I.P.D BF-1 Beija-Flor
The IPD BF-1 Beija -Flor (German: Kolibri ) was a light two-seater helicopter from the Brazilian manufacturer Instituto de Pesquisas e Desenvolvimento (IPD ). The IPD was one of the two departments of the company founded by the Brazilian Air Ministry Centro Tecnico de Aeronautica (CTA). The machine was therefore referred to in some sources as a CTA Beija -Flor. The design for the helicopter came from Henrich Focke.
History
The IPD was divided into three sub-divisions of which the Departamento de Aeronaves ( PAR) was responsible for research and development in the field of aircraft construction. The Beija -Flor was designed and built by the IPD on the basis of plans by Henrich Focke, which was already known in the 1930s with the construction of a variety of helicopters (eg Fw 61).
The Beija -Flor was the first helicopter, which is developed in Brazil, built and flown. The first flight took place in early 1959 with Colonel Aldo Vieira da Rosa, director of the IPD as a pilot instead. A total of four prototypes were produced.
Construction
The drive was carried out with a 225 hp payable Continental E 225 6- cylinder boxer engine. The engine was located in the fuselage nose and drove the three -bladed main rotor and the two tail rotors through a centrifugal clutch and a David Brown truck worm gear on. The intermeshing tail rotors were arranged in a V -shape. The leaves of all the rotors were a metal wood composite construction.
The hull was built in an open tubular steel grid construction. However, the production version should get a metal and fabric lining. For improved controllability in forward flight in front of the rear rotors a V-tail was arranged.
Since the Brazilian Aeronautics and accessories industry in the 1950s was still relatively undeveloped, the material used for the helicopter purely domestic origin had to be. However, this resulted in a relatively high unladen weight of the construction.