The Vortech 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 ...

that was designed by Adams-Wilson as the Adams-Wilson Choppy and now produced in an improved version 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 and other key parts for the design.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 was designed to comply with the US ''Experimental - Amateur-built'' aircraft rules, but if built lightly enough may qualify as an ultralight aircraft, under the US

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, with that category's maximum empty weight restriction of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . The A/W 95 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 can accept engines of . The standard engine used is the 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 made from bolted-together

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 two-bladed main rotor has a diameter of . 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 250 hours.

Operational history

By 2005 the company reported that six aircraft were completed and flying. By January 2015 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 ...

, although a total of three had been registered at one time.

Specifications (A/W 95)

References

External links

* {{Vortech aircraft A W 95 1990s United States sport aircraft 1990s United States helicopters Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined piston helicopters

Design and development

Operational history

Specifications (A/W 95)

See also

References

External links