SHADO helicopter

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SHADO helicopter

Clare Cross
A recent discussion on the Fanderson Facebook page covers the SHADO helicopter, as seen in the episode, 'Ordeal' and asks if there is a definitive name for it.  

Obviously Tony Barwick called it a 'helicopter' in his original script and this was sufficient for the narrative.  When designer Mike Trim was given the task of designing the model, obviously he decided to elaborate on this simple description and turn the aircraft into something a bit more futuristic.  The tilt rotor craft that we see in the final episode is incredible, but based upon real-world designs that were around at the time. The problem was, it was still referred to simply as a helicopter, whereas it had evolved well beyond this.  

Chris Bentley, in his book 'The Complete Book of UFO', attributes the name 'Kingfisher' to it, although there seems to be no basis in fact for this, other than that there was a real-world aircraft of a similar design with the avian name of Osprey.  In Fanderson's recently published 'UFO Annual 1972', Chris Drake calls the aircraft a 'Heliplane'.  This seems to be the most accurate name for it so far, as it is indeed an aeroplane that can take off and land like a helicopter.  A google search on the name 'heliplane' certainly brings back a plethora of images of aircraft that do indeed resemble the SHADO vehicle.  

So Heliplane it certainly seems to be.  
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Re: SHADO helicopter

Marc Martin
Administrator
The Basset UFO trading cards call it a "Helijet", which is also a good name, and since those are from 1970 with a "Century 21 Merchandising" copyright on them, I would take that to be a bit more official than a fan-written book from 2020.  :-)

Marc
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Re: SHADO helicopter

Clare Cross
Not really.  The term 'Helijet' tended to be used in Anderson shows such as Thunderbirds and applied to  aircraft that clearly used jet engines in the way that the SHADO 'helicopter' used props or fans.  It's not clear how this term could be used to describe the SHADO aircraft under discussion.  

Yes, the UFO sweet cigarette cards were contemporary to the series, but were not produced by Century 21 as such.  Again, the term helijet could very easily have been applied to the aircraft by someone completely unconnected to the series but who had heard or seen the term used on screen or in print. The sweet cigarette cards contained all sorts of errors and so cannot be considered a reliable source of information.  Just because something is 'official', i.e. it bears the series logo, copyright and trademark, this does not automatically mean that it is accurate or true.  There are multiple examples out there of 'official' merchandise being riddled with inaccuracies.  

Whilst the 1972 UFO annual is certainly a 'fan product', it seems that, in this case anyway, the term Heliplane has been arrived at after some research and has been applied logically and correctly.  In any event, the SHADO helicopter is certainly not a 'helijet', whatever else it may or may not be.  It's not a helicopter (although this may have been Barwick's original intention) and it's not a helijet.  So could it be an Aerocopter?  
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Re: SHADO helicopter

Marc Martin
Administrator
Mike Trim referred to it as the "tilt fan" in Jeff Smart's "Future Was Fantastic" documentary.

I think the first name I ever saw for this was "SHADO Gyro", which seems to be what they call it in Japan.

Marc
 
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Re: SHADO helicopter

Clare Cross
This post was updated on .
Re. Mike Trim.  Yes, but his comments re. the 'tilt fan' were made about 30 years after he had designed the craft and it's massively unlikely that the term would have been in his head in 1969.   30 years is a long time to be influenced by what you see and hear.  Tilt Fan is more of a description than a name and I think what we are looking for here is a name for the aircraft rather than a description of what it is/does.

What we see on screen is certainly NOT a simple helicopter, but something far more elaborate.  Sadly, because the models and live action were filmed in different locations and possibly weeks apart, a name change was never applied.  I've no doubt that Tony Barwick intended it to be a helicopter, but Mike obviously (and rightly) decided to give us something far more advanced and iconic.  It's an incredible looking aircraft and easily one of the most impressive - and underused - craft in UFO.  

But it ain't a Helijet!  

The term Aerocopter sounds really good too, perhaps the best of the bunch, but is probably less accurate than Heliplane.  The only reference to a Helijet that I can find online is for a commercial company of that name.  As I say, type Heliplane into google and just look at some of the pictures that pop up!  

P.S.  It's certainly NOT a Gyro either!  
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Re: SHADO helicopter

mmbutter
Bell flew its first "tiltrotor" aircraft in 1955.


This was developed later as the XV-15 (project started in 1971):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_XV-15

On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 12:45 PM Clare Cross [via SHADO] <[hidden email]> wrote:
Re. Mike Trim.  Yes, but his comments re. the 'tilt fan' were made about 30 years after he had designed the craft and it's massively unlikely that the term would have been in his head in 1969.   30 years is a long time to be influenced by what you see and hear.  

What we see on screen is certainly NOT a simple helicopter, but something far more elaborate.  Sadly, because the models and live action were filmed in different locations and possibly weeks apart, a name change was never applied.  I've not doubt that Tony Barwick intended it to be a helicopter, but Mike obviously (and rightly) decided to give us something far more advanced and iconic.  It's an incredible looking aircraft and easily one of the most impressive - and underused - craft in UFO.  

But it ain't a Helijet!  

The term Aerocopter sounds really good too, perhaps the best of the bunch, but is probably less accurate than Heliplane.  The only reference to a Helijet that I can find online is for a commercial company of that name.  As I say, type Hliplane into google and just look at some of the pictures that pop up!  


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Re: SHADO helicopter

Clare Cross
The piece about the Bell XV-3 is interesting, but does it state that the term tilt rotor was applied to it at the time?  Sorry, can't be bothered to read the whole article.  

As I said in the previous edited post, 'tilt fan' or 'tilt rotor' is more of a description than a name.  All things considered, I think it more likely (and indeed logical and correct) that the SHADO aircraft under discussion would have been called a Heliplane and certainly not a Helicopter, a Helijet or a Gyro.