An Airplane Without Wings

 1921 Leyat Hélica 2H Conduite Intérieure

Courtesy the wonderful website PreWarCar comes this story of the remarkable Hélica, a wingless aircraft meant for public roads, sold in small numbers in the late ‘Teens and early 1920s.  The occasion for their article was a new display in the Louwman Museum in the Netherlands, of an original Hélica with one family from new ownership, recently donated.  Having seen a Hélica or two in action at Vintage Revival Montlhéry, I think you’ll agree it’s a vehicle of tremendous charm and fascination.  Here is the PreWarCar story, republished here with their kind permission:

There are museums you might think are already complete, that nothing more could possibly improve their collections, and that they should remain exactly as they are. The Louwman Museum in The Hague is such a place. Yet once again it has managed to surprise us – and even tempt us into a new visit. The reason? A remarkable addition to the collection: an original 1921 Leyat Hélica 2H Conduite Intérieure, one of two examples ever built, and the only one in fully original condition.

Most will know them as the propeller cars. At the Festival of Slowth last May a replica was on display, and we filmed an attempt to start it (shown here). That was already special, but the Hélica on display here is an authentic survivor, with chassis number 004. Marcel Leyat initially built and used this car himself as a development vehicle, but soon sold it to the Peugeot family for private use. More than a century later, the grandson of the original owner decided it was time to share this unique piece of engineering with the public. Through a man who had built a replica back in the 1960s, the Louwman Museum was contacted – and so the Hélica eventually found its way to The Hague.

At its introduction in 1913 the Hélica quickly gained the nickname “airplane without wings”. Not surprising, with that large propeller up front. The propeller, powered by an air-cooled 1100cc Scorpion flat-twin OHV engine, provided the thrust for the four-wheeled car. This made a gearbox and clutch unnecessary – as well as a reverse gear. Still, with a weight of only 250 kilos, pushing it backwards was hardly a problem. Steering was done via the rear axle, while the front axle carried drum brakes operated by double pedals.

After years of experimentation, Leyat presented his first production model in 1921. At the Paris Motor Show some 600 interested buyers came forward, but in the end only 30 cars were built. Reportedly, just three survive. The example now in the Louwman Museum is unique: the only Hélica with a closed body, a Conduite Intérieure. The Louwman Collection has the reputation of being a living museum. We hope they will honour that tradition by bringing this Hélica to life as well – and that we’ll be there with our camera!  The 1921 Leyat Hélica is now on display at the Louwman Museum in The Hague. Highly recommended for anyone who thinks they’ve already seen it all.

More on the Hélica from the Musée des Arts et Metiérs in Paris, where another original-paint example is on display:

In 1918, Marcel Leyat (1885-1986), a former student of the École Centrale and engineer in the aeronautical industry, took out a patent for a “vehicle driven by an aerial propeller”. Named Hélica, this car had an ichthyoid-shaped body made of wooden side members covered with plywood, according to a principle taken from aircraft fuselages. The vehicle has two seats “in tandem” and a luggage compartment. Its horizontal two-cylinder engine turns at 1,400 revolutions per minute and develops 8 horsepower. The drive is via a two- or four-bladed wooden propeller, placed at the front of the vehicle and protected by a propeller guard. The brakes are located under the front wheels, and the steering controls the rear wheels via a steering wheel. The Hélica has no reverse gear, gear change, or radiator; the engine is cooled by the air produced by the rotation of the propeller.

Leyat had imagined two variants: the first, a flying one, was intended to offer individuals the possibility of having a personal flying vehicle. During a test campaign carried out in 1927, a flying Hélica, deprived of its wings for the occasion, reached a speed of 170 km/h at the Montlhéry autodrome, but series production was never launched. The second variant, which was rolling, was more successful, and several vehicles were mass-produced from the beginning of the 1920s. In 1926, Leyat made significant modifications to the Hélica, for example removing the self-stabilizing steering for better road holding. An atypical vehicle with remarkable performance, the Hélica participated in various sporting events for which it displayed advertising messages, such as for the insurance company La Participation or for Gellicyne soap.

The first example of the D.21 series produced in 1921, the Hélica currently on display at the Musée des Arts et Métiers was originally intended for an English customer. The latter having fallen back on a model with a closed interior, this Hélica was acquired by Gustave Coureau, himself fascinated by Leyat’s work and author of the book Mon Hélice au pays des merveillesIn 1935, he proposed to offer his Hélica to the Society of Friends of the Museum of Cars and Tourism: considering the scientific value of the Hélica, the Society invited Coureau to contact the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers. Examining the car, the Conservatoire’s Testing Laboratory judged the efficiency of its engine and its design in general to be particularly interesting.