Leyat, Automobiles Leyat was a French automobile manufacturer, established in 1919 in Paris by Marcel Leyat.
The Hélica was known as 'The plane without wings'. The passengers sat behind each other like in an aircraft, which was driven by a giant propeller powered by an Scorpion engine. The body of the vehicle was made of plywood.
The factory was on the Quai de Grenelle in the 15th arrondissement.
Marcel Leyat
Marcel Leyat (March 26, 1885 (Die, Drôme) - December 3, 1986) was an engineer, inventor, aviation pioneer, and aeronautical and automobile manufacturer. He graduated from the École Centrale Paris in 1907. From 1908, he worked for the Société Astra and built a biplane glider called the Quand Quelle (When, which).L'Hélica Marcel Layat , archives en ligne [revue de presse, biographie, actualités d'époque]. In 1909 he targeted "the first powered crossing of the English Channel", but Louis Blériot succeeded on July 21, three weeks before his De Dion-Bouton 5 hp powered plane completed a flight of at elevation on August 15. In 1910, he built a propeller-driven biplane long and wide. He obtained the FAI pilot's license in 1911. During the First World War, he built several aircraft, including a "living wing" bomber. In all, he designed and built around thirty different aircraft up to World War II.
Description
The first model was called Hélica, also known as 'The plane without wings'. The passengers sat behind each other as if they were in an aircraft. The vehicle was steered using the rear wheels and the car was not powered by an engine turning the wheels, but by a giant propeller powered by an Scorpion engine. The entire body of the vehicle was made of plywood, and weighed just 250 kg (550 lb), which made it dangerously fast.
Performance In 1927, a Hélica reached the speed of at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry circuit. Leyat continued to experiment with his Helica. He tried using propellers with two and four blades.The Marcel LEYAT's Helica Various versions www.helica.info, accessed 3 April 2021
Production Between 1919 and 1925, Leyat sold 30 vehicles.
Vehicle models 1913: Helicocycle, 3 wheels, JAP engine, only one example 1915: Hélicocycle, 3 wheels, version 2, only one copy 1919: Hélica, 4 wheels, MAG engine, 6 examples 1921: Leyat propeller car, 4 wheels, ABC engine, 10 sedan cars, 3 sport cabriolet cars 1925: Rail/road draisine, intended for the director of mines in the Congo, 1 copy 1927: Record model, 3 wheels, ABC engine, 1 copy. On September 7, 1927, it reached a speed of 170 km/h on the Montlhéry race track.
Gallery
References
Literature
G. N. Georgano: The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 2: G–O. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1. G. N. Georgano: Complete Automobile Encyclopedia. 1885 to Our Times. Courtille, Paris 1975.
External links
Leyat Helicycle at 3wheelers.com Helica image at goodwood-festival.com The Marcel LEYAT's Helica at helica.info