10/31/2023. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "After a period of employment with Igor Sikorsky, Harold E. "Hal" Lemont Jr. formed his own company, the Helicopter Engineering and Construction Corporation (HE&CC) at East Providence, Rhode Island. On request of Antoine Gazda, Lemont designed the two-seat Gazda 100 Helicospeeder, which first flew in 1945.
In an early attempt to produce a tiny personal helicopter, Lemont designed a simplified flight control system which eliminated separate cyclic and collective controls and pedals. All controls were combined on a hanging stick with a wheel, with a governor to control the engine revolutions. Lemont's design also carried simplification in manufacture to the limit by the utmost possible use of ready-made motor-vehicle parts.
Of conventional construction the Model 100 single-seat helicopter had a three-bladed wooden rotor, a two-blade tail rotor and a tricycle landing gear. The fuselage was built from plywood-covered tubular steel, although the aft portion was fabric-covered. Power plant was a 75 hp Continental A75-9 four-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine.
