For my 100th post here I decided to post the photo of a nice looking little bird my friend obtained several years ago.
The registration 9A-HJG applied in the meantime!
The registration 9A-HJG applied in the meantime!
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Ah yes the Rotorway!
The thing which puts me off them is the noise.
Someone was flying one around Italy some years back and you could hear the thing screeching away for about 10 mins before it came into view. It sounded like the engine was constantly running at max rpm .. and boy .. what a racket it made!
Anyway .. its probably a fine little helicopter otherwise.
Here's one with a 'groovy' colour scheme:
Rotorway Exec RW152 N418JD as seen at Oshkosh in Wisconsin on 30th July 2008 (Photo: Ron Baak)
This aircraft belonging to the American comedian Jeff Dunham. -
Arthur Gemperle Turbocharged Rotorway Load Test
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Rotorway I-7896 in ItaliaComment
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I built 3 Rotorway kits in total. My first build was an Exec162F registered as F-PXDT, then another Exec162F for a friend registered as F-POSH and my last one was a A600 Talon registered as OO-153. All still airworthy and flying today.
The Rotorway Talon A600 has now a very nice option, namely the turbo. It is reported to be a completely different aircraft (has about 170hp now), with lots of power and the engine noise is also gone as it passes through the turbo and the engine rpm went down from 4250 rpm to 3900 rpm.Comment
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Well done on completing these builds. I am sure they were put together with perfection!
The noise reduction will be most welcome I am sure.
See here for standard vs. muffler exhaust start noise levels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y270qR-BS9M
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The same Syton (I-7896) breaking the E-1a category (turbine) altitude record in 2015:
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Arthur Gemperle Demonstrates the Effectiveness of the Turbocharged Rotorway
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Talon std injection engine runs at 4250 rpm, turbo version spins at 3900 rpm and has a dramatic noise decrease.
R22 engine spins at 2650 rpm I think it was. (@ 104% RRPM) -
I agree with your points, particularly not building if you can get something at a reasonable price. The forerunner, the Exec was quite popular in the UK for a while but not too many are airworthy at present. There have been others, remember the Revolution Mini 500, Masquito M80.
Although not going to be a homebuild, the one to watch in the future is the Hill HX50 who's development team say it will be a game changer and knock Robinson into touch ! -
Ciao Elipix! I've seen photos of the Mini 500 and M80 but that's about all. My knowledge and exposure to piston helicopters is very limited. I've got about 15 hours on a Hughes 300 .. and that's it.
I cannot find anything about the 'HX50' except a link to a website I no longer visit. Do you have any further info?
I wanted to share with you that I'm not surprised that we've seen a rise in the number of autogyros. For years and years and years I wondered when we were ever going to see anything beyond Ken Wallis' single (occasionally dual) open-cockpit 'bullets' - and then finally they came. I believe autogyros offer an appealing alternative (between fixed-wing and rotary) but at a substantially reduced cost to standard rotary. I believe the key to the future of autogyros (besides continuing technological improvements) is the development of uncontrolled 'gyro strips' ie. mini airstrips which need not take up much space but which would offer a network of easy-to-access destinations for gyro flyers.
XB, thank you for your feedback.
Do you agree with the observations in the video above about the difference between supercharged and turbocharged, and .. if turbocharged is so much better, then why do people bother with supercharged?
Also, what potential do you see in the future for piston-engine helicopters?
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