The Hillberg EH1-01 RotorMouse 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 ...

that was designed by Donald Gene Hillberg and produced by Hillberg Helicopters of

Fountain Valley, California Fountain Valley is a suburban city in Orange County, California. The population was 57,047 at the 2020 census. History The area encompassing Fountain Valley was originally inhabited by the Tongva people. European settlement of the area b ...

, first flying in 1993. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', pages 325 and 352. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.

Design and development

The EH1-01 RotorMouse was designed to comply with the US ''Experimental - Amateur-built'' aircraft rules. It features a single main rotor, a two-bladed tail rotor, a single-seat enclosed cockpit with 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 ...

. The acceptable power range is and the standard engine used is a Garrett AiResearch 36-55

auxiliary power unit An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115& ...

(APU). The aircraft's

semi-monocoque The term semi-monocoque or semimonocoque refers to a stressed shell structure that is similar to a true monocoque, but which derives at least some of its strength from conventional reinforcement. Semi-monocoque construction is used for, among ot ...

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

2024-T3 aluminum 2024 aluminium alloy is an aluminium alloy, with copper as the primary alloying element. It is used in applications requiring high strength to weight ratio, as well as good fatigue resistance. It is weldable only through friction welding, and has av ...

sheet. Its diameter two-bladed rotor employs a NACA 0012 airfoil. The aircraft has an empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of , located in a crash-resistant fuel cell, the payload for pilot and baggage is . The cabin width is and the aircraft mounts stub wings similar to the Bell AH-1 HueyCobra.

Operational history

By 1998 the company reported that one aircraft was completed and flying. By March 2015 one example 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 ...

. The sole one on the registry was in the name of the designer.

Variants

;EH1-01 RotorMouse :Single seat version, one completed ;EH1-02 TandemMouse :Proposed two seats-in-

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

version to resemble the Bell AH-1 HueyCobra. It was proposed to have been powered by a Solar T-62 turbine engine of .

Specifications (EH1-01 RotorMouse)

References

External links