Wallis WA-116 Agile

Design and development
Wing Commander Ken Wallis, a former RAF pilot, developed a number of improvements to the autogyro design, including the offset gimbal rotor head which gives the autogyro hands-off stability. Wallis' first prototype autogyro, registered G-ARRT, was first flown on 2 August 1961.

Operational history
In 1962, five WA-116s were built by Beagle Aircraft at Shoreham, three of which were for evaluation by the British Army Air Corps. Wallis flew one of these aircraft, XR942, at that year's Farnborough Air Show.

In 1966, one of the Beagle-built WA-116s, registered G-ARZB, was modified for use in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. Little Nellie was named after legendary music hall performer Nellie Wallace.

Few Wallis autogyros have been operated privately, with nearly all of them being used for research and demonstration flying by Wallis himself. Wallis withdrew all his autogyros from use by anyone other than himself, after the crash of WA-117 G-AXAR at the 1970 Farnborough Air Show.

Operators

 * Army Air Corps
 * Army Air Corps

Variants

 * WA-116 Agile
 * Prototype autogyro powered by a Wallis-McCulloch 4318A engine.


 * WA-116-T
 * Two-seat variant, one built.


 * WA-117 Venom
 * Variant powered by a 100 hp Continental O-200-B engine.


 * WA-118 Meteorite
 * Variant powered by a 120 hp Wallis-modified Meteor Alfa supercharged two-stroke engine.


 * WA-119
 * Variant powered by a 40 hp water-cooled 990 cc Hillman Imp engine.


 * WA-121
 * Streamlined variant for high-altitude research with a Wallis-McCulloch 4318A engine; a single WA-121 was built in 1972.