Redback Aviation is an Australian

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology indust ...

based in

Hoppers Crossing, Victoria Hoppers Crossing is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Hoppers Crossing recorded a population of 37,216 at the 2021 cens ...

. The company is engaged in the development of kit and plans-built

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 ...

designs for amateur construction.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 193. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X

History

The company was formed to design plans and supply kits for home-built helicopters, initially proposing two designs, which were to be developed concurrently. The

Buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

is a minimalist, open frame, single seat

of limited performance, powered by a Suzuki

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 directi ...

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 ...

of 56 kW (75 hp). Only one prototype was completed and this was later sold. The company then turned its attention to designing a more capable helicopter, to be designated the Redback Aviation Spider. By 2014 design work on the Spider was proceeding slowly as outside investment was not sought and resources were limited. Redback's focus is on traditional methods and where possible, commercial off-the-shelf components, to save money and decrease development time, as well as builder construction time. The company states its design aims as "low maintenance (by comparison to the traditional Rotorway Exec and Scorpion designs), improved safety, and high performance". The company is named after the venomous

Redback spider The redback spider (''Latrodectus hasselti''), also known as the Australian black widow, is a species of highly venomous spider believed to originate in South Australia or adjacent Western Australian deserts, but now found throughout Australi ...

, which is indigenous to Australia.

Aircraft

References

External links

* {{Redback aircraft Aircraft manufacturers of Australia Helicopters Homebuilt aircraft Manufacturing companies based in Melbourne