| WA-116 Agile | |
|---|---|
| Little Nellie, pictured with its creator Ken Wallis in the cockpit. | |
| Role | Single-seat autogyro |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Wallis Autogyros Limited |
| Designer | Ken Wallis |
| First flight | 2 August 1961 |
| Number built | 10+ |
The Wallis WA-116 Agile is a British autogyro developed in the early 1960s by former Royal Air Force Wing Commander Ken Wallis. The aircraft was produced in a number of variants, one of which, nicknamed Little Nellie, was flown in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice.
Contents |
Ken Wallis, a former RAF aviator Wing Commander, developed a number of improvements to the autogyro design, including the offset gimbal rotor head which gives the autogyro hands-off stability.[1] Wallis' first prototype autogyro, registered G-ARRT, was first flown on 2 August 1961.[2] In 1962, five WA-116s were built by Beagle Aircraft at Shoreham, three of which were for evaluation by the Army Air Corps.[2]
In 1966, one of the Beagle-built WA-116s, registered G-ARZB, was modified for use in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice.
Few Wallis autogyros have been operated privately, with nearly all of them being used for research and demonstration flying by Wallis himself.
Data from [2]British Civil Aircraft since 1919 - Volume 3
General characteristics
Performance