build your own helicopter

this post is on Helisport’s Mosquito

for $28,500 Helisport the Mosquito XE ultralight helicopter is an amazingly cool little single-seat aircraft.  Made in Canada by the Innovator Technology company for over 10 years, the Mosquito has proven to be a fairly solid product.  It’s 20 ft long and weighs 298 lbs. It’s powered by an MZ202 2-cylinder 2-stroke engine and has a maximum speed of 75 mph and has the ability to hover in ground effect at 8,000 ft (estimated). The Mosquito is built from a kit that’s delivered in five sub-groups: airframe and construction plans, control system, drive system, engine system, and rotor system. Standard shop tools are required to cut and form some of the simple frame and control parts and for bolt and rivet assembly. A small amount of welding is required on the exhaust system. An information pack is available from the manufacturer for $25 (Canadian), including a DVD, sample drawings and specifications.

The company gives a $2000 rebate to builders who complete flight training before purchasing the rotor system kit – this might be a good idea if you don’t want to smash into a tree, check out  the video of the copter in action here. (and yeah it’s slightly scary)