Wing Commander Kenneth H. Wallis: The Triumphs, Tragedy and Enigma of an Extraordinary Life in Autogyro Aviation

In 1958 Wing Commander Kenneth H. Wallis RAF, while on an exchange tour of duty with SAC, purchased the plans for the Bensen B7M Gyrocopter. Returning to England in 1959, Wallis constructed the Bensen aircraft and, by fortuitous encounter, was granted 'developer' status by the British Civil Aviation authorities, giving him the sui generis ability to develop new aircraft providing that he reported on his developmental activities. For over 55 years his was an extraordinary life with the autogyro, and at the time of his death on September 2, 2013, Wallis still held half of the autogyro world records. A self-taught aeronautical engineer, often called an engineering genius, Wallis was much-recognized with trophies, awards and honorary doctoral degrees and had international recognition, due largely to his spectacular performance in the 1967 James Bond movie You Only Live Twice. His influence on the European popular rotorcraft movement was, however, extremely limited and derivative, primarily to those who have attempted to copy his designs (what Wallis referred to as "eyeball engineering"). Therein is to be found the enigma of Wallis - given the acknowledged quality and public admiration for his autogyro designs, why did he not have a more significant impact on popular rotorcraft movements? The answer is to be found in the tragedy of fatal crash of a Wallis-117 autogyro and the death of John "Pee Wee" Judge at the 1970 Farnborough Air Show and the subsequent official investigation. While Wallis cooperated with authorities and was exonerated in the Official Report, issued almost four years later, his reaction was to refrain from the amateur-built market, becoming a champion of the "autogyro as working aircraft" - the result being that while he flourished, even winning a NATO contract for a 100 aircraft for battlefield damage assessment in 1968 (which was bungled by the manufacturer and eventually cancelled), he had no practical impact on the British popular rotorcraft movement.