"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.