Ultralite helicopter

[Stuart & Kathryn Fields]

Just back from Bensen days and Sun'n Fun. I flew (hover taxiied) a 254#
legal ultralite helicopter. I was amazed at the lack of any tendency to
depart to a foreign zip code. The little Mosquito Air felt more stable to
me than a Bell 47.
At Sun'n Fun John Snider demonstrated several autos to the ground in his
experimental class Mosquito. Some of the autos were hovering autos from as
high as 15-20 ft. John also has produced an outstanding video showing the
techniques he uses in doing full down autos from varying positions and also
demonstrates stretching and shortening the auto to reach a good spot. He
also demonstrates a throttle chop with the collective held showing how long
it takes the rotor to decay. While a bit pricey as videos go ($90) it is
well worth the price and a must have if you are a Mosquito owner or
considering a Mosquito or just want to walk thru some autos while in your
easy chair.
John can be reached at
Stu

[Stuart & Kathryn Fields]

"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" <skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net> wrote in
message ...
> On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 08:05:16 -0700, "Stuart & Kathryn Fields"
> > wrote:
>
>>Just back from Bensen days and Sun'n Fun. I flew (hover taxiied) a 254#
>>legal ultralite helicopter. I was amazed at the lack of any tendency to
>>depart to a foreign zip code. The little Mosquito Air felt more stable to
>>me than a Bell 47.
>>At Sun'n Fun John Snider demonstrated several autos to the ground in his
>>experimental class Mosquito. Some of the autos were hovering autos from
>>as
>>high as 15-20 ft. John also has produced an outstanding video showing
>>the
>>techniques he uses in doing full down autos from varying positions and
>>also
>>demonstrates stretching and shortening the auto to reach a good spot. He
>>also demonstrates a throttle chop with the collective held showing how
>>long
>>it takes the rotor to decay. While a bit pricey as videos go ($90) it is
>>well worth the price and a must have if you are a Mosquito owner or
>>considering a Mosquito or just want to walk thru some autos while in your
>>easy chair.
>>John can be reached at
>>Stu
>>
> I wish someone would create a small home built that'd lift us bigger
> (6'2", 230lbs) guys and still carry reasonable fuel...

Kevin: You are not to far from the Legal Ultralite empty weight. I doubt if
you will see one that can lift double its empty weight and still not cost a
bundle. There are arguments about intermeshing rotors being able to pick up
quite a load but the cost and complexity goes up. Extreme dieting may be
the only way; while certainly less desirable, the bang for the buck seems to
be there. I say that and I've been trying to drop from 186 to 170 for
awhile.

Stu

Stu

[Stuart & Kathryn Fields]

"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" <skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net> wrote in
message ...
> On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:05:22 -0700, "Stuart & Kathryn Fields"
> > wrote:
>
>>Kevin: You are not to far from the Legal Ultralite empty weight. I doubt
>>if
>>you will see one that can lift double its empty weight and still not cost
>>a
>>bundle. There are arguments about intermeshing rotors being able to pick
>>up
>>quite a load but the cost and complexity goes up. Extreme dieting may be
>>the only way; while certainly less desirable, the bang for the buck seems
>>to
>>be there. I say that and I've been trying to drop from 186 to 170 for
>>awhile.
>
> I can't even go the Rotorway route.. I physically don't fit in the
> cockpit of an Exec - I'm too tall in the torso..
>
> The Hummingbird 260L would work, but it's kinda pricey for a homebuilt
> at $170k for the kit sans engine. I got sit in one at Heli Expo last
> year in Orlando and there's plenty of room inside for me and the
> useful load means I could carry a couple buddies for a couple hours.
>
> Of course, I'd have to ditch the Lycoming recip engine and bolt up a
> 300-ish HP Allison turbine. :)
Kevin: The Allison project is underway. I met the guy at Sun'n Fun who is
in the process of finding the engine. Should be ahead of the R-66 with all
the time life history already verified.

Stu

[marika]

"Stuart & Kathryn Fields" > wrote in message
.. .


> Kevin: The Allison project is underway. I met the guy at Sun'n Fun who
> is in the process of finding the engine. Should be ahead of the R-66 with
> all the time life history already verified.
>


OMG! What happened? he finally started using snopes!


mk5000

"Out of control baby
Although we've both moved on to another
Still long for each other
It's wrong but eternally
I get so O.O.C. "--Mariah Carey

[Harry Skelton]

The OTHER Kevin in San Diego wrote:
> I wish someone would create a small home built that'd lift us bigger
> (6'2", 230lbs) guys and still carry reasonable fuel...

I'm not 6'2" but I am heavy (250 lbs...sigh). According to the specs,
Vortec's Ultralight version of the New Choppy can handle useful loads of
upto 360 lbs. 254lbs craft (open frame) and a nice fuel burn of 1.5
hours or so. That'd get you about 80 miles.

The non-ultralight version handles the same amount of weight, is
enclosed, and has a range of 180 miles or more. ($16,000 or so)

For the money, if you want range and a higher than normal useful load,
you might want to consider the Air Command ultralights. Rotor craft but
it does have a nice range for 5 gals.

[Stuart & Kathryn Fields]

Harry: Before you buy the new Ultralite version of Choppy, take a look at
the gross weight, 254# +360#= 614# to meet the normal rule of thumb of
10#/hp the Ultralite would need in excess of 60hp. Now the coning angle of
the blades is designed based on max gross wt and rotor rpm. Of course the
hp and rpm required are based on the lifting ability of the particular blade
airfoil and whether there is a linear twist or not. One of the things that
I have not seen at any of the 13 events that we cover each year for the past
8 years, is any ultralite helicopters other than an Ultrasport and a
Mosquito. One thing to insist on for the advertised claims: Show me a
demonstration. It is easy to produce specifications on paper and another to
actually have a flyer that meets those specifications.
My Safari weighs empty 1,000 #. It's payload capacity is 500#. If it was
easy to pickup 2,000# with the Safari, I'm sure the kit manufacturer would
do it.
Caveat Emptor
Stu Fields
Experimental Helo Magazine.


"Harry Skelton" > wrote in message
news:481289c0$0$22074$7120d902@karibu...
> The OTHER Kevin in San Diego wrote:
>> I wish someone would create a small home built that'd lift us bigger
>> (6'2", 230lbs) guys and still carry reasonable fuel...
>
> I'm not 6'2" but I am heavy (250 lbs...sigh). According to the specs,
> Vortec's Ultralight version of the New Choppy can handle useful loads of
> upto 360 lbs. 254lbs craft (open frame) and a nice fuel burn of 1.5 hours
> or so. That'd get you about 80 miles.
>
> The non-ultralight version handles the same amount of weight, is enclosed,
> and has a range of 180 miles or more. ($16,000 or so)
>
> For the money, if you want range and a higher than normal useful load, you
> might want to consider the Air Command ultralights. Rotor craft but it
> does have a nice range for 5 gals.