A/W-95 Helicopter by A-B Helicopters

One of the problems with two strokes in helicopters is the need to be
running at or near full power. Then to practice an auto you chop the
throttle and if steps aren't taken, a seizure can result. I know one guy
who has added an enrichment device for just those times when he reduces
throttle after running at full chat for awhile. In my old motorcycle days I
had a compression release installed for those long down hills so that I kept
some fuel-oil mixture going thru and also I could avoid a fouled plug at the
bottom. With an sprag clutch and no real flywheel on a helicopter the
compression release would not work.
All that said I do know of a couple of guys flying the Ultrasport with the
two stroke engine and they seem to have over come some of the two stroke
problems.
Engine power requirements can be kind of estimated quickly using the old
10#/hp For adequate helicopter performance this rule of thumb gives some
indication of how much power is going to be needed. Whether the Rotax can
supply this for a period of time is a question better asked of people who
have used them in such an environment.
"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"Stuart & Kathryn Fields" wrote

People who have flown both the R-22 and the Mosquito say the Mosquito is
much easier to fly. Now I don't have any experience or second hand info
on the AW-95.

What do you think of the power output of the little Rotax in the 95? Is
it over taxing the engine, or is it going to be able to put out that much
power without reliability problems in the long run?

Whenever I see a 2 stroke in a Heli, it reminds me too much or an earlier
helicopter no longer in business (that shall go nameless) and it concerns
me.
--
Jim in NC

Stuart & Kathryn Fields wrote:

Richard: As I recall the control forces were fairly light but such that I
felt connected to the ship and control excursions required were not large
but generated response that seemed very appropriate. This seems to be
supported by the fact that several people have learned to fly the thing
without having any helicopter instruction. Something I sure don't
recommend.


Sounds like somebody got it right.


"cavelamb himself" wrote in message
...

Stuart & Kathryn Fields wrote:


Well...Have I got a surprise for you guys. A few years ago Dwight
Junkin, who is involved with the Mosquito, asked me if I wanted to try
his Mosquito. OK I'm helicopter rated, have hovered a UH-1, Safaris,
Schweitzer 300CB, Bell 47s, and a Brantly B2B, and tried to hover a R-22.
Here was Dwights Mosquito that weighs less than 300 #. I knew it was
going to be skitterish as hell and was scared spitless as I slowly raised
the collective keeping the rpm in the green. The little bugger came
nicely off the ground and just set there like a much much heavier
helicopter. Withing 15 sec I was hover taxiing the thing around the
field. Having raced two stroke motorcycles I wasn't inclined to go
flying about though without accumulating more faith in the engine.
Bottom line? It was easier to hover than any other helicopter I've tried
with the exception of the Huey. People who have flown both the R-22 and
the Mosquito say the Mosquito is much easier to fly. Now I don't have
any experience or second hand info on the AW-95.
The Exec that I hovered felt very much like a Safari.


Just a guess, Stuart, but what were the control forces and excursions like
on the Mosquito?

Richard

"Stuart & Kathryn Fields" wrote in message
...
Richard: As I recall the control forces were fairly light but such that I
felt connected to the ship and control excursions required were not large
but generated response that seemed very appropriate. This seems to be
supported by the fact that several people have learned to fly the thing
without having any helicopter instruction. Something I sure don't
recommend.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=232hX895nU0

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

Capt: That video has been around for awhile. There were a bunch of
helicopter pilots looking at it a few years back and the consensus of
opinion was that the pilot probably had a brief flight with his instructor
the day before and the danged instructor never really let the guy have the
controls but was "On there with him" and the guy thought he was flying the
thing OK. This gave the guy the impression that it wasn't that hard so he
tried it by himself. Bad instruction technique. I had the same kind of
instruction in a Schweitzer 300CB at a fairly famous flight training school.
I never knew whether it was me or the instructor on the controls. Left
there and took training with Mike Zemlock in Chino. There was never any
doubt in my mind who just screwed up that maneuver.
"Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at wow way d0t com wrote in message
news:Y7adnR53GqRVoMHanZ2dnUVZ_veinZ2d@wideopenwest .com...
"Stuart & Kathryn Fields" wrote in message
...
Richard: As I recall the control forces were fairly light but such that
I felt connected to the ship and control excursions required were not
large but generated response that seemed very appropriate. This seems to
be supported by the fact that several people have learned to fly the
thing without having any helicopter instruction. Something I sure don't
recommend.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=232hX895nU0

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

"ed" wrote in message
...
Is the A/W-95 Helicopter by A-B Helicopters a good design for what it
is ??? I'm thinking of building it but appreciate any advise .
Thanks ED

I have wanted to build an experimental helicopter most of my life, and have
read, visited and otherwise observed the situation for many years. I should
also add that I own a well equipped welding and machine shop, so I would be
a good bit more fearless than most people attempting to do so. But so far a
good, safe, reliable kit built helicopter is just not a reality. From what I
have seen at best, everyone that builds something like A/W 95 winds up with
something they are afraid to fly higher than they are willing to fall, or
something the hurts them. Notice a lot of footage on the internet of people
demonstrating designs, but seldom much above 10'. I have only talked with 1
person, that claims to have profited by building a kit build copter, and I
have to doubt his success due to the extreme failure of others.

The primary reasons seem to focus on the smaller crafts LIMITED ability to
enter and safely execute an auto rotation, and the less reliable light
weight engines required to make them successful. But this certainly isn't
the only reasons. Helicopters and light weight power plants are much more
complex than the inexperience could ever imagine. Although I feel confident
someone could in fact build one, I doubt it has been done yet. And the time
and money it would take to accomplish the task would quickly out weigh the
cost of just buying a good used helo. My experience tells me that if I every
commit to such a project, I will only be doing so because I enjoy a good
challenge, and that would be a good one. Certainly not because I was hoping
save some money on flying a sport helicopter.

Maxwell: We publish the Experimental Helo magazine and as such attend some
13 events each year which have at least some kit built helicopters in
attendance. One of the most recent, Homer Bell's in Ohio had one single
seat kit built helicopter (Helicycle) fly in from Louisianna. At the end of
the event he jumped in his bird and flew home. The January issue of our
magazine has an article on that. In another example, Mark Richards flew a
Baby Belle two seat kit built helicopter from Ear Falls Ontario to the Sun'n
Fun Fly-In in Florida. Another example is Al Behuncik who has flown his
Rotorway Exec, a two seat kit built helicopter from Alberta Canada to
Oshkosh several times. Now I've got 240 hrs on my two seat Baby Belle and
while I haven't flown long cross countries, the 240 hrs have been just
almost maintenance free with the exception of oil and filter changes. BTW
another Baby Belle was flown from the Seattle area to Oshkosh and return.
Auto Rotations. With two of us up and 1/2 tank of fuel, Mark Richards did
an autorotation down to the 3' level where I counted to three before he
added the power back. Another example was John Snider at Oshkosh this year
was doing hovering autos in his two stroke Mosquito from as high as 18' agl.
I don't think that you will find anyone willing to do that in an R-22 or a
Schweitzer 300CB, or for that matter a D model Bell 47. Also operating an
ultralite, two stroke engined Mosquito, less than 254#, was a highly
experienced airline captain. While it is true I've never seen an AW-95
flying at any of the events that I attend, I do know of two highly reputable
people who have accumulated some hours in their version of the AW-95.
There are an increasing number of kit built helicopters ranging from single
seaters to and including a 4 -5 seater, co-axial, turbine powered etc. The
reason for this is the cost of maintenance and the ability to modify and fix
things that aren't done as well as changing technology will allow. Example:
Metal rotor blade replacement for Bell 47. $64,000. Not too long ago a
pair of brand new control links for a Bell 407 were on ebay listed for
$8,000. His comment was that the Bell price was $30,000 for the pair; just
two pieces of tubing with a rod end on one end and a control fork on the
other. I could make them in my shop in a couple of hours. I didn't believe
the $30,000 so I called Bell and indeed the price was $28,500!!! While I
can probably afford to pick up a used Bell 47, I refuse to pay for the
maintenance and operating costs when both Bell and FAA tell me where I have
to buy my parts. BTW the performance difference between my Baby Belle and a
D model Bell 47 is very small. It is my contention that it is not possible
to own a certified helicopter because of this relationship with Bell and
FAA.
With your background of welding and machining, you would be a more than
welcome addition to the Experimental Helo community.
I too dreamed of flying my own helicopter since the late 60's but in 1997 I
was in the air. Since then I've flown my Baby Belle in Ca, Ore, Wa. AZ, NM,
Tx, Ok, Ohio, IN, IOwa, WI, MI and Ontario Canada. Still having a blast.
Stu


"Maxwell" wrote in message
...

"ed" wrote in message
...
Is the A/W-95 Helicopter by A-B Helicopters a good design for what it
is ??? I'm thinking of building it but appreciate any advise .
Thanks ED

I have wanted to build an experimental helicopter most of my life, and
have read, visited and otherwise observed the situation for many years. I
should also add that I own a well equipped welding and machine shop, so I
would be a good bit more fearless than most people attempting to do so.
But so far a good, safe, reliable kit built helicopter is just not a
reality. From what I have seen at best, everyone that builds something
like A/W 95 winds up with something they are afraid to fly higher than
they are willing to fall, or something the hurts them. Notice a lot of
footage on the internet of people demonstrating designs, but seldom much
above 10'. I have only talked with 1 person, that claims to have profited
by building a kit build copter, and I have to doubt his success due to the
extreme failure of others.

The primary reasons seem to focus on the smaller crafts LIMITED ability to
enter and safely execute an auto rotation, and the less reliable light
weight engines required to make them successful. But this certainly isn't
the only reasons. Helicopters and light weight power plants are much more
complex than the inexperience could ever imagine. Although I feel
confident someone could in fact build one, I doubt it has been done yet.
And the time and money it would take to accomplish the task would quickly
out weigh the cost of just buying a good used helo. My experience tells me
that if I every commit to such a project, I will only be doing so because
I enjoy a good challenge, and that would be a good one. Certainly not
because I was hoping save some money on flying a sport helicopter.