Rotodyne

Research notes

this is a prototype; the tail wing of the toy was still being studied; Fairey Rotodyne (British industry) was a revolutionary large compound gyroplane which held great promise for both worldwide inter-city medium air transportation, and military applications during the late 1950s; it featured jet powered main rotor tips which operated during vertical take-off and landing, hovering and transitioning to forward flight, before a pair of Napier Eland turboprops were engaged for forward flight. Despite successfully completing over 350 test flights, just a single prototype aircraft would be built

Featured in

• Arnold The Toys from 1906 until 1965 — p. 199
• The Collector's All-Colour Guide to Transport Toys — p. 116