| MC-4 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Light helicopter |
| Manufacturer | McCulloch Motors Corporation |
| Designer | Drago Jovanovich |
| First flight | 1951 |
| Primary users | United States Army United States Navy |
The McCulloch Model MC-4 was an American tandem-rotor helicopter and was the first helicopter developed by McCulloch Motors's Aircraft Division.[1] It was evaluated by the United States Army as the YH-30 and the United States Navy as the XHUM-1.
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The MC-4 was a larger version of the earlier Jovanovich JOV-3 tandem-rotor helicopter and was developed by the McCulloch Motors Corporation. The JOV-3 was developed by Jovanovich when he headed the Helicopter Engineering and Research Corporation. The JOV-3 first flew in 1948. In 1949 Jovanovich moved to the McCulloch Motors Corporation where an enlarged helicopter the MC-4 first flew in March 1951. It was followed by a similar MC-4C and three evaluation helicopters for the United States Army (as the YH-30). The MC-4C was slightly larger than the MC-4. When the MC-4C was certified in 1953 it was the first tandem-rotor helicopter to be certified in the United States for commercial use. Three examples were evaluated by the United States Army as the YH-30, but Army's evaluation showed the helicopter to be underpowered.[1]
An MC-4C was used in the 1954 science fiction production Gog (film).
The YH-30 had a steel-tube framework with a light metal skin, A single 200 hp Franklin piston engine was horizontally mounted amidships and powered two intermeshing tandem rotors. It had a fixed wheeled tricycle landing gear.
No civil or military orders were received and Jovanovich formed his own company, the Jovair Corporation where he modified the MC-4C as a prototype for a four-seat private helicopter designated the Sedan 4E. The Sedan 4E was powered by 210 hp Franklin 6A-335 engine. A version with a tubo-charged engine was designed as the Sedan 4ES and a more basic Sedan 4A for agricultural use. By 1965 a small number of Sedan helicopters were built. In the early 1970s McCulloch regained the rights to the helicopter designs.
In 2008 two MC-4Cs are still registered in the United States.
General characteristics
Performance
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