The Vertical Hummingbird is an American

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...

, produced by

Vertical Aviation Technologies Vertical is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Vertical direction, the direction aligned with the direction of the force of gravity, up or down * Vertical (angles), a pair of angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting ...

Sanford, Florida Sanford is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Seminole County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 61,051. Known as the "Historic Waterfront Gateway City", Sanford sits on the southern shore ...

that was introduced in 1991. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12'', page 194. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011.

Design and development

The Hummingbird is a development of the

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

Sikorsky S-52 The Sikorsky S-52 is a utility helicopter developed by Sikorsky Aircraft in the late 1940s. It was used by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.Donald 1997, p. 840. The S-52 was the first US helicopter with all-metal rotor blades. Initia ...

that first flew in 1947, adapted to kit form. The aircraft features a single main rotor, a four-seat enclosed cabin, quadracycle

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Marti ...

and an option for skids. The prototype was converted by Vertical Aviation Technologies from a

Sikorsky S-52-3 The Sikorsky S-52 is a utility helicopter developed by Sikorsky Aircraft in the late 1940s. It was used by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.Donald 1997, p. 840. The S-52 was the first US helicopter with all-metal rotor blades. Ini ...

. The Hummingbird

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 riveted

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 ...

sheet. The nose section is adapted from the

Bell 206 The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progr ...

. Its diameter fully articulated three-bladed main rotor employs a NACA 0015

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or tur ...

. The two-bladed tail rotor has a diameter of . The aircraft has an empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload is .

Variants

;VAT S-52-3:Prototype of the Hummingbird family, converted from an original

. ;Hummingbird 260L :Version powered by a six cylinder, air-cooled,

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either direct ...

dual-ignition Dual Ignition is a system for spark-ignition engines, whereby critical ignition components, such as spark plugs and magnetos, are duplicated. Dual ignition is most commonly employed on aero engines,Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, ...

Lycoming IVO-435 engine ;Hummingbird 300LS :Version powered by an eight cylinder, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, single-ignition General Motors LS7 V-8 automotive conversion engine, derated to ;Hummingbird 300L :Version powered by a six cylinder, air-cooled,

fuel injected Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All com ...

IO-540 derated to

Specifications (Hummingbird 300L)

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://vertical-aviation.com/ 1990s United States sport aircraft 1990s United States helicopters Homebuilt aircraft

Hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics ar ...

Single-engined piston helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1991