The Little Wing Roto-Pup is an American

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), gyroscope, gyrocopter or gyroplane, is a class of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. A gyroplane "means a rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine-d ...

that was designed and produced by

Little Wing Autogyros, Inc. Little Wing Autogyros, Inc. is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Mayflower, Arkansas and founded by Ron Herron. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of autogyros in the form of plans and kits for Homebuilt aircraft, a ...

of Mayflower, Arkansas, introduced in the 1990s. 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'', page 326. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page F-5. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001.

Design and development

The Roto-Pup 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 ...

rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . It features a single main rotor, a single-seat open cockpit with a windshield and

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

without

wheel pants 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. ...

. The acceptable power range is and the standard engine used is a 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 of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...

, single-ignition

2si 460 The 2si 460 is a family of in-line twin-cylinder, two-stroke, single ignition, aircraft engines that were designed for ultralight aircraft.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-2 Cybair Limited Publishing, 20 ...

engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, a tractor configuration is a propeller-driven fixed-wing aircraft with its engine mounted with the propeller in front, so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. This is the usual configuration; the pusher configuration ...

. 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 welded

4130 steel 41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common va ...

tubing and is based on the Preceptor Ultra Pup

airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aeros ...

. The airframe may be covered with

dope Dope may refer to: Chemistry Biochemistry * Dope, a slang word for a euphoria-producing drug, particularly: ** Cocaine ** Cannabis (drug) ** Heroin ** Opioid * DOPE, or 1,2-Dioleoyl-''sn''-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine, a phospholipid * Discret ...

and

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

or left uncovered. To meet the FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles empty weight, the frame is required to be left uncovered, but this does not affect aircraft handling. The cockpit width is . The Roto-Pup's 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 . With full fuel of the payload for the pilot and baggage is . The aircraft uses an unusual control system, common to all the Little Wing Autogyros and designed by David Kay in the early 1930s. It uses a mast that is fixed fore-and-aft, but which pivots laterally for banking the aircraft. Longitudinal control is achieved by an

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

and

horizontal stabilizer A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lifting surface located on the tail ( empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplan ...

system, designed to eliminate power-induced bunting "push-over" accidents. The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off with a engine is and the landing roll is . The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied kit as 200 hours.

Operational history

By 1998 the company reported that 13 kits had been sold and three aircraft were completed and flying.

Specifications (Roto-Pup)

References

{{Little Wing Autogyro aircraft Roto-Pup 1990s United States sport aircraft 1990s United States ultralight aircraft 1990s United States civil utility aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined tractor autogyros

Design and development

Operational history

Specifications (Roto-Pup)

See also

References