Saunders-Roe Skeeter

Description

The Saunders-Roe Skeeter is a two-seat helicopter that was first used by the British Army Air Corps in 1957. It was originally developed by the Cierva Autogiro Company as the Cierva W.14, but Saunders-Roe took over the project. The helicopter was used for scouting, artillery spotting, and training. It has a metal body and rotor blades made of steel and wood. The Skeeter has a de Havilland Gypsy Major 150 engine that delivers 215 horsepower. It can cruise at 75 knots and has a top speed of 95 knots. It can fly for 2 hours and 20 minutes and has a range of 175 nautical miles. The Skeeter was used by the Army Air Corps until 1967. 32 Skeeters are known to still exist, 1 in Australia, 1 in The Netherlands, 1 in Poland, 8 in Germany and 21 in the UK. None of the remaining Skeeters are airworthy and the Historic Army Aircraft Flight (HAAF) example last flew in 2006. Included in the sale are technical publications, tooling, and a spares package which contains a set of unused rotor blades still in their box.