Bristol 192 Belvedere

It looks like a designer raised the rear rotor up on its little pylon to keep it away from the forward rotor (for, I assume, the obvious reason), but then somebody reversed that by putting the forward undercarriage on longer legs, so that when it’s on the ground (or flying in this attitude), they are right back level with each other again. It literally looks like it’s having an argument with itself in the forward/rear axis, and that’s distracted it from the fact that it’s so narrow and has such a narrow undercarriage that it’s clearly going to fall over sideways.

Just the opposite of “if it looks right, it probably is right”…

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InvertedBoat@reddit

I also like the idea that there is a bulge on one side which is the way to access the cockpit from the cabin, they needed to work around the engine or gearbox for the front rotor.

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HumpyPocock@reddit

First flight of the Bristol 192 uhh with a different tail (again) and holy shit it’s the happiest looongboi of a helicopter ever

FLIGHT circa 1958 w/ Cutaway — Part I and Part II

OK so it took me then longest time to figure out why the intakes were on the UNDERSIDE of the fuselage, and it wasn’t until I found the below that it made sense, turns out the engines are face down ass up, and those intakes up top are purely for gearbox and engine cooling air. Also makes it clear why they weren’t mounted up top.

Ah so to answer your question, that bulge is for the engine.

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Komm@reddit

Holy shit the engines really are ass up face in the ground. We're the engineers taking bets on who could make the best FOD vacuum?

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HumpyPocock@reddit

It’d be fascinating to know what happens if they set it down or take off in the desert…

Ooh an unpleasant thought just came to mind… if one of those engines ever had a turbine rotor ie the middle bit that holds all the blades, is heavy AF, and get fucking YEETED with unbelievable amounts of kinetic energy, there is no one onboard who isn’t in the firing line…

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InvertedBoat@reddit

Thank you! I really enjoy those cutaway drawing of the Belvedere. Can’t imagine what it must have been like to get on board as a soldier in Malaya.

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ecniv_o@reddit

From the Wikipedia article:

The front undercarriage was unusually tall, originally designed to give adequate clearance for loading torpedoes underneath the fuselage in the anti-submarine warfare role.

I'm trying to find citations for why the rear stub wings were added; and why the 173 had a dihedral and the Belvedere had an anhedral??

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HumpyPocock@reddit

NGL — kind of prefer it over the related Type 173 uhh primarily ad it looks like it wants to break my bloody jaw.

Original — Bristol Type 173 Proto N°3

Photograph — the Vertical Flight Society

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HumpyPocock@reddit

An intriguing middle ground — the gear look to be right, however that tail is all wrong, along with a handful of other things. Bristol’s helicopters, from what I have seen thus far, are absolutely fascinating, two thumbs up.

Type 191 Series 2 (ah I think — see below)

Original via the Vertical Flight Society

NB — this post over on Secret Projects includes a pair of OG General Arrangements for the Type 191 Series 1 and 2 and a quick scan makes wonder if it’s the latter ie. Type 191 Series 2 instead of a Type 192 Series 2 as listed on VFS (?)

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HumpyPocock@reddit

An intriguing middle ground — the gear look to be right, however that tail is all wrong, along with a handful of other things. Bristol’s helicopters, from what I have seen thus far, are absolutely fascinating, two thumbs up.

Type 191 Series 2 (ah I think — see below)

Original via the Vertical Flight Society

NB — this post over on Secret Projects includes a pair of OG General Arrangements for the Type 191 Series 1 and 2 and a quick scan makes wonder if it’s the latter ie. Type 191 Series 2 instead of a Type 192 Series 2 as listed on VFS (?)

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HumpyPocock@reddit

An intriguing middle ground — the gear look to be right, however that tail is all wrong, along with a handful of other things. Bristol’s helicopters, from what I have seen thus far, are absolutely fascinating, two thumbs up.

Type 191 Series 2 (ah I think — see below)

Original via the Vertical Flight Society

NB — this post over on Secret Projects includes a pair of OG General Arrangements for the Type 191 Series 1 and 2 and a quick scan makes wonder if it’s the latter ie. Type 191 Series 2 instead of a Type 192 Series 2 as listed on VFS (?)

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