The LCA LH 212 Delta is a two-seat

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

piston engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

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 ...

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

first flown in 2010.

Design and development

Though strong similarities between the Delta and another Italian helicopter, the 1989

DF Helicopters DF334 The DF Helicopters DF334 is a two-seat, single-engine light utility helicopter in development by Dragon Fly Helicopters in Northern Italy. The DF 334 is a development of the Dragon Fly 333, developed by archaeologists and filmmakers Angelo ...

, have been noted, it is not clear if there are direct relationships between either the machines or their makers. The Delta made its first flight after eight years of development. The Delta has a standard pod and boom layout, the latter high set, slender and braced with a narrow angle V-form

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. Human anatomy Part of the functionality o ...

pair to its halfway point from bottom of the pod. It has a short span

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...

with small endplate

fins A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

raised above the boom on a swept, high aspect ratio

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

, forming a

T-tail A T-tail is an empennage configuration in which the tailplane is mounted to the top of the fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs from the standard configuration in which the tailplane is ...

. The

tail rotor The tail rotor is a smaller rotor mounted vertically or near-vertically at the tail of a traditional single-rotor helicopter, where it rotates to generate a propeller-like horizontal thrust in the same direction as the main rotor's rotation. The ...

, mounted on the

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...

side of the boom, has its two blades protected from ground strikes by a long, curved tubular bumper. The pod seats two side-by-side behind a full clear forward transparency. Its skin is

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over a

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tube frame. Tandem controls are fitted, with two sets of anti-torque pedals and a T-shaped cyclic control centrally mounted on a console; the single collective pitch lever is placed between the seats. A governor sets the throttle in the absence of pilot input and trim is applied electrically. Small baggage can be stored in under seat lockers. Cabin access is through forward hinged doors in each side. A

Rotax 914 The Rotax 914 is a turbo-charged, four-stroke, four-cylinder, horizontally opposed aircraft engine with air-cooled cylinders and water-cooled cylinder heads. It is designed and built by the Austrian company BRP-Powertrain, owned by Bombardier R ...

turbocharged, liquid cooled,

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, ...

with narrow rectangular cheek

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

s is mounted behind the seats and partly exposed at the rear, driving a two blade main

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 ...

. The helicopter lands on skids, transversely braced by a pair of airfoil section struts and positioned below the pod on two pairs of similar outward leaning struts, producing a skid track of .

Operational history

The first flight was in 2010 and marketing began in September 2011 at the

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international ultra light show. A year later eleven flyaway examples had been built. A kit build version is planned.

Specifications

References

{{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation 2010s Italian helicopters Single-engined piston helicopters

Design and development

Operational history

Specifications

See also

References