Platt-LePage Aircraft Company
Encyclopedia
The Platt-LePage Aircraft Company was a manufacturer of aircraft for the armed forces of the United States of America. Based in Eddystone, Pennsylvania
, the company produced the first helicopter to be officially acquired by the United States Army Air Forces
.
s. LePage, impressed by the performance of the German Focke-Wulf Fa 61, acquired the manufacturing rights to the aircraft.
Two early helicopter prototypes developed by the company failed to meet with any success; however in 1940, under the terms of the Dorsey-Logan Act, Platt-Lepage was declared the winner of a competition to supply the Army with its first helicopter.
as a consultant and helicopter enthusiast Frank Piasecki
employed as a junior engineer, Platt-Lepage set to work developing the helicopter, using a similar rotor arrangement to that of the Fa 61. The aircraft, designated XR-1, flew three months behind schedule in 1941.
The XR-1 suffered from significant teething troubles, including control difficulties, vibration, and resonance
issues, and financial difficulties at Platt-LePage caused significant delays in resolving the aircraft's problems. Despite this, the USAAF still believed the XR-1 would prove successful, however the improved XR-1A, flying for the first time in 1943, proved little better than its predecessor, and was damaged in an accident in early 1944.
With Piasecki having left the company, the XR-1's flight testing dragged on through 1944. The Army Air Forces, spurred by Congressional
accusations of favoritism towards Vought-Sikorsky
, ordered seven YR-1A service-test helicopters. Despite this, Sikorsky's R-4
was proving far superior to the Platt-LePage aircraft, having successfully passed its flight trials and already entering operational service with the Army. Therefore, in early 1945 the Army elected to cancel its contracts with Platt-LePage.
fuselage. In addition, a design for a tiltrotor
airliner was developed by the company.
However, the cancellation of the company's Army contracts had removed Platt-LePage's primary source of income, and without sufficient funds to continue operating, the company closed its doors on January 13, 1947. McDonnell Aircraft
, which had acquired part of the company in 1942, and a larger share in 1944, purchased the rights to the remainder of the company's intellectual property, including the design for the PL-9, a twin-engine helicopter that McDonnell would develop into the XHJD Whirlaway.
Eddystone, Pennsylvania
Eddystone is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,442 at the 2000 census.-Early history:The area at the mouth of Ridley Creek was first called "Tequirassy" by Native Americans. The land was owned by Olof Persson Stille, one of the early settlers from New...
, the company produced the first helicopter to be officially acquired by the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
.
Establishment
Wynn Laurence LePage, a British Aeronautical Engineer living in Pennsylvania, who co-founded the Platt-LePage Aircraft Company in partnership with Haviland Hull Platt, the company's intended purpose being the manufacture of helicopterHelicopter
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...
s. LePage, impressed by the performance of the German Focke-Wulf Fa 61, acquired the manufacturing rights to the aircraft.
Two early helicopter prototypes developed by the company failed to meet with any success; however in 1940, under the terms of the Dorsey-Logan Act, Platt-Lepage was declared the winner of a competition to supply the Army with its first helicopter.
First Army helicopter
Having employed designer Grover LoeningGrover Loening
Grover Cleveland Loening was an American aircraft manufacturer.-Biography:Loening was born in Bremen, Germany, while his American-born father was stationed there as U.S. Consul. He graduated from Columbia University in New York City, where he was awarded the first-ever degree in Aeronautical...
as a consultant and helicopter enthusiast Frank Piasecki
Frank Piasecki
Frank Piasecki was an American engineer and helicopter aviation pioneer. Piasecki pioneered tandem rotor helicopter designs and created the compound helicopter concept of vectored thrust using a ducted propeller.-Biography:...
employed as a junior engineer, Platt-Lepage set to work developing the helicopter, using a similar rotor arrangement to that of the Fa 61. The aircraft, designated XR-1, flew three months behind schedule in 1941.
The XR-1 suffered from significant teething troubles, including control difficulties, vibration, and resonance
Resonance
In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at a greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others. These are known as the system's resonant frequencies...
issues, and financial difficulties at Platt-LePage caused significant delays in resolving the aircraft's problems. Despite this, the USAAF still believed the XR-1 would prove successful, however the improved XR-1A, flying for the first time in 1943, proved little better than its predecessor, and was damaged in an accident in early 1944.
With Piasecki having left the company, the XR-1's flight testing dragged on through 1944. The Army Air Forces, spurred by Congressional
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
accusations of favoritism towards Vought-Sikorsky
Sikorsky Aircraft
The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. Its parent company is United Technologies Corporation.-History:...
, ordered seven YR-1A service-test helicopters. Despite this, Sikorsky's R-4
Sikorsky R-4
The Sikorsky R-4 was a two-place helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky with a single, three-bladed main rotor and powered by a radial engine. The R-4 was the world's first large-scale mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter to enter service with the United States Army Air Forces, Navy, and...
was proving far superior to the Platt-LePage aircraft, having successfully passed its flight trials and already entering operational service with the Army. Therefore, in early 1945 the Army elected to cancel its contracts with Platt-LePage.
Disestablishment
The repaired XR-1A was purchased by Helicopter Air Transport, which intended to operate it for commercial purposes as part of a fleet of 40 helicopters. The company had also developed a number of other concepts for helicopters, including the PL-11, an improved civilian version of the XR-1A; the PL-12, a four-passenger variant of the PL-11; and the PL-14, a twin-rotor helicopter based on a Grumman WidgeonGrumman Widgeon
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Donald, David. The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997. ISBN 0-7607-0592-5....
fuselage. In addition, a design for a tiltrotor
Tiltrotor
A tiltrotor is an aircraft which uses a pair or more of powered rotors mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles at the end of a fixed wing for lift and propulsion, and combines the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft...
airliner was developed by the company.
However, the cancellation of the company's Army contracts had removed Platt-LePage's primary source of income, and without sufficient funds to continue operating, the company closed its doors on January 13, 1947. McDonnell Aircraft
McDonnell Aircraft
The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 16, 1939 by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II, and manned spacecraft including the Mercury capsule...
, which had acquired part of the company in 1942, and a larger share in 1944, purchased the rights to the remainder of the company's intellectual property, including the design for the PL-9, a twin-engine helicopter that McDonnell would develop into the XHJD Whirlaway.