Clybouw CW-105F
An article about Willy Clybouw's helicopter has been published in the magazine "Sport Aviation" of the EAA in June 1970. Designed and built entirely by Willy Clybouw, the helicopter had not yet begun its tests flights. Very compact in appearance, the Clybouw uses the principle of the intermeshing rotor developed by Flettner during World War II. The intermeshing rotor are a set of two rotors turning in opposite directions mounted on a V-shaped axis from a common transmission box. The directions of rotation being reversed, the torques cancel each other out, which makes it possible to dispense with the tail anti-torque device.
Despite the interest of several companies for mass production, the project was abandoned to allow the design and construction of other projects. After serving as a didactic machine at the VLOC technical school in Ostend, it was donated to BAPA by the builder's son at the beginning of 2021.
Restoration
The Clybouw arrived in our workshop at the same time as the Cessna 310 OO-SEI. It was indeed during the recovery of the latter at the VLOC that the Clybouw was discovered. It was in a sad condition and required a lot of restoration work. All the accessories have been disassembled. The fuselage has been completely stripped and sandblasted and the nose has dent removed before repainting. The tail has been re-fabric covered and the internal wooden cladding of the cockpit has been completely re manufactured. The missing cowlings have been manufactured and the plexiglas have been restored or replaced. Finally, the machine was repainted in the colors it wore in 1970.
During a visit to the BAPA workshop Koen Clybouw, Willy Clybouw's son, made a very nice gift to our association. He offered the blueprints of the helicopter, archives, spare parts, the rotor molds as well as the original model of the helicopter.
During the "Spring of the Airfield" day at the Namur-Temploux Airfield on March 19, 2022, BAPA presented on its stand the freshly refurbished Clybouw helicopter.
Status
After its restoration, the Clybouw have been stored.
Despite the interest of several companies for mass production, the project was abandoned to allow the design and construction of other projects. After serving as a didactic machine at the VLOC technical school in Ostend, it was donated to BAPA by the builder's son at the beginning of 2021.
Restoration
The Clybouw arrived in our workshop at the same time as the Cessna 310 OO-SEI. It was indeed during the recovery of the latter at the VLOC that the Clybouw was discovered. It was in a sad condition and required a lot of restoration work. All the accessories have been disassembled. The fuselage has been completely stripped and sandblasted and the nose has dent removed before repainting. The tail has been re-fabric covered and the internal wooden cladding of the cockpit has been completely re manufactured. The missing cowlings have been manufactured and the plexiglas have been restored or replaced. Finally, the machine was repainted in the colors it wore in 1970.
During a visit to the BAPA workshop Koen Clybouw, Willy Clybouw's son, made a very nice gift to our association. He offered the blueprints of the helicopter, archives, spare parts, the rotor molds as well as the original model of the helicopter.
During the "Spring of the Airfield" day at the Namur-Temploux Airfield on March 19, 2022, BAPA presented on its stand the freshly refurbished Clybouw helicopter.
Status
After its restoration, the Clybouw have been stored.
Above: Willy Clybouw at the controls of his helicopter whose structure is not yet covered. Willy giving the last touch-ups on his CW-105F and recovery of the same CW-105F from the VLOC.
These few photos illustrate the work that has been done to restore the Clybouw: paint stripping, soda blasting and reconstruction of components beyond repair.
