Manned Helicopters Designed and Built by Dennis Fetters
The Mini-500 Single-Place Helicopter
Fetters Flying First Prototype Mini-500 - 1993 At Original Revolution Helicopter Factory
In spite of his gyroplane success, Mr. Fetters always yearned to advance his skills, test his abilities and create even more advanced aircraft. “No challenge too great, no advancement too small, and nothing is impossible”, was what he reminded his workforce all too often. It became time to take those words to the next step.
He saw a need in the rotorcraft industry for a “true helicopter;” a design that performed equal to or better than larger aircraft, but was lightweight, easily maintained and economical to own and operate. Mr. Fetters thought helicopters were too mechanically complex and costly for the average individual. He wanted a machine that was “every man’s helicopter.
RHCI has once again set the Standards for the kitbuilt aircraft industry with the latest in advanced technology and manufacturing techniques. The Mini-500B's entire design has been optimized for both low maintenance and low operating cost.
He saw a need in the rotorcraft industry for a “true helicopter;” a design that performed equal to or better than larger aircraft, but was lightweight, easily maintained and economical to own and operate. Mr. Fetters thought helicopters were too mechanically complex and costly for the average individual. He wanted a machine that was “every man’s helicopter.
RHCI has once again set the Standards for the kitbuilt aircraft industry with the latest in advanced technology and manufacturing techniques. The Mini-500B's entire design has been optimized for both low maintenance and low operating cost.
Drive
Train-
All drive train components are built in-house by RHCI. Power is supplied to the drive train through a centrifugal clutch mounted on the output shaft of the engine. Housed inside the upper sprocket of the main transmission is a Sprague clutch, which disengages automatically any time power is not being transmitted from the engine, thereby enabling full autorotational capability. The main transmission contains a set of ground spiral bevel ring and pinion gears, designed and manufactured specifically for the Mini-500B to give a 2,000 hour TBO. Power is transmitted to the tail rotor through an aluminum tube drive shaft. The 90 degree tail rotor gearbox uses helical cut gears and is connected to the driveshaft with a splined coupling.
Flight Controls-
One of the most difficult tasks faced by helicopter designers is transferring control inputs from the flight controls to the rotor system. In the past, this has been accomplished by using a complicated high maintenance Swashplate system. The Mini-500B uses its patented Triple Gimmal System which has 1/3 fewer parts than a conventional Swashplate. This system uses two control actuators, located inside the 2-1/4" diameter Chromalloy steel mast, to activate and direct the rotor disk for both cyclic and collective movements. By using this direct control System, rather than the multiple connections inherent in a Swashplate assembly, the Mini-500B is both responsive and stable.
All drive train components are built in-house by RHCI. Power is supplied to the drive train through a centrifugal clutch mounted on the output shaft of the engine. Housed inside the upper sprocket of the main transmission is a Sprague clutch, which disengages automatically any time power is not being transmitted from the engine, thereby enabling full autorotational capability. The main transmission contains a set of ground spiral bevel ring and pinion gears, designed and manufactured specifically for the Mini-500B to give a 2,000 hour TBO. Power is transmitted to the tail rotor through an aluminum tube drive shaft. The 90 degree tail rotor gearbox uses helical cut gears and is connected to the driveshaft with a splined coupling.
Flight Controls-
One of the most difficult tasks faced by helicopter designers is transferring control inputs from the flight controls to the rotor system. In the past, this has been accomplished by using a complicated high maintenance Swashplate system. The Mini-500B uses its patented Triple Gimmal System which has 1/3 fewer parts than a conventional Swashplate. This system uses two control actuators, located inside the 2-1/4" diameter Chromalloy steel mast, to activate and direct the rotor disk for both cyclic and collective movements. By using this direct control System, rather than the multiple connections inherent in a Swashplate assembly, the Mini-500B is both responsive and stable.
Superstructure-
The heart of the helicopter Superstructure is the 4130 Chromalloy Steel tube frame. Tubes are cut and notched, then jig welded with a tig welder. After being removed from the master jig, welds are shot-peened for Stress relief and inspected. The frame's triangulated design provides excellent stress load distribution. All composite components are made of pre-preg epoxy fiberglass and are pre-marked for cutting and drilling, to make assembly as easy as possible. The customer has no jigs or fixtures to fabricate.
Main& Tail Rotor Blades-
The rotor system on the Mini-500B is a two-bladed, Semi-rigid, teetering design. The main rotor blades consist of an aluminum leading edge Spar, a machined foam core, and pre-preg epoxy fiberglass outer skin. High rotor inertia provides for exceptional autorotative entry and flare characteristics. Independent testing has proven that the blades will stand up to 41,500 pounds of centrifugal pull, roughly a 470% safety margin. The blades are manufactured and balanced in-house to within 1/1000th of a pound of tip weight. The tail rotor blades have a machined aluminum hub and an aluminum tube spar. The tail rotor has substantial control authority and is designed for added controllability when hovering in windy conditions.
The heart of the helicopter Superstructure is the 4130 Chromalloy Steel tube frame. Tubes are cut and notched, then jig welded with a tig welder. After being removed from the master jig, welds are shot-peened for Stress relief and inspected. The frame's triangulated design provides excellent stress load distribution. All composite components are made of pre-preg epoxy fiberglass and are pre-marked for cutting and drilling, to make assembly as easy as possible. The customer has no jigs or fixtures to fabricate.
Main& Tail Rotor Blades-
The rotor system on the Mini-500B is a two-bladed, Semi-rigid, teetering design. The main rotor blades consist of an aluminum leading edge Spar, a machined foam core, and pre-preg epoxy fiberglass outer skin. High rotor inertia provides for exceptional autorotative entry and flare characteristics. Independent testing has proven that the blades will stand up to 41,500 pounds of centrifugal pull, roughly a 470% safety margin. The blades are manufactured and balanced in-house to within 1/1000th of a pound of tip weight. The tail rotor blades have a machined aluminum hub and an aluminum tube spar. The tail rotor has substantial control authority and is designed for added controllability when hovering in windy conditions.
Engine-
The 582 has become an industry Standard for the amateur built aircraft market. The Mini-500B was designed around the proven Rotax 582 engine. The 582 is a water cooled, 2 cylinder engine with independent dual electronic ignition, 2 plugs per cylinder, oil injection and produces 67 horse power. More than 14.000 Rotax engines have been sold for 100's of aircraft applications worldwide.
Electrical System-
RHCI has made installation of the electrical system so simple that it can easily be accomplished by an individual with no prior electrical experience. The main electrical harness comes finished with most connectors installed and all individual wires clearly marked.
Standard Equipment-
The Mini500B comes complete with throttle correlation, low rotor alarm, navigation and landing lights, electric Starter, ground handling wheels, carpet and trim, removable cabin access doors, interior panels, and basic instrumentation for VFR flight.
The Mini-500B's components are easy to inspect and maintain. Low overhaul costs, with the Mini-500B's low fuel consumption of five gallons-per-hour of unleaded auto fuel, makes it the World's most economical helicopter to own and operate. The average kit assembly time, excluding preparation and painting, can be as low as 60 hours.
The 582 has become an industry Standard for the amateur built aircraft market. The Mini-500B was designed around the proven Rotax 582 engine. The 582 is a water cooled, 2 cylinder engine with independent dual electronic ignition, 2 plugs per cylinder, oil injection and produces 67 horse power. More than 14.000 Rotax engines have been sold for 100's of aircraft applications worldwide.
Electrical System-
RHCI has made installation of the electrical system so simple that it can easily be accomplished by an individual with no prior electrical experience. The main electrical harness comes finished with most connectors installed and all individual wires clearly marked.
Standard Equipment-
The Mini500B comes complete with throttle correlation, low rotor alarm, navigation and landing lights, electric Starter, ground handling wheels, carpet and trim, removable cabin access doors, interior panels, and basic instrumentation for VFR flight.
The Mini-500B's components are easy to inspect and maintain. Low overhaul costs, with the Mini-500B's low fuel consumption of five gallons-per-hour of unleaded auto fuel, makes it the World's most economical helicopter to own and operate. The average kit assembly time, excluding preparation and painting, can be as low as 60 hours.
In 1990 Mr. Fetters and his design team put their skills and ability of learning, adapting and simplifying to work, and after only 2 years his vision had become a reality. He had successfully founded Revolution Helicopter Corp., and designed, produced and flight tested the revolutionary Mini‐500, finally making helicopter owning and flying affordable to anyone that wanted to own a helicopter.
Over the years, he went on to produce over 500 Mini-500 helicopters and shipped them to every developed nation in the world. The Mini-500 was known as one of the most stable and easy to fly helicopters ever built.
Over the years, he went on to produce over 500 Mini-500 helicopters and shipped them to every developed nation in the world. The Mini-500 was known as one of the most stable and easy to fly helicopters ever built.
Below is the original Mini-500 Helicopter Demo Video that was mailed with the Information Package;
The Voyager-500 Two-Place Helicopter
Fetters Flying First Prototype Voyager-500 - 1998 At New Revolution Helicopter Factory
The
Voyager-500 is the long awaited two-place helicopter designed by Mr. Fetters.
Produced as a rapid-build kit aircraft, the Voyager established new standards for
light piston two-place helicopters throughout the world.
The aircraft’s design integrates many of the patented, low maintenance features of its sister helicopter, the Mini-500, allowing Revolution Helicopter to produce the Voyager-500 quickly and cost-effectively. No other light helicopter offered the looks, performance and low operating costs that you found in the Voyager-500. Precision engineering and exacting production standards assured the quality of the Voyager-500’s components. All complex assemblies such as engines, transmissions, tailrotor gear boxes, clutch’s, and Sprague came assembled by RHCI to reduce assembly time for the builder.
Innovative features of the Voyager-500 include a custom designed, dynamically balanced power plant. This engine was de-rated by limiting the horsepower, not by limiting RPMs such as other manufacturers did. Mr. Fetters had once again set the standards for kitbuilt aircraft with the latest in advanced technology and manufacturing techniques. Revolution Helicopter furthered its lead with the development of new proprietary techniques that achieved performance characteristics similar to those of certified helicopters at a fraction of the cost. Breakthroughs in composite manufacturing techniques and airframe component manufacturing coupled with more efficient drive train systems and the revolutionary patented control system were just some of the features that set the Voyager-500 apart from its competitors .
The aircraft’s design integrates many of the patented, low maintenance features of its sister helicopter, the Mini-500, allowing Revolution Helicopter to produce the Voyager-500 quickly and cost-effectively. No other light helicopter offered the looks, performance and low operating costs that you found in the Voyager-500. Precision engineering and exacting production standards assured the quality of the Voyager-500’s components. All complex assemblies such as engines, transmissions, tailrotor gear boxes, clutch’s, and Sprague came assembled by RHCI to reduce assembly time for the builder.
Innovative features of the Voyager-500 include a custom designed, dynamically balanced power plant. This engine was de-rated by limiting the horsepower, not by limiting RPMs such as other manufacturers did. Mr. Fetters had once again set the standards for kitbuilt aircraft with the latest in advanced technology and manufacturing techniques. Revolution Helicopter furthered its lead with the development of new proprietary techniques that achieved performance characteristics similar to those of certified helicopters at a fraction of the cost. Breakthroughs in composite manufacturing techniques and airframe component manufacturing coupled with more efficient drive train systems and the revolutionary patented control system were just some of the features that set the Voyager-500 apart from its competitors .
The
Voyager-500 is the latest design from Revolution Helicopter Corp., Inc. (RHCI),
and is coming to the marketplace with a successful reputation for innovation.
It is being designed and developed with the same technologies and manufacturing
techniques used in our previous aircraft design, the Mini-500B.
The Voyager-500 benefits from our years of experience gained building the Mini-500, therefore, eliminating many of the unexpected problems normally found in all new designs. No other manufacturer provides a kit that can compare with the high quality and completeness of what is offered by RHCI. RHCI’s marketing strategy remains the same: to become the world’s leader in rotorcraft sales and provide the highest quality kit available, at an affordable price.
The Voyager-500 benefits from our years of experience gained building the Mini-500, therefore, eliminating many of the unexpected problems normally found in all new designs. No other manufacturer provides a kit that can compare with the high quality and completeness of what is offered by RHCI. RHCI’s marketing strategy remains the same: to become the world’s leader in rotorcraft sales and provide the highest quality kit available, at an affordable price.
RHCI fully realizes that we will be up against long standing competitors in the two-place kit helicopter market. Therefore, we have adopted a strong marketing program to help establish the Voyager-500 more rapidly as the new leader in the rotorcraft marketplace.
The aircraft’s design integrates many of the patented, low maintenance features of its sister helicopter the Mini-500, allowing RHCI to produce the Voyager-500 quickly and cost-effectively. No other light helicopter offers the looks, performance and low operating costs that you will find in the Voyager-500. Precision engineering and exacting production standards assure the quality of the Voyager-500's components. All complex assemblies -- engine, transmission, tail rotor gear box, clutch, and Sprague come assembled by RHCI to reduce assembly time for the builder.
The aircraft’s design integrates many of the patented, low maintenance features of its sister helicopter the Mini-500, allowing RHCI to produce the Voyager-500 quickly and cost-effectively. No other light helicopter offers the looks, performance and low operating costs that you will find in the Voyager-500. Precision engineering and exacting production standards assure the quality of the Voyager-500's components. All complex assemblies -- engine, transmission, tail rotor gear box, clutch, and Sprague come assembled by RHCI to reduce assembly time for the builder.
Innovative
features of the Voyager include a custom designed, dynamically balanced power
plant. This engine is de-rated by limiting horsepower, not by limiting RPMs
such as other manufacturers do.
RHCI has once again set the standards for kitbuilt aircraft with the latest in advanced technology and manufacturing techniques. RHCI has furthered its lead with the development of new proprietary techniques that achieve performance characteristics similar to those of certified helicopters at a fraction of the cost.
Breakthroughs in composite manufacturing techniques and airframe component manufacturing coupled with more efficient drive train systems and a revolutionary patented control system are just some of the features that set the Voyager-500 apart from its competitors.
RHCI has once again set the standards for kitbuilt aircraft with the latest in advanced technology and manufacturing techniques. RHCI has furthered its lead with the development of new proprietary techniques that achieve performance characteristics similar to those of certified helicopters at a fraction of the cost.
Breakthroughs in composite manufacturing techniques and airframe component manufacturing coupled with more efficient drive train systems and a revolutionary patented control system are just some of the features that set the Voyager-500 apart from its competitors.
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The Excalibur Five-Passenger Helicopter
The
Excalibur helicopter was designed by Mr. Dennis Fetters as a project for a
foreign company. Unfortunately that company never followed through with the
opportunity. The Excalibur project is therefore still available as a project
for a qualified company capable of affording such an endeavor.
The
Excalibur is a turbine powered “sports car” in comparison to other helicopters,
and designed to be more of a corporate vehicle with high speed and maneuverability,
and comparably low cost of operation and manufacturing.
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