| Revolution Helicopter Mini-500 |  |
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| Revolution Helicopter Mini-500 | |
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In 1994 Revolution Helicopters of Excelsior Springs, Missouri announced their kit-built Mini-500. This single-seater could easily be mistaken for a scaled-down Hughes 500D with its egg-shaped fuselage pod, slim tailboom and T-tail. The Mini-500 is powered by a 67hp Rotax 582 engine and over 350 kits have been sold, with examples flying in Holland, South Africa and Brazil as well as substantial numbers in the United States. R.Simpson "Airlife's Helicopter and Rotorcraft", 1998
TYPE: Single-seat home-built helicopter. PROGRAMME: Scale-replica design of McDonnell Douglas MD-500; first flown in 1992 and available in kit form until production ceased in October 1999. Assembly in 60-70 hours, excluding body work and painting. VERSIONS: Mini-500B Bravo: Initial production version. Mini-500T Talon: Production version from 1999 incorporating latest improvements. CUSTOMERS: More than 500 kits delivered by October 1999. COSTS: Kit: US$32,000. DESIGN FEATURES: Two-blade semi-rigid teetering main rotor, turning at 550 rpm, constructed using aluminium alloy spars and composite skins. Teetering two-blade tail rotor of aluminium alloy and steel construction, turning at 2,671 rpm. Rubber insulators, flex-packs and counterbalances for vibration damping. STRUCTURE: Welded steel tube structure, with moulded glass fibre cabin enclosure. Twin skid landing gear. POWER PLANT: One 50kW Rotax 582, with belt drive to transmission. Fuel capacity 55.6 litres. Transmission rating 40kW at take-off and 82kW capacity. Power enhancement package (PEP) with tuned exhaust system and special carburetion settings developed, producing 18% more power during take-off and landing phases. Jane's Helicopter Markets and Systems
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