Wallis WA 116 Agile

Design and development

Wing Commander Ken Wallis, a former RAF pilot, developed a number of improvements to the autogyro design, including the offset gimbal rotor head which gives the autogyro hands-off stability. Wallis' first prototype autogyro, registered G-ARRT, was first flown on 2 August 1961.

Operational history

In 1962, five WA-116s were built by Beagle Aircraft at Shoreham, three of which were for evaluation by the British Army Air Corps. 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. Little Nellie was named after Nellie Wallace. Few Wallis autogyros have been operated privately, with nearly all of them being used for research and demonstration flying by Wallis himself.

Operators

 United Kingdom

Army Air Corps

Variants

WA-116 Agile

Prototype autogyro powered by a Wallis-McCulloch 4318A engine.

WA-116-T

Two-seat variant, one built.

WA-117 Venom

Variant powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Rolls-Royce Continental O-200-B engine.

WA-118 Meteorite

Variant powered by a 120 hp (89 kW) Wallis-modified Meteor Alfa supercharged two-stroke engine.

WA-119

Variant powered by a 40 hp water-cooled 990 cc Hillman Imp engine.

WA-121

Streamlined variant for high-altitude research with a Wallis-McCulloch engine; a single WA-121 was built in 1972.

Specifications (WA-116)

Data from British Civil Aircraft since 1919 – Volume 3

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 3.38 m (11 ft)

Rotor diameter: 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in)

Height: ()

Empty weight: 116 kg (255 lb)

Loaded weight: 249 kg (550 lb)

Powerplant: 1 × Wallis-McCulloch 4318A piston engine, 54 KW (72 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 161 kmh (100 mph)

Range: 209 km (130 miles)

Endurance: 2 h 27 min

Service ceiling: 10,000 ft ()

Rate of climb: 1,000 ft in 56 s ()

58 lb fuel, power/wt 7.651b/hp