Which Spanish helicopter had no tail rotor?

Short answer

The Aerotécnica AC-13A: that's how the Madrid firm redesignated the two Nord 1750 Norelfe whose design rights it bought. The aircraft had a single main rotor and controlled torque with a movable duct at the tip of the tail cone. The first of them flew on 28 December 1954.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Which Spanish helicopter had no tail rotor?

Aerotecnica AC-12 outline DDiego Dabrio at en.wikipedia (CC BY SA), vía commons

A movable duct at the tip of the tail

The Nord 1750 Norelfe had a single main rotor and solved torque control with a movable duct located at the tip of the tail cone. It was powered by a Turbomeca Artouste turbine, and the first of the two Norelfe built flew on 28 December 1954. The 1750 Norelfe itself was based on the Matra-Cantinieau MC-101A, an earlier helicopter designed by Jean Cantinieau.

Both examples end up in Madrid

The company sold the two helicopters and the design rights to the Spanish firm Aerotécnica, which redesignated them as the Aerotécnica AC-13A. Aerotécnica was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer established in Madrid in 1954 to develop Jean Cantinieau's helicopter designs.

The rest of the Aerotécnica family

Aerotécnica went on to produce a larger, five-seat version, the Aerotécnica AC-14, used by the Spanish Air Force. The firm's other model, the AC-12 Pepo, was a two-seat Spanish light helicopter built in 1956. Like other Cantinieau designs, it featured a distinctive "backbone" above the fuselage nacelle that carried the engine ahead of the rotor assembly. Development costs were borne by the Spanish government, and the first of the two prototypes flew on 20 July 1954. Twelve aircraft were ordered, including the two prototypes, for the Spanish Air Force, where they served for three years. After building small series of the AC-12 and the AC-14, the firm ceased operating in 1962.