La Cierva Autogiros

Juan de la Cierva - the name alone evokes 'autogyros', as he was the inventor and great protagonist of this type of flying machine. From early manhood onwards, la Cierva dedicated himself almost exclusively to autogyros . These machines - with rotating aerofoils and traction 'puller' propellers - which seem somewhat strange to us today, were the subject of great interest in the 1920's and 1930's, due to their STOL capability, their ability to maintain level flight at low speeds, and for reasons of their integral safety, being able to descend and land slowly without propulsion. The machines' capabilities naturally aroused interest abroad and led to the French Lioré et Olivier company to acquire a manufacturing license for the C.30.

Though the C.30 takes the lion's share, this book covers the entire scope of la Cierva's designs from the first trials of the C.1 model through to the C.40, which was produced over a decade after his death. The history of each individual type is described in-depth, presented together with numerous period photographs, 3-view and technical detail drawings and performance specifications.

The C.19 and C.30 versions flew under many colours (being operated by more than a score of nations world-wide) - this results in thirty pages of colour profiles - which will inspire the modelling fraternity. This comprehensive and detailed tome about Juan la Cierva's fantastic flying 'insects' finishes with a series of unique colour photographs and an indispensable listing of individual machines, comprising construction numbers and registration codes - as well as brief histories.

These flying machines - the only viable rotary-winged aircraft prior to the advent of helicopters - are the subject of scrutiny by this book - which leaves nothing to be desired - from neither a historical nor technical aspect.