O'Brien's Flying Circus "Otto"
Country
UK
Aircraft
Schweizer S300C
Base
Headcorn Aerodrome
Schweizer S300C
The Schweizer S300 series (formerly Hughes 300, Schweizer 300, and Sikorsky S-300) family of light utility helicopters was originally produced by Hughes Helicopters, as a development of the Hughes 269. Later manufactured by Schweizer Aircraft, and currently produced by Schweizer RSG, the basic design has been in production for over 50 years. The single, three-bladed main rotor and piston-powered S300 is mostly used as a cost-effective platform for training and agriculture.
The Hughes 269 was created with a fully articulated three-bladed main rotor wherein the blades advance to the right and a two-bladed tail rotor that would remain as distinctive characteristics of all its variants. It also has shock absorber-damped, skid-type landing gear. The flight controls are directly linked to the control surfaces of the helicopter so there is no hydraulics in the 269. There are generally two sets of controls, although this was optional on the civil 269A. For three-seat aircraft, the middle collective control stick is removable and a seat cushion can be put in its place for the third passenger. In the 300CB and 300CBi, the collective control can be repositioned to a left-handed configuration for the Pilot In Command position (right seat)
The 300C is powered by a 190 hp Lycoming HIO-360-D1A and has a larger diameter main rotor. The larger rotor and engine gives it a 45% performance increase over the previous 269-series models. Hughes and Schweizer both marketed the 269C as the Model 300C.
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