ROTACHUTE Mk III

Description

The Hafner H.8 Rotachute was a British 1940s experimental one-man rotor kite designed by Raoul Hafner. The Rotachute was the eventual development of a concept devised by Raoul Hafner, an Austrian engineer who specialised in rotary wing design, and who had moved to the UK in 1933 to continue his research and development work. In 1940, he proposed the use of a single-place strap-on rotor kite in place of a conventional parachute, to deliver a soldier accurately to a battlefield. The proposal was made to the Air Ministry in the light of a shortage of silk for parachute manufacture. Hafner was briefly interned as an alien, but was released to pursue the feasibility of the idea at the Central Landing Establishment (CLE) located at RAF Ringway. In October 1940, work began on design and construction of rotor systems and scale models of rotor kites. On 14 March 1941, the M.10 model was successfully air-launched from a Boulton Paul Overstrand. Although the Rotachute concept had proved to be practical, the operational requirement for such a machine never materialised. About eight Rotachutes were constructed, most being progressively converted to Mark III and then to Mark IV specifications. They continued to be flown in ground-based and inflight trials until late 1943, to help research flight characteristics for a follow-on project, the Hafner Rotabuggy, an air-towed land vehicle with autogiro capabilities. (Scale : 1/72e)