The Raven Explorer I is an American

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. ...

that was designed and produced by

Raven Rotorcraft Raven Rotorcraft (also called Raven Redrives and Raven Rotorcraft & Redrives, Inc.) is an American aircraft manufacturer based in El Prado, New Mexico and formerly of Boulder Colorado. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of au ...

Boulder Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Colorad ...

and later

El Prado, New Mexico El Prado is an unincorporated suburb on the north side of Taos, in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. It is generally bounded on the south by the town of Taos, to the east by Taos Pueblo lands, to the north by Arroyo Seco and Arroyo Ho ...

, 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 327. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. The Explorer I is no longer available as the company has moved to develop the two-seat Raven Rotor-Plane.

Design and development

The Explorer I was designed as a low-cost utilitarian autogyro. It complies with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles 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 without a windshield and

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Ter ...

. A cockpit fairing was a factory option. The acceptable power range is and 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 t ...

, 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, 200 ...

engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

. The cabin width is . 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 aircraft t ...

is made from a combination of welded 4130 steel tube and 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 h ...

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 . With full fuel of the payload for the pilot and baggage is . 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 100 hours.

Specifications (Explorer I)

References

External links

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Photo of a Raven Explorer I
{{Raven Rotorcraft aircraft Explorer I 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

Specifications (Explorer I)

See also

References

External links