The Amax Eagle TT is an Australian
autogyro
An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...
that was designed and produced by
Amax Engineering
Amax Engineering was an Australian aircraft manufacturer based in Donvale, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. When it was in business, the company specialized in the design and manufacture of kit aircraft for amateur construction. The company d ...
of
Donvale, Victoria
Donvale is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area.
It is a leafy and peaceful suburb, with the side west of Springvale Road is des ...
, introduced in the 1990s. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for
amateur construction.
[Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 318. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ]
The "TT" designation indicates "Tall Tail". The aircraft has higher landing gear, allowing the engine to be placed on the vertical
center of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the distributed mass sums to zero. Thi ...
, which eliminates pitch changes with throttle application.
Design and development
The Eagle TT was derived from the low-landing gear equipped
Amax Eagle
The Amax Eagle is an Australian autogyro that was designed and produced by Amax Engineering of Donvale, Victoria, introduced in the early 1990s. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur constru ...
and was designed to comply with amateur-built aircraft rules. It features a single main rotor, a single-seat open cockpit without a windshield,
tricycle landing gear
Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...
without
wheel pants
An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...
and a four-cylinder, liquid-cooled,
four-stroke
A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...
, single-ignition
Subaru EA81
The Subaru EA engine is a series of automobile internal combustion engines manufactured by Subaru, a division of Fuji Heavy Industries. All EA series engines are of a flat-4 design, and have always been water cooled.
Design and history
Prior t ...
automotive engine
, there were a wide variety of propulsion systems available or potentially available for automobiles and other vehicles. Options included internal combustion engines fueled by petrol, diesel, propane, or natural gas; hybrid vehicles, plug-in hy ...
in
pusher configuration
In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...
.
The aircraft
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
is made from welded
4130 steel
41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common ...
tubing with some aluminum parts. Its two-bladed rotor has a diameter of . The aircraft has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for the pilot and baggage is .
The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off with a engine is and the landing roll is .
The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied kit as 100 hours.
Specifications (Eagle TT)
See also
*
List of rotorcraft
This is a list of rotorcraft, including helicopters, autogyros, rotor kites and convertiplanes.
A
A-B Helicopters
* A-B Helicopters A/W 95
American Aircraft International
* AAI Penetrator
Aero
* Aero HC-2 Heli Baby
Aero-Astra ...
References
{{Amax Engineering aircraft
Eagle TT
1990s Australian sport aircraft
1990s Australian ultralight aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Single-engined pusher autogyros