Great Machines - Rotorway Exec 162F Helicopter
06/02/2003
Most pilots have the urge to fly their own helicopter, and RotorWay International offers such individualists a singular opportunity with its beautifully designed, two-place personal helicopter, the RotorWay Exec 162F. Its heart is a RotorWay-designed and manufactured 4-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine that features FADEC (Fully Automated Digital Electronic Control) to ensure that it is always running at optimum efficiency and performance. Burning fuel at the miserly rate of about 8 gallons per hour, the 162F cruises at 95 mph, has a two-hour endurance (approximately 180-mile range), and can hover in ground effect at an altitude of 7,000 feet.More than 600 of the capable 162Fs have been sold and are in use worldwide not only for transportation, but also for specific applications like crop dusting and pipeline inspection, and, of course, sport flying. They are well engineered, reliable, and built to your high standards, because as an owner, you have the opportunity to assemble this helicopter yourself.
RotorWay has been producing kit helicopters for 35 years, and the company has honed the design so that just about anyone interested in taking on such a project can finish it. No special tools or skills (such as welding, machining, or sheet-metal fabrication) are required. All the parts are shipped on shrink-wrapped cards that correspond to various sections of the comprehensive instruction manual. All that an eager builder needs to furnish is enthusiasm, time, and garage (or hangar) space. And when you complete it, RotorWay can train you to fly your helicopter at its factory near Phoenix, Ariz.
Mark Peterson, a television producer located in Clearwater, Fla., spent about 600 hours building his 162F. “I guarantee that building one of these is the most rewarding thing you will ever do,” he says. “When you fire it up, and it gets light on the skids the first time and lifts off, it’s pretty darned cool.” Discovery Wings Channel on cable television has recently aired an excellent documentary series “A Chopper Is Born.” Mark Evans, the program’s host, is building his own 162F, and anyone who has ever imagined building any flying machine will find the presentation informative and entertaining.
Homebuilt aircraft enthusiasts understand the importance of peer group support, and RotorWay responds with an excellent technical assistance hot line, and the opportunity to connect with a couple of hundred 162F builders who are already flying their machines throughout the country. Further assistance is provided through your local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), a group of enthusiastic do-it-yourself builders with a wide range of technical expertise, who are a cheering section that will keep you focused on building your helicopter. RotorWay estimates a build time of approximately 300 man-hours, which has me wondering: If I could get 300 of my friends together, could we build one in an hour? A complete RotorWay 162F kit is $68,000, plus freight, avionics, and paint.
RotorWay International, 480.961.1001, www.rotorway.com