National Air and Space Museum Archives

Bensen B-8 Gyro-Glider Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.2006.0029
Creators:
Bensen, Igor.
Dates:
bulk 1978
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
Enter vol amt Cubic feet
(1 box)
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of the Bensen B-8 Gyro-Glider documentation: Building and Operating Manual; plan drawings; Rotorcraft Dictionary; Bensen-related brochures; list of tools needed to build a gyrocopter; Building and Operating Material Specifications for Bensen Models B-8 and B-8M; Catalog No. 81 and order form; Installment Purchase Plan documents and price list; and a "I'd Rather be flying a Bensen Gyrocopter" bumper sticker.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
In 1953, Dr. Igor Bensen, an immigrant from the USSR where he had been chief research engineer of the Kaman Aircraft Corporation, established the Bensen Aircraft Corporation in Raleigh, North Carolina. He initially planned to produce commercial helicopters, but switched to the private market when he realized that the relative safety of rotary craft would be attractive to private pilots. His first aircraft was the Bensen B-8 Gyro-Glider, which was unpowered and could be flown without a pilot's license in the United States. It could be built at home from a kit that an aspiring pilot would purchase from the company or could be purchased already assembled.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Dave Spriggs, Gift, Year received

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access.
Preferred Citation
Bensen B-8 Gyro-Glider Collection, Accession number 2006-0029, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Autogiros Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Airplanes, Home-built Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bensen B-8 Gyro-Glider Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gliders (Aeronautics) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Plans (drawings) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuals Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brochures Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bensen Aircraft Corporation Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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