The A-B Helicopters A/W 95 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
A-B Helicopters in the form of plans for
amateur construction.
[Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 189. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X]
By 2012 the A-B Helicopters website had been taken down and plans are no longer available.
The design was developed into the
Vortech A/W 95 and plans for that version remain available from
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 ...
.
[Downey, Julia: ''2005 Trikes 'Chutes and Rotorcraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 22, Number 2, February 2005, page 60. Belvoir Publications. ]
Design and development
The A/W 95 is a development of the
Adams-Wilson Choppy, which the A/W designation acknowledges. The A/W 95 was designed to comply with the US ''Experimental Amateur-built'' rules, since the empty weight is too heavy for the
FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles
Ultralight aircraft in the United States are much smaller and lighter than ultralight aircraft as defined by all other countries.
In the United States, ultralights are described as "ultralight vehicles" and not as aircraft. They are not req ...
rules, which stipulates a maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . It features a single main rotor, a single-seat open cockpit without a windshield, skid
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, air-cooled,
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 ...
,
dual-ignition
Dual Ignition is a system for spark-ignition engines, whereby critical ignition components, such as spark plugs and magnetos, are duplicated. Dual ignition is most commonly employed on aero engines,Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, ...
Rotax 503
The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995.
As of 2011 the Rot ...
engine.
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 an open frame made from bolted-together and gusseted
aluminum
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. It ha ...
tubing. Its diameter two-bladed extruded aluminum rotor has a chord of and employs a symmetrical
airfoil. The transmission is constructed from a belt and chain mechanism. With its standard empty weight of and a gross weight of , the useful load is . Fuel tank capacity is , rendering a full-fuel payload of .
While the A/W 95 is primarily plans-built, during the time that A-B Helicopters was in business some pre-fabricated parts were available.
Operational history
By January 2013 two examples had been
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 ...
.
Specifications (A/W 95)
See also
*
Showers Skytwister Choppy
*
Vortech A/W 95
References
External links
Photo of an A/W 95 in flight
{{DEFAULTSORT:A-B Helicopters A W 95
1990s United States sport aircraft
1990s United States helicopters
Homebuilt aircraft
Single-engined piston helicopters
AW95