Aer Lualdi L.59
Encyclopedia
The Aer Lualdi
L.59 was an Italian
helicopter
that failed to reach production.
It was the culmination of work done by Carlo Lualdi throughout the 1950s, and was an enlarged version of his earlier two-seat designs. The L.59 featured four seats accommodated in an extensively glazed cabin. Of conventional pod-and-boom design with skid landing gear, the aircraft had the slightly unusual feature of having its engine mounted in the nose, turning the main rotor by a long driveshaft that reached through the cabin.
Lualdi was able to interest Macchi in the design and two Macchi-built prototypes began flight tests in 1960
. Civil certification was achieved in August the following year. Although faultless, the performance of the L.59 was not comparable with that of other helicopters on the market at the time. Macchi planned an initial production batch of 50 machines, but only a single example was sold - one of the prototypes was purchased by the Italian Army
for evaluation purposes. No order resulted.
Aer Lualdi
Aer Lualdi & C SpA was an Italian helicopter manufacturer founded in Rome in 1953 by Carlo Lualdi, who had purchased a licence to produce a Hiller-designed rotor system ....
L.59 was an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
that failed to reach production.
It was the culmination of work done by Carlo Lualdi throughout the 1950s, and was an enlarged version of his earlier two-seat designs. The L.59 featured four seats accommodated in an extensively glazed cabin. Of conventional pod-and-boom design with skid landing gear, the aircraft had the slightly unusual feature of having its engine mounted in the nose, turning the main rotor by a long driveshaft that reached through the cabin.
Lualdi was able to interest Macchi in the design and two Macchi-built prototypes began flight tests in 1960
1960 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1960:-January:* January 1 – Fiji Airways is reconstituted, becoming equally owned by BOAC, Qantas, and Tasman Empire Airways....
. Civil certification was achieved in August the following year. Although faultless, the performance of the L.59 was not comparable with that of other helicopters on the market at the time. Macchi planned an initial production batch of 50 machines, but only a single example was sold - one of the prototypes was purchased by the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
for evaluation purposes. No order resulted.
General characteristics
- Crew: one, pilot
- Capacity: three passengers
- Length: 9.08 m (29 ft 9 in)
- Main rotor diameter: 10.60 m (34 ft 9 in)
- Height: 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
- Main rotor area: 88.2 m² (950 ft²)
- Empty: 740 kg (1,631 lb)
- Loaded: kg ( lb)
- Maximum takeoff: 1,200 kg (2,646 lb)
- Powerplant: 1x Continental IO-470-D, 194 kW (260 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 160 km/h (100 mph)
- Range: 485 km (301.4 mi)
- Service ceiling: 5,900 m (19,355 ft)
- Rate of climb: 250 m/min (820 ft/min)
- Wing loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
- Power/Mass: kW/kg ( hp/lb)