autogiro
(ˌɔːtəʊˈdʒaɪərəʊ)
Also autogyro.
[f. auto-1 + It., Sp. giro gyre n.]
The proprietary name (in spelling -giro) of a type of aircraft, deriving its lift mainly from a system of freely rotating horizontal vanes, and capable of landing in a very small space.
| 1923 Flight 24 May 275 Some tests have recently been carried out at Getafe, near Madrid, with an extremely interesting and original type of machine, the invention of a young Spanish engineer, Don Juan de la Cierva. This machine is known as the ‘Autogiro’, and is what might be described as being midway between the aeroplane and the helicopter. 1927 Observer 17 Apr. 10/2 The wider range of control promised by such types as the ‘autogyro’. 1930 Flight 4 Apr. 391/1 The Autogiro stands quite alone in the aircraft market, as it is the most unorthodox. 1960 Stubelius Balloon 277 Autogiros were in use up to about 1943. Today, when the design is obsolete, the word autogiro occurs only in historical contexts. 1962 Listener 21 June 1075/2 A single-seater autogyro. |