Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Two-seat light helicopter

Power Plant:

One 112 kw (150 hp) Rotorway RI 162F four-cylinder horizontally-opposed liquid-cooled engine

Specifications:

History:

B J Schramm has been involved in the designing and marketing of both ready-to-fly and pre-fabricated components for light helicopters since the 1960s.  One was a single-seat helicopter called the Javelin. One of his more recent designs has been the Eagle Research and Development Helicycle compound helicopter with two stub wings and a 7.46 kw (10 hp) [100 cc] McCulloch two-stroke engine mounted on each stub wing.

Initially the Company tried a number of power plants for its helicopter design, including Mercury, Evinrude and Volkswagen, and eventually British born John Netherwood obtained the assets of the company, moved to Arizona and formed RotorWay International of Chandler, to market plans and components for amateur construction of a light helicopter known as the Scorpion, which was described by the manufacturer as a production version of the Javelin. Later still the Scorpion TOO appeared, later called the Scorpion 133, and in 1980 a new design called the Executive appeared, this being very popular, with over 1,000 kits sold and over 650 aircraft completed.

Further development led to the construction of a power plant, the 108 kw (145 hp) RotorWay RW-145 four-cylinder four-stroke liquid-cooled engine which was also produced by the Company and which drove a two-blade semi-rigid main rotor incorporating the Schramm tractable control rotor system. This unit was later replaced by the RotorWay RI 162F (162 cub in) liquid-cooled electronic fuel-injected engine which weighed 86 kg (190 lb). This was a Porsche derived design of 2660 cc capacity and produced 114 kw (152 hp).  Fuel capacity is 62 litres (13.6 Imp gals).

All Executive models have what is described as a ‘hi-lift blade system’ with symmetrical aerofoil rotor blades, these being said to provide an improvement in power-off auto-rotation. The Executive has been produced in two models, the Exec 90 and the Exec 162F. They are available with Full Lotus floats for operations from water.  Three years after introducing the 162F RotorWay announced it had produced its 300th kit of this model, the Company also indicating a new market had emerged in Russia for the type, and 50 examples had been sent to a company called KRUG, examples being supplied in Russia to police, agriculture, forestry, and oil and gas concerns. As the Russian examples have specific navigation equipment they are known as the Exec 162E.  By 1998 RotorWay had become an employee-owned company.

It is believed only one example of the Scorpion 133 was imported to this region but in more recent times the Executive 162F has proved very popular. More than 15 examples of the Executive 90 and Express 90 have been registered in Australia. More than 60 examples of the Executive 162F and 162FA have been completed. Seven appear on the New Zealand Register.  First of the Executive162F kits completed in Australia was VH-RHK (c/n Q234).  As an amateur-constructed aircraft the type cannot be employed on commercial activities but a number have been used by farmers for aerial mustering and stock management.

In Poland the type has received a Primary Category Licence and can be used for recreational or commercial purposes. Production continued at seven kits per month. In March 2007 at Heli-Expo in Orlando, Florida, the CEO of RotorWay International stated with more than 900 RotorWay helicopters flying, and a comprehensive modernisation and technical upgrade programme underway, the Company was working towards a fully certified model to be produced at its facility in South Africa to JAR standards.

At the EAA AirVenture event at Oshkosh, Wisconsin in July 2007 RotorWay International unveiled a new model, the A600 Talon, this featuring a wider and taller fuselage, an improved double redundant FADEC, a new drive system with hydraulic tensioning on the belts, and a glass cockpit as standard, this model becoming available in kit form in October 2007.  First example of this model registered became VH-WET (c/n TOO183) and further examples have been completed both in New Zealand and Australia.