation carrots to push the mergers through. Clearly, these mergers would also see rivalries and conflicts of interest create further turmoil within the industry, with several projects suffering cancellation as a result.

As for the Rotodyne, spiralling costs and the continued reluctance of companies and the British military to place firm orders resulted in the Government refusing to fund any further development costs associated with the aircraft. With Fairey now part of Westland and their own helicopter business flourishing, self-funding the continued development of the Rotodyne simply couldn't be justified in the current economic climate and a decision to immediately terminate the project was taken in early 1962. 

After transporting in excess of 1000 people, successfully completing 350 test flights, 230 of which saw the aircraft transitioning to forward flight, and spending 120 hours in the air, with no incidents or accidents, the impressive Fairey Rotodyne was consigned to the aviation history books, just another interesting British aircraft which didn’t make it beyond the stage of prototype flight testing. Worse than this, as a government funded project, Rotodyne XE521 was taken to Farnborough, cut up and scrapped, with just a few fascinating components of the aircraft remaining to preserve its fascinating legacy. Such a shame for an aircraft which showed real promise.

You can always rely on Airfix

A truly historic piece of Airfix heritage memorabilia. This image features the large scale slide colour plate taken of the original Roy Cross Fairey Rotodyne artwork created back in 1965, used ever since that date to grace the box top of all subsequent releases of this fabulous kit. This one really is one of the 'Classics'.

In a move which highlighted the incredible potential the Fairey Rotodyne possessed during the early years of its development, the aircraft was introduced into the Airfix scale model kit range back in 1959, and to the same popular acclaim the real aircraft enjoyed following its own introduction. Initially released in the standard box artwork presentation style of the day, a subsequent re-issue of the kit in 1965 would see the Rotodyne propelled into the realms of hobby immortality, with Roy Cross's beautiful box artwork surely marking this as one of the most interesting modelling subjects in any Airfix range.

Depicting a scene which had the Rotodyne operating in the role for which it had been intended, transporting passengers across city centres and onwards to international airports, Roy's artwork shows prototype XE521 flying over the River Thames, with Tower Bridge and the Tower of London in the background, an iconic British scene to behold if ever there was one.

With grateful thanks to our graphic designer Mark once more, we have been allowed to share not only the re-touched box artwork about to be re-introduced as a Vintage Classic kit release, but also the historic slide image featuring the original Roy Cross created artwork, prior to any re-touching or editing work taking place. For the committed Airfix fan, this is actual Airfix heritage right before our eyes and something definitely worth seeing.

Thankfully, the development team here at Airfix were not prepared to let the unfulfilled potential of the Fairey Rotodyne pass into history without a scale representation of this magnificent aircraft being introduced once again and for the first time in a long 27 years, we are delighted to confirm that this spectacular kit is about to be inducted into the Vintage Classics hall of fame. We say 'about', however, with current shipping schedules and the holiday season fast approaching, it could be late in the year before the Rotodyne actually arrives in our warehouse, so please keep an eye out for further updates in forthcoming editions of Workbench.

One to look out for - the Fairey Rotodyne in full Vintage Classics presentation. If you were ever going to break your Vintage Classics modelling duck, we can't think of a more fitting subject than this true Airfix classic of a kit.

Nevertheless, one of the most interesting modelling subjects ever released into an Airfix range is about to grace the displays of model stores and built model display cabinets once again, undoubtedly one aircraft many Workbench readers would give anything for the opportunity to do a bit of 'Outlander' style time travelling to enable them to see it performing at a Farnborough show for themselves. 

A model kit which is certain to look particularly impressive as part of any built model display and one sure to attract plenty of complimentary comments from admiring viewers along the way, it may well be a representation of an aircraft which was only produced as a single prototype, but what a prototype it was. The Fairey Rotodyne went on to become something of a British aviation enigma and we're delighted to be playing our own small part in attempting to preserve its impressive legacy, even if this is only in scale model kit form.

The Fairey Rotodyne is available for pre-order now.

We are afraid that's all we have for you in this latest edition, but we will be back next Friday with more project development updates and the very latest Airfix kit exclusives. In the meantime, we are always keen to hear your views on all things Airfix and in particular, any thoughts and opinions you may have regarding our Workbench blog. If you would like to drop us a quick line, could we please ask that you use our workbench@airfix.com email for all correspondence. 

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