With much fanfare, the German government announced a breakthrough in the development of a new form of autogyro. Designated the Fw 60, this prototype craft is the brainchild of scientist Heinrich Focke, one of the world's leading researchers into rotary wing craft. Building on the earlier work of such visionary engineers as Etienne Oehmichen and Juan de la Cierva, Focke has partially succeeded in producing a rotary wing vehicle capable of both hovering and vertical descent. Neither one of these impressive feats is possible with the current models of autogyro.

There have been numerous attempts in the past to create a working vertical take-off and landing craft, but none had solved the many control problems that made this design impractical. If the initial reports out of Germany are accurate, it would seem that Focke has succeeded were none have thus far. Indeed, Focke claims that future versions of his autogyro will not only be highly maneuverable, but capable of speeds in excess of 75 mph - an unprecedented velocity for craft of this sort.

Of course, the optimism of Focke's predictions and those of his government supporters must be tempered by harsh reality. As impressive as the prototype Fw 60's specifications may be on paper, they are not completely borne out in practice. In test flights over the past sixth months, Focke and his pilots have never succeeded in keeping his new autogyro in the air for longer than five minutes. Adding fuel to the fiery skepticism of Focke's critics, the German government did not allow journalists to film or photograph the Fw 60 in action. (German media officials claimed that this was a "safety measure, to safeguard foreign visitors"; others claim that the press blackout was to avoid public embarrassment should Focke's design prove flawed.)

Despite these setbacks, Focke remains undeterred and is convinced that he is on the threshold of creating an entirely new form of aircraft. Aviation engineers in North America are more guarded in their assessment of Focke's work. Alan Synan of Curtiss-Wright Aviation called the Fw 60 "an interesting first step," but would not endorse it as the "revolutionary breakthrough" the Germans are touting.

Interestingly, the least skeptical opinions are from officials at Hughes Aviation. For months, rumors have circulated that Hughes was engaged in a "secret project", leading some to assert that the company is also working on a new autogyro. Henry Mulhall, a spokesman for the company, refused to comment on such "unsubstantiated speculation."

Nevertheless, this news from across the Atlantic has created an upswing in interest in the sturdy, reliable autogyro. The workhorse of short-distance civilian travel in North America, the autogyro's basic design has not been significantly altered since the beginning of the decade. The very idea that an advance of such a profound magnitude could possibly have been made by European engineers might be viewed by some as a threat to the dominant position of North America's aviation firms. It would therefore come as no surprise that companies like Hughes and its competitors may be working on advanced autogryo designs of their own.

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