The Avimech Dragonfly DF-1 is an American

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

produced by Avimech International Aircraft, Inc. of

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. Originally developed in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, the aircraft is supplied complete and ready-to-fly.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 204. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Design and development

The DF-1 was designed to comply with the US

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft exist outside of the United States. In most countries, ultralights are a class of aircraft. A completely different legal concept is valid within the USA. The FAA makes explicitly clear that ultralight vehicles are not air ...

aircraft rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . It features a single main rotor and tail 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 taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

with ground handling wheels. The rotor is driven by

tip jet A tip jet is a jet nozzle at the tip of some helicopter rotor blades, used to spin the rotor, much like a Catherine wheel firework. Tip jets replace the normal shaft drive and have the advantage of placing no torque on the airframe, thus not re ...

s fueled by

hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscosity, viscous than Properties of water, water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usua ...

, which emits only water vapour and oxygen as exhaust products. The tail rotor is fitted only for directional control as it is not required to counteract torque, as the tip jet system does not require torque compensation. The aircraft

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

is made from steel and

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

tubing. Its two-bladed rotor has a diameter of . The aircraft has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of .

Specifications (DF-1)

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.avimech.com/dragonfly-df1
Video of DF-1 flight
DF-1 2010s United States sport aircraft 2010s United States ultralight aircraft 2010s United States civil utility aircraft 2010s United States helicopters Tipjet-powered helicopters

Design and development

Specifications (DF-1)

See also

References

External links