The Enstrom F-28 and 280 are a family of small, light

piston engine A reciprocating engine, more often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more Reciprocating motion, reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a Circular motion, rotating motion. This article ...

powered

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 ...

s produced by the

Enstrom Helicopter Corporation The Enstrom Helicopter Corporation is an American helicopter aerospace manufacturer, based at the Menominee–Marinette Twin County Airport in Michigan, United States. The company was founded in 1959 by Mining engineering, mining engineer Ru ...

.Apostolo, Giorgio: ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters'', pages 64-65. Bonanza Books, New York, 1984.

Design and development

Since delivering their first helicopter shortly after

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

type certification of the F-28 model in April 1965, Enstrom helicopter has produced, , approximately 1,200 aircraft. The company produces three models, the F-28, the more aerodynamic 280 and the turbine-powered 480, each with their own variants. The F-28 and 280 both use Lycoming piston engines, virtually identical to those found in general aviation fixed-wing aircraft.

Variants

F-28

;F-28 :Initial production version, powered by Lycoming HIO-360-A1A or A1B engine. Certified April 1965. 13 built. ;F-28A :Improved version with modified gearing to increase effective power to . Certified May 1968. 316 built. ;T-28 :Experimental turbine powered variant. One Garrett AiResearch TSE 36-1 engine. ;F-28B :Experimental version of F-28 with turbocharged engine. ;F-28C :Fitted with a turbocharged Lycoming HIO-360-E1AD or HIO-360-E1BD engine. Increased gross weight and tail rotor moved from starboard to port side. Certified December 1975. 177 built. ;F-28F Falcon :Similar to F-28C with HIO-360-F1AD engine, improved turbocharger and addition of a throttle correlator. Certified December 1980. 132 built. ;F-27F-P :Police patrol version. ;

Spitfire Mark I __NOTOC__ The Spitfire Mark I was a utility helicopter built in the United States in the late 1970s and intended for series production.Taylor 1989, p.839Simpson 1998, p.234Taylor 1977, p.411 In essence, the Mark I was an Enstrom F-28 that was m ...

:A turbine powered derivative powered by

Allison 250 The Allison Model 250, now known as the Rolls-Royce M250, (US military designations T63 and T703) is a highly successful turboshaft engine family, originally developed by the Allison Engine Company in the early 1960s. The Model 250 has been pro ...

-C20B engine, built by Spitfire Helicopters Inc. One built. ; Spitfire Mark II Tigershark :Further stretched and more powerful derivative of Spitfire I. One built.A turbine powered conversion by Spitfire Helicopters Inc.

280

;280 Shark :Streamlined fuselage shape, powered by HIO-360-C1A or HIO-360-C1B engine. Certified September 1974. 21 built. ;280C Shark :Shark with turbocharged engine and revised tail rotor of F-28C. Aerodynamically refined version of the F28C-2, equipped with an upgraded engine, fitted with a turbocharger. Certified December 1975. 6 built. ;280L Hawk :Stretched cabin four-seat version, with HIO-360-F1AD engine, first flying in December 1968. Two built. Development halted due to lack of funds. ;280F :Similar to 280C with modifications of F-28F. Certified December 1980. 132 built as of 1998 ;280FX :Based on the 280F with landing gear fairings, redesigned air intakes on top of the cabin and a redesigned and relocated horizontal stabilizer with vertical end plates. Certified in January 1985. 80 built as of 1998.

Operators

Civil operators

The aircraft is operated by a large number of small commercial and

flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

operators, most operating one or two aircraft.

Military and government operators

;

Chilean Army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

; *

Colombian Air Force The Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC, ) is the air force of the Republic of Colombia. The Colombian Aerospace Force is one of the three institutions of the Military Forces of Colombia charged, according to the 1991 Constitution, with working to exe ...

- 12 F-28F trainers delivered 1994. ; *

Peruvian Air Force The Peruvian Air Force (, FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of aerial warfare, air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding i ...

Peruvian Army The Peruvian Army (, abbreviated EP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding the independence, sovereignty and integrity of national territory on land through military force. Additional missions include assistance in s ...

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy (, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include ...

; * Pasadena Police Department ; *

Venezuelan Air Force Bolivarian Military Aviation of Venezuela (), is a professional armed body designed to defend Venezuela's sovereignty and airspace. It is a service component of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Etymology The organization is al ...

Accidents and incidents

* On 22 October 1986, an Enstrom F-28F Falcon suffered a mechanical failure at an altitude of over

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

due to the installation of an improper

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...

, struck a fence, and crashed into the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

during a traffic report by WNBC 660 AM radio flying traffic reporter

Jane Dornacker Jane Carroll Dornacker (October 1, 1947 – October 22, 1986) was an American rock musician, comedian and traffic reporter. She gained fame as an associate songwriter for the San Francisco rock band The Tubes; she also led her own band, Leila ...

. The broadcast captured her shouting "Hit the water! Hit the water! Hit the water!" as the helicopter went down. The pilot survived with serious injuries, but Dornacker died on the way to the hospital. * On 26 January 2015, an Enstrom 280FX crashed at

Erie, Colorado The Town of Erie is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town, Home Rule Town located in Weld County, Colorado, Weld and Boulder County, Colorado, Boulder List of counties in Colorado, counties, Colorado, United States. The town popula ...

, following the separation of its main rotor blades, killing both the student and instructor on board. The accident was caused by a failure of the main rotor spindle as a result of a crack. The accident resulted in the issuance of an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) by the United States

on 12 February 2015 grounding more than 300 helicopters. The AD requires a

magnetic particle inspection file:Wet magnetic particle testing on a pipeline.jpg, A technician performs MPI on a pipeline transport, pipeline to check for stress corrosion cracking using what is known as the "black on white" method. No indications of cracking appear in this ...

to detect cracks in the main rotor spindle in aircraft with more than 5,000 hours and requires replacing the spindle if cracked. * On 1 December 2023 an Enstrom 280FX crashed into a car on a Madrid motorway, leaving three people injured.

Specifications (F28F)

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Enstrom Piston F-28F & 280FX page

Enstrom page on The Helicopter History site
{{Enstrom aircraft Enstrom aircraft 1960s United States civil utility aircraft 1960s United States helicopters Single-engined piston helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1965