The Bensen Mid-Jet (a pun on "Midget jet") was a small helicopter developed by Igor Bensen in the United States in the early 1950s in the hope of attracting the interest of the United States Navy. It was a single-seat, open framework machine based on the B-5 rotor kite with small, gasoline- or fuel oil-burning ramjets mounted as tipjets on the rotor blades.^[1] Tests carried out in 1954 showed it to be able to lift four times its own weight and cruise at 75 mph (120 km/h).

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: One pilot
• Height: 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
• Empty weight: 100 lb (45 kg)
• Gross weight: 500 lb (227 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × ramjets , equivalent to 20 hp (15 kW) each
• Main rotor diameter: 15 ft 0 in (4.57 m)
• Main rotor area: 176 sq ft (16.4 m²)

Performance

• Cruise speed: 75 mph (120 km/h, 65 kn)