The AW Choppy is arguably one of the most famous homebuilt helis. Designed in the late 50’s, The AW Choppy was built to use commonly found materials that were readily available to consumers. The Choppy (also known as the Flying Triumph) was designed to use a motorcycle engine of about 50 hp for the powerplant. Various engines have been used. Some people have even used a snowmobile motor! More recent choppers commonly use an ultralight 2 cycle Rotax engine around 52 horsepower.
The AW Choppy is a single seat, open cockpit, frame fabrication helicopter.
Get the original plans to build the AW Hobbcopter. Also known as the AW Choppy, Flying Triumph, and the Hobbcopter. This helicopter is a TRUE helicopter with full cyclic control. Power is from a Rotax or motorcycle engine. NOTE: These plans are airworthy. There are flying Hobbycopters out there, as well as variants of this original design.
Specifications:
General characteristics
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Crew: one pilot
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Length: 15 ft. (4.57 m)
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Main rotor diameter: 21 ft. 6 in. (6.55 m)
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Height: 6 ft. (1.83 m)
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Main rotor area: 363 ft (34 m)
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Empty: 300 lb (136 kg) can be built as an ultralight.
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Loaded: 600 lb (183 kg)
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Maximum takeoff: lb ( kg)
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Powerplant: various – typically a 4-stroke triumph motorcycle engine
Performance
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Maximum speed: 85 mph (136 km/h)
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Range: ? miles (?km)
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Service ceiling: 8,500 ft. (2,590 m)
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Rate of climb: 950 ft/min (290 m/min)
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Main rotor loading: 1.7 lb/ft (5.3 kg/m)
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Power/mass: varies
Kits and parts available for this ultralight helicopter! You can buy complete packages, frames, engines, rotorhub asemblies and more from:
Here is a nice photo of the Hobbycopter Helicopter taken by Terry Murphy. Click image for larger version.