The AAI SparrowHawk is an American two-seat pusher

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

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 ...

, available in kit form for amateur construction.

Design and development

AAI (American Autogyros Inc) was formed as a division of

Groen Brothers Aviation Skyworks Global, formerly Groen Brothers Aviation, Inc. and then Groen Aeronautics Corporation, is an American autogyro research and development company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company was founded in 1986 by David Groen and his lat ...

(GBA) late in 2002, with the initial task of improving stability in existing autogyros. After a series of such modifications they decided to develop their own aircraft and a proof-of-concept machine first flew in February 2003. This was based around the pod of an

RAF 2000 The RAF 2000 is a two-seat kit built autogyro that was designed by Bernard J. Haseloh. Kits were first manufactured by Rotary Air Force Marketing Inc. in Canada. The marketing and manufacturing rights were sold to the Mocke Family in Upington, ...

autogyro but had a different tail design. The first AAI built production prototype flew on 25 February 2004. The SparrowHawk is a

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 ...

autogyro with an uncowled single 160 hp (120 kW)

Subaru EJ25 The Subaru EJ engine is a series of four-stroke automotive engines manufactured by Subaru. They were introduced in 1989, intended to succeed the previous Subaru EA engine. The EJ series was the mainstay of Subaru's engine line, with all engines o ...

flat-four A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...

engine mounted behind a totally enclosed

glass fibre Glass fiber ( or glass fibre) is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the inventio ...

cabin. This pod, which seats two side by side, has almost triangular sides and is entered via optional large, partially glazed doors. An aluminum keel projects aft of the pod and a vertical member fixed to it carries the engine and

rotor Rotor may refer to: Science and technology Engineering *Rotor (electric), the non-stationary part of an alternator or electric motor, operating with a stationary element so called the stator * Helicopter rotor, the rotary wing(s) of a rotorcraft ...

mast. The two-bladed rotor is of bonded metal construction. The tail unit is attached by a pair of aluminum centreline booms. The upper one is mounted directly on the vertical engine/rotor mast and is cranked near midpoint to clear the propeller tips. The lower one is attached well below the keel on an extension plate. They support a deep, wide chord, finless

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

, formed from honeycomb composites material and carrying a pair of fixed horizontal stabilizers with small endplate fins. The rudder has self-centring springs. The resulting cruciform structure is centred on the propeller thrust line for dynamical stability. The SparrowHawk has a

tricycle undercarriage 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 ge ...

with three equal-size wheels mounted off the keel, supplemented by a smaller tailwheel. Steering on the ground is by rudder pedal-controlled differential braking and a steerable nosewheel.

Operational history

The first kit built SparrowHawk flew in Russia on 23 September 2004. Dealerships were established in North, Central and South America, in India, East Asia and South America. 125 kits had been sold by mid-2008. By November 2009 there were 45 SparrowHawks on the US civil register. One SparrowHawk was on the European (west of Russia) registers in mid-2010. The Russian version is marketed by Aro-Avia. In 2008

GBA The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

announced its intention to sell off the SparrowHawk program. A press release in January 2011 announced an agreement with Guangzhou Suntrans Aviation Science and Technology Co., Ltd. to form a Cooperative Joint Venture for the manufacture of SparrowHawks in China.

Variants

;SparrowHawk I: :Initial version, discontinued. ;SparrowHawk II: :Current version (2010) with wider cabin and simpler build. ;SparrowHawk III: :Quick build version, quoted time 300 h. ;SparrowHawk APV: :Airborne patrol version, as SparrowHawk II but with doors, heating and navigation lights as standard. ;Spinus (Siskin in English): :Russian version.

Specifications (SparrowHawk II)

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , title= Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2010-11, last= Jackson , first= Paul , year=2010, publisher= IHS Jane's, location= Coulsdon, Surrey, isbn= 978-0-7106-2916-6 , page=636 {{cite book , title=European registers handbook 2010 , last= Partington , first=Dave , year=2010, publisher= Air Britain (Historians) Ltd, isbn=978-0-85130-425-0 {{cite web, url=http://www.psfmagazine.com/2011/02/groen-brothers-to-produce-gyroplane-in-china/, title=Groen in China, access-date=2011-03-30, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225074930/http://www.psfmagazine.com/2011/02/groen-brothers-to-produce-gyroplane-in-china/, archive-date=2011-02-25, url-status=dead Single-engined pusher autogyros 2000s United States sport aircraft