This convertible type aircraft, besides its three-bladed lifting rotor, had two variable-pitch airscrews mounted on either side on lateral outriggers, with thrust in opposite directions to counteract rotor torque.

The engine, situated in the nose, was cooled by a three-bladed adjustable fan consuming about 14hp, and in horizontal flight the remaining power was used to drive the outboard airscrews while the lifting rotor revolved by auto-rotation. The main gearbox was in the front part of the cockpit.

The Fl.185, which had a three-wheeled undercarriage, was given only a few tests near the ground, and then abandoned in favour of the Fl.265, which embodied the intermeshing rotor system on which Flettner had now begun to work.

P.Lambermont "Helicopters and Autogyros of the World", 1958

Technical data for Fl 185

Number of seats: 1, engines: 1 x Siemens-Halske SH 14A rated 140hp, rotor diameter: 12m, weight fully loaded: 898kg, empty weight: 771kg