FOCKE-WULF FW-61 / FA-61

El profesor Focke comenzó sus trabajos con helicópteros en 1923, con una aeronave en mente con dos rotores laterales en lugar de los superpuestos. Sus primeras incursiones fueron gracias a la construcción de los autogiros Cierva C 19 y C 30 bajo licencia, que llevaron al desarrollo del FW 61. El motor movía a los dos rotores y a una pequeña hélice ubicada al frente que lo único que hacia era refrigerar el motor. El control vertical se lograba aumentando las revoluciones del rotor en lugar de cambiar el paso. El vuelo inaugural fue el 26 de julio de 1936, que duro entre 26 y 45 segundos. Luego batió varios récords en su categoría. Después de esto se obtuvo de DEUTSCHE LUFTHANSA un pedido para desarrollar un helicóptero con capacidad de transportar pasajeros, dando lugar al Fa 223 y al Fa 266. Por entonces Heinrich Focke había constituido la nueva compañía Focke-Achgelis & Co. GmBH para dedicarse a las alas rotatorias, lo que explica la redesignación de Fw 61a Fa 61.

Professor Focke of the Focke-Wulf Company began his work on helicopters in 1923 with a different aircraft in mind; a helicopter with two lateral rotors instead of two superimposed rotors. He began to look into rotary wings and acquired a license for La Cierva's autogyros. Under license, he manufactured the C 19 and the C 30 models. From the experience he gained by working on these models and after many wind tunnel tests, Focke began developing the FW-61 in 1934, named after his current company, Focke-Wulf. Two lateral pylons supported gear boxes on which the three-bladed rotor hubs were fixed, rotating in opposite directions. This aircraft exceeded all previous expectations in the field of helicopter flight. The FW-61 broke all previous records for vertical flight machines. On June 26, 1936, German test pilot Ewald Rohlfs performed the first flight in the FW-61, which lasted 26 seconds. On May 10, 1937, Rohlfs accomplished the first autorotation landing in helicopter history. In 1937, the FW-61 covered a record trip of 143 miles, staying in the air for over an hour. During the same year, it rose to an altitude of 11,243 feet, breaking the altitude record of the Breguet-Dorand, and it attained a speed of 76 miles per hour.During 1937, Focke left the Focke-Wulf Company and joined Gerd Achgelis to form the Focke-Achgelis Company, which causes some to refer to the aircraft as the FA-61. The more common and accurate name is the FW-61 for Focke-Wulf, the original founding company. The designation FA-61 is not as precise, because the Focke-Achgelis Company formed after the FW-61 was already flying.

Characteristics Características	Information Información	Characteristics Características	Information Información
First Flight Primer Vuelo	1936	Engine Motor	1 Bramo Sh 14a 7 cil.
Seating Capacity Plazas	1	Power Potencia	160 HP
Empty Weight Peso Vacío	800 Kg	Hover Ceiling O.G.E. Estacionario O.G.E	Ft
Maximum Weight Peso Máximo	950 Kg	Hover Ceiling I.G.E. Estacionario I.G.E	Ft
Vel. Cruise Vel. crucero	55 Kts	Service Ceiling Techo de Servicio	2400 Ft
V.N.E. V.N.E	60 Kts	Maximum Range (Std) Alcance (Std)	124 NM