The Vortech Sparrow 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 produced by
Vortech of
Fallston, Maryland
Fallston is a census-designated place (CDP) in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland, United States. The population was 8,958 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 8,427 in 2000. Fallston is a semi-rural community c ...
. When it was available the aircraft was supplied in the form of plans for
amateur construction. Vortech also supplied rotor blades and some key parts for the design.
[Downey, Julia: ''2005 Trikes 'Chutes and Rotorcraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 22, Number 2, February 2005, page 60. Belvoir Publications. ]
Available in 2005, by January 2015 the aircraft was no longer listed on the Vortech website.
Design and development
The Vortech Sparrow 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 without a windshield,
tricycle landing gear
Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...
, plus a tail
caster
A caster (or castor) is an undriven wheel that is designed to be attached to the bottom of a larger object (the "vehicle") to enable that object to be moved.
Casters are used in numerous applications, including shopping carts, office chairs, t ...
. The acceptable power range is . 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 of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...
,
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, ...
Rotax 503
The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke engine, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pp. 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1 ...
engine mounted in
pusher configuration
In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, wh ...
.
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 metal 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 as 150 hours.
Operational history
By 1998 the company reported that more than six kits had been sold, were completed and flying.
Specifications (Sparrow)
See also
*
List of rotorcraft
This is a list of rotorcraft, including helicopters, autogyros, rotor kites and convertiplanes.
A
A-B Helicopters
* A-B Helicopters A/W 95
Aero
*Aero HC-2 Heli Baby
Aero-Astra
* Aero-Astra Okhotnik 1 Aero Eli Serviza
* Aero E ...
References
{{Vortech aircraft
Sparrow
1990s United States sport aircraft
1990s United States civil utility aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Single-engined pusher autogyros