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Aviation / Aerospace

Kellett KD-1

Two-Seat Observation Autogiro Aircraft [ 1935 ]

The Kellett KD autogiro design primarily served the United States Army Air Force heading into World War 2.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 11/18/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image use granted by user David M via email.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

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The Kellett Autogiro Company was founded during the "Golden Age of Flight" in 1929. Its early work involved licensed production of Cierva autogyro aircraft. Despite their appearance, autogyros were not true helicopters as their main rotor masts were not driven under normal power. Instead an "autorotation" effect was used to develop vertical lift while an engine-driven propeller provided the needed forward pull / push. The concept was developed by Spaniard Juan de la Cierva and an example first-flown in January of 1923.

Kellett produced several of the early-form Cierva products before shifting attention to a more internally-oriented design. This work produced the Kellett "KD-1" which held attributes akin to the Cierva C.30 model autogyro. The aircraft carried a traditionally-arranged airframe which sat the engine at the nose and two open-air cockpits directly aft of this. The engine (Jacobs L-4 radial unit of 225 horsepower) drove a two-bladed propeller. The tail unit incorporated the necessary horizontal and vertical planes while the undercarriage was fixed in flight and wheeled for ground-running actions. The notable physical characteristic of the aircraft was its three-bladed, mast-mounted main rotor which was installed over and ahead of the crew positions and over the engine compartment.

The prototype emerged as the KD-1 and only a single example was built. Upon completing the needed testing and certification, the KD-1 was brought to the commercial sector as the "KD-1A". Three were built to this standard. The "KD-1B" was similar in form and function but offered enclosed cockpits. Two of this mark were built.©MilitaryFactory.com

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United States Army interest in the design was enough to warrant formal evaluation of the product. This led to the developmental designation of "YG-1" being issued and covered a single KD-1A example. The follow-up "YG-1A" was given a radio suite and the first U.S. Army production model became "YG-1B" and seven were acquired. One was modified with a constant-speed propeller for testing purposes and became the "YG-1C" (later the XR-2).

An additional seven examples followed in the "XO-60" guise which carried the Jacobs R-755 radial piston engine of 225 horsepower. The "YO-60" differed in its use of a Jacobs R0915-3 radial engine of 300 horsepower. Six were produced to this standard.

The "XR-2" was the YG-1C redesignated but also carried the R-915-3 engine of 300hp. The "XR-3" was a one-off YG-1B model modified to the XR-2 standard but only ever reached the evaluation stage and was never furthered.

In practical service, the KD-1 proved a successful autogyro attempt. It was responsible for the first-ever scheduled delivery of mail by air by a rotary-wing aircraft when it completed such a flight on July 6th, 1939. For the U.S. Army, it also served as the service's first viable rotary-wing platform before more advanced types were eventually acquired. A few variants also emerged from Kabaya in Japan: "Ka-Go" was a prototype based on the KD-1A and Ka-1 was given an Argus As 10 engine of 240 horsepower. Ka-2 carried a Jacobs L-4MA-7 engine of 245 horsepower.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Service Year

1935

Origin

United States

Status

RETIRED
Not in Service.

Crew

2

Production

21
UNITS

Kellett Autogiro Company - USA

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Imperial Japan; United States

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

Length

28.8 ft
(8.79 m)

Width/Span

40.0 ft
(12.20 m)

Height

10.3 ft
(3.14 m)

Empty Wgt

1,581 lb
(717 kg)

MTOW

2,249 lb
(1,020 kg)

Wgt Diff

+668 lb
(+303 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the Kellett KD-1B production variant)

Installed: 1 x Jacobs L-4 radial engine developing 225 horsepower driving a two-bladed nose-mounted propeller unit; Autorotation managed the three-bladed, mast-mounted main rotor.

Max Speed

128 mph
(206 kph | 111 kts)

Ceiling

12,500 ft
(3,810 m | 2 mi)

Range

200 mi
(322 km | 596 nm)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Kellett KD-1B production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

None.

Supported Types

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

KD-1 - Prototype; single example

KD-1A - Fitted with Jacobs L-4 radial engine of 225 horsepower; three examples completed.

KD-1B - KD-1A model with enclosed cockpits; two examples completed.

YG-1 - KD-1A for evaluation by U.S. Army

YG-1A - YG-1 fitted with radio equipment

YG-1B - U.S. Army production model; seven examples completed.

YG-1C - One-off YG-1B fitted with constant-speed propeller for testing; redesignated to XR-2.

XO-60 - Fitted with Jacobs R-755 radial of 225 horsepower; seven examples completed.

YO-60 - XO-60 model with Jacob R-915-3 radial of 300 horsepower; six modified to this standard.

XR-2 - Redesignation of YG-1C; Jacobs R-915-3 radial of 300 horsepower.

XR-3 - One-off YG-1B modified to XR-2 standard

Kayaba Ka-Go - Prototype by Kayaba of Japan; based on KD-1A model.

Kayaba Ka-1 - Fitted with Argus As 10 engine of 240 horsepower.

Kayaba Ka-2 - Fitted with Jacobs L-4MA-7 engine of 245 horsepower.

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