Flettner Explained

Anton Flettner, Flugzeugbau GmbH was a German helicopter and autogyro manufacturer during World War II, founded by Anton Flettner.^[1]

Flettner aircraft included:

• Flettner Fl 184 - Reconnaissance autogyro, prototype^[2]
• Flettner Fl 185 - Reconnaissance helicopter, prototype
• Flettner Fl 265 - Reconnaissance helicopter, prototype
• Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri (Hummingbird) - Reconnaissance helicopter
• Flettner Fl 339 - Reconnaissance helicopter, project
• Flettner Gigant - Experimental helicopter

Anton Flettner's interest in aerodynamics (specifically the Magnus effect, which produces a force from a cylinder rotating in a fluid flow) also led him to invent the Flettner rotor which he used to power a Flettner ship which crossed the Atlantic, and the Flettner ventilator which is still widely used as a cooling device for buses, vans and other commercial vehicles and which is based upon the Savonius principle.

See also

• Gyrodyne
• List of RLM aircraft designations

Notes and References

1. Book: Hirschel . Ernst Heinrich . Aeronautical Research in Germany: From Lilienthal until Today . Prem . Horst . Madelung . Gero . 2012-12-06 . Springer Science & Business Media . 978-3-642-18484-0 . 299–300 . en.
2. Book: Griehl, Manfred . X-Planes: German Luftwaffe Prototypes 1930-1945 . 2012-10-24 . Pen and Sword . 978-1-78303-419-2 . 264–269 . en.