Ultralight helicopters

One cannot watch a bird in flight and not wish to join it and soar among the clouds. Mankind has had a love of the sky at least as long as his love of the ocean. While not everyone takes that love to the desire to fly privately, those that do sometimes look to helicopters as a method to do so. However, with the cost of even a used helicopter running two to six million dollars, not to mention maintenance costs, only the wealthy can expect to make this dream a reality.

That is not to say that means others cannot experience this thrill.  A more affordable option for the helicopter enthusiast is an ultralight helicopter.  By the US FAA’s definition, a powered ultralight is a single seat aircraft that holds no more than five gallons of fuel, weights no more than 254 pounds and goes no faster than 64 mph.  Aircraft that meet these criteria can be flown without a license or training – but it stands to reason that doing so might not be a great idea! Generally speaking, most ultralight helicopters do not fall into this classification, so you need to be sure of what you are planning to purchase or build to determine if you must have training and/or a license. The fines for violating the operating limitations are not something you want to have to deal with.

One ultralight helicopter currently available that claims to meet the FAA requirements is the Mosquito XE Helicopter. The kit is currently priced at $32,000 although there are additional options you can add to that price, as well as a $2,000 discount if you prove you have obtained helicopter training.

A search online can yield you information on a ultralight helicopter for sale or for the DIY you can find free ultralight helicopter plans and build your own.  There are various routes you can go if you wish to build a one or two seat ultralight helicopter.  You can look into making a G1 ultralight helicopter which is a very tiny one person craft. This is at the lowest end of cheap ultralight helicopters.  Other options include the plans and some kits offered by Vortech, Inc.:

• One-Seat Options
  • Experimental Skylark
  • Experimental Scorpion-I
  • Experimental Hot Rod Helicopter
  • Choppy Helicopter
  • Kestral Helicopter
  • Two-Seat Options
    • Experimental CA-105F
    • Experimental Commuter Helicopter
    • Experimental Scorpion-II
    • Scorpion-133

Additionally, Raven RotorCraft Inc. is working on an aircraft. The Raven ultralight helicopter contender is their single-seat ultralight tractor gyroplane although they are looking forward to introducing a new rotor-plane.

Another source to find ultralight helicopters is Air Command International located in Texas.  They also list training centers on their website at http://www.aircommand.com/training.php . A couple models shown on their site are:

• Air Command Tamdem EJ22 for just under $30,000
• Air Command Tandem Model 912 priced over $65,000

While most ultralight helicopters on the market do not yet meet FAA restrictions, as lighter construction materials become available there will be more options.  Although at first these choices will be more costly than previous options they will still be far below the whopping price tag of a regular helicopter. So, if your dream is to fly a helicopter it just might be more affordable than you think!

This entry was posted on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 6:05 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.