Sud‑Ouest, SNCASO
First Flight: December 16, 1953
Two seats
Source: Loan from American Eurocopter
Sud-Ouest designed the Djinn as a two‑seat utility helicopter using a unique ‘cold jet’ propulsion system. A 240hp Turbomeca turbogenerator mounted aft of the cabin supplied compressed air through ducted channels inside the rotor shaft and twin rotor blades to rotor‑tip ejectors. This created nearly a ramjet effect without the bulky combustion chambers necessitated by the latter system at the rotor tips. The compressed air from the gas turbine engine expelled through nozzles at the rotor tips is warm enough to eliminate the need for other means of de‑icing the blades. The design also eliminated the need for a tail rotor. A cantilever monoplane-type tail unit provided directional stability with two fins mounted at the ends of the horizontal stabilizer and a large central rudder positioned in the engine exhaust.
The fuselage was a welded steel‑tube structure surrounding an extensively glazed cabin with room for a pilot and one passenger. The Djinn had a skid‑type landing gear and minimal instrumentation. It was highly maneuverable and “lenient where flying faults are concerned.” The aircraft could take off and land quite easily on the back of an ordinary truck.
Sud-Ouest built 22 pre‑series 1221’s, primarily for evaluation by the French Army. The first flew on 23 September 1954. The French Army was the main customer for the Djinn, acquiring 100 of the 150 that were produced. Djinns were completed up to 1961, and the Army still had about half of these in service in mid‑1967. Three Djinns were evaluated by the US Army under the designation YHO‑1DJ.
Civilian Djinns were employed in ten countries, mostly in an agricultural role, for which SudAviation offered renewed conversion facilities in 1965. The so‑called ‘agricopter’ version of the Djinn can carry up to 200 l. (44 Imp. gal.) of liquid chemical in twin tanks, and has lateral spray bars for the spraying, dusting, or “fogging” of crops with fertilizers or pesticides.
| Aircraft Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Rotor Diameter | 32 ft 10 in |
| Fuselage Length | 17 ft 5 in |
| Maximum Speed | 80 mph |
| Cruise Speed | 65 mph |
| Height | 7 ft 9 in |
| Empty Weight | 694 lbs |
| Gross Weight | 1,389 lbs |
| Engine | 250 shp Turbomeca Palouste IV |