The Vortech Skylark is an American

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 ...

produced by

Vortech Vortech, Inc. is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Fallston, Maryland. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of rotorcraft in the form of plans and kits for amateur construction. Some of their designs also comply with ...

Fallston, Maryland Fallston is a census-designated place (CDP) in Harford County, Maryland, United States. The population was 8,958 at the 2010 census, up from 8,427 in 2000. Fallston is a semi-rural community consisting mostly of farms and suburban-like develop ...

. The aircraft is supplied in the form of plans for amateur construction. Vortech also supplies rotor blades for the design.Downey, Julia: ''2005 Trikes 'Chutes and Rotorcraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 22, Number 2, February 2005, page 60. Belvoir Publications. Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', pages 215. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 334. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.

Design and development

The Skylark was designed to comply with the US ''Experimental - Amateur-built'' aircraft rules. It features a single main rotor, a single-seat open cockpit without a windshield, skid-type

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

and a twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, in-line

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

carbureted A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...

Hirth 3503 The Hirth 3502 and 3503 are a family of liquid-cooled, in-line twin-cylinder, two-stroke, carbureted aircraft engines, with optional fuel injection, designed for use on ultralight aircraft and small homebuilts. It is manufactured by Hirth of ...

aircraft engine. The twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, in-line two-stroke,

Rotax 582 The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-certified aircraft operating ...

has also been used. A cockpit enclosure was optional. 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 aircraf ...

is made from welded 4130 steel tubing, with an

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

tail boom. Its diameter two-bladed rotor employs a NACA 0012 airfoil. The main transmission is of belt and chain type, whileteh tail rotor is driven by a long shaft. The control system consists of conventional helicopters controls. The aircraft has an empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for pilot and baggage is . The manufacturer estimates the construction time as 300 hours.

Operational history

By 2005 the company reported that 5 were completed and flying. By January 2015 no examples were registered in the United States with the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

, although one had been registered at one time.

Specifications (Skylark)

References

External links

* {{Vortech aircraft

Skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

1980s United States sport aircraft 1980s United States helicopters Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined piston helicopters

Design and development

Operational history

Specifications (Skylark)

See also

References

External links