The JT-5 Autogyro



JT-5 1973, OH-XYS. This was going to be one the most beautiful autogyros yet to be seen. I designed the machine in 1969. The building started in 1970 with Aulis Eerola, but soon after he left to pursue his own helicopter businesses. Nevertheless he welded the fuselage and did some machining.
The cockpit plug and mold was a big job. The cockpit itself was of honeycomb sandwich construction with a fully enclosed blown canopy. Even the landing gear was of glass reinforced epoxy. The engine was a brand-new 1700 ccm engine from Limbach in Germany. The JT-5 flew well right from the start. It was fast, 165 km/h, and very maneuverable.
Information about JT-5:
HOMEBUILT AIRCRAFT, October 1979. Take a look at a copy of this article by Walter Shelbourne. It also includes JT-5 dimensions, weights and a performance summary.
Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1974-1975 edition
SPORT AVIATION February and May 1974


On the ground
In the Air

In 1974 I sold the machine with all production rights to Mr. Vittorio Magni of Italy. He renamed the machine as 455MT-5, then M-5 and it looks like its latest incarnation is Magni M20 Talon although with a different engine? Well, sometimes I miss my baby, it was a very nice gyro to fly.  The JT-5 prototype is still on display in the Magni Factory Museum near Milan (picture below).
JT-5 in Museum near Munich

Three more JT-5 autogyros have been built in Finland and one in Sweden. Several others are under construction. OH-XYX was built by the brothers Arvo and Hannu Taupila, who also have built JT-5 rotor blades for other homebuilders. Now they are building a 2-seat training machine of their own design.

OH-XRK was built by Veikko, Matti, Juha and Mauri Silvennoinen plus Juhani Makinen. They all have flown a lot of long cross-country flights with the machine and logged over 500 hrs of flying time, surely a record for Finnish autogyros. OH-XRK is now owned by Seppo Vihavainen. OH-XYM was built by Matti Varela. Apparently Santa Claus has used it, too, instead of reindeer. SE-HXP was built by Rune Larsson in Sweden.




40 years from the JT-5 design!

I started to design the JT-5 gyro in 1969 and the first flight was in 1973. Since about 40 years has passed of those times I have decided to publish the drawings for free on these pages.
I refurbished the old worn-out JT-5 drawings in 1998 using ClarisCAD program in my Macintosh. The drawings are a bit more complete than the originals. However, no building manual or any kits or parts for the JT-5 are available. In general the builder must have the proficiency to build from scratch. Know-how in machining, welding and epoxy-fiberglass lay up with vacuum bag molding is essential to successfully complete a JT-5. Notice that the JT-5 is not easy to build. There are many autogyro kits on the market which are muh easier to build.

Drawings:
1. Three - view drawing  and  drawing update 2013
2. Steel tube fuselage details
3. Rotor head assembly
4. Rotor head parts
5. Prerotator assembly and parts
6. Control stick assembly
7. Pedals, nose wheel steering and canopy locking system
8. Fiberglass parts dimensions
9. Rotor blade building principles.

There is more information of the JT-5 construction methods on the JT-5 builders pages



wireframe
JT-5 3D model. To view some construction details, I have modeled the JT-5 autogyro using formZ RenderZone modeling software. The model even includes the Limbach engine and a pilot (me!) and shows details down to the nut and bolt level. Make a visit to my 3D page.
JT-5 Sample Drawing, pdf file 358 kb







Comments:

Jag är imponerad av din webbsida om autogyros och har läst den med stort intresse. Du måste vara en av de personer i världen som har mest erfarenhet och kunskap på detta område. Det är imponerande att du hunnit med så många verkligt banbrytande pionärprojekt i ditt liv, trots att du har haft arbete och dessutom hunnit med en massa flygtimmar och att spela dragspel!
Erik Bengtsson, Sverige

I much admire your work and website but do you have any plans available for an autogyro, one or two seat?
Mike Goodrich

I certainly appreciate your release of your JT-5B plans which I have spent hours studying. I find them very complete and thorough. I have been researching gyro designs for some time and I am finding that many manufactures are following your designs, some with slight modification. Your contribution to the world of good gyrocopter design is recognized by many.
Roger James

Thanks you so much for sharing your work on gyros..your accomplishments are extraordinary! Your graphics are sensational!! I intend to visit your site many times, and truly enjoy it.
Harold S. Kramer

I'm writing you from Montreal, Canada. I've been visiting your web site for quite a while and must say that every time I do, I find myself dreaming. You have designed and built a jewel.
Michel Vallieres (your biggest fan!)

My name is Juciê and I live in São Paulo, Brazil.. I am a big fan of yours. I think your web site is amazing. The drawings arrived. I am delightfully studying each sheet. Beyond engineering, that is a fine piece of art. Congratulations.
JuciÊ D Andrade

Thanks for your prompt reply! First of all I would like to mention that your website is like a pearl in the www-ocean!
Oliver J. Wilcockson

Your web-site is amazing, I am so impressed with your projects and drawings.  Steve McDaniel