Rotec Engineering was an American

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 industry. ...

, founded in 1977 by William Adaska and located in

Duncanville, Texas Duncanville is a city in southwest Dallas County, Texas, in the United States. Duncanville's population was 40,706 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes Duncanville, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, and Lancaster ...

. Adaska had worked as an

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

for

Bell Helicopter Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, as well as commercial helicopters in M ...

and the French helicopter manufacturer,

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale (), sometimes styled Aerospatiale, was a French state-owned aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société nationale industrielle aérospatiale ( ...

prior to starting Rotec.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, pages E-30 - E-31. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Rotec Engineering specialized in the design and manufacture of

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

in the form of kits for amateur construction and ready-to-fly 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 requ ...

rules. The company's most successful line was the

Rotec Rally The Rotec Rally is a family of American ultralight aircraft that was designed by Bill Adaska in 1977 and produced by Rotec Engineering of Duncanville, Texas. Adaska had been an aeronautical engineer at Bell Helicopter and the French helicopter ma ...

that was designed by Adaska as a

motor glider A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flight ...

in 1977 and praised by reviewers for its sound engineering and low price. The Rally series was produced in several models in large numbers, including the Rally 2 in 1979, 2B, the Rally 3 two place in 1981 and the

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

Rally Sport in January 1983. The design was continually improved through the early 1980s. The Rally line established the company one of the most successful ultralight manufacturing concerns of that period. The company offered a "buy five get one free" plan, whereby purchasers could order five aircraft, four for their friends and get their own aircraft at no cost. The follow-on Rotec Panther was initially aimed at the US Experimental - Amateur-built category, but later lightened by installing a smaller

cockpit fairing An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...

to give it an empty weight of , allowing it to be flown as a US FAR 103 ultralight. The company seems to have gone out of business after the 1984 introduction of the Panther.

Aircraft

References

{{Rotec Engineering aircraft Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States Ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft