Type | Privately held company |
---|---|
Industry | Aerospace |
Founded | mid 1990s |
Founder | Ron Willocks |
Defunct | late 2008 |
Fate | Out of business |
Headquarters | , |
Products | Kit aircraft |
Number of employees | Five (2005) |
Pawnee Aviation was an American aircraft manufacturer initially based in Longmont, Colorado and later in McCook, Nebraska. The company was founded in the mid-1990s by Ron Willocks and specialized in the design and manufacture of helicopters in the form of kits for amateur construction. [1] [2]
The company's first product was the Pawnee Warrior, first flown by 1998. It was simple open frame, single seat helicopter that was used as a "a proof of concept platform" for the development of the later, two seat Pawnee Chief. The Chief was first flown in December 2005 and was the subject of a protracted development process. The company explained the long development time, "we were determined not to put a product on the market before its time. We have seen other kits sold that did not complete their development and testing. Their customers paid for completion of the development and in reality did much of their testing. By delaying our availability project until it was truly completed, we will avoid placing unnecessary a lot of "Airworthiness Directives" and flight restrictions on our aircraft." [1] [2] [3]
The company intended to put the Chief into production in January 2006 at a rate of eight to ten kits per month and increase staff above the five employees already working. On 28 September 2006 a Chief crashed while hovering and burned, with only minor injuries to the pilot and passenger. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the cause to be, "failure of the welded bracket caused the loss of input control authority from the cyclic control to the main rotor." The company seems to have gone out of business in late 2008. [2] [4] [5]
Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
---|---|---|---|
Pawnee Warrior | mid-1990s | One prototype | Single seat open frame helicopter |
Pawnee Chief | December 2005 | At least three [6] | Two-seat helicopter |
The Fairey Rotodyne was a 1950s British compound gyroplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation and intended for commercial and military uses. A development of the earlier Gyrodyne, which had established a world helicopter speed record, the Rotodyne featured a tip-jet-powered rotor that burned a mixture of fuel and compressed air bled from two wing-mounted Napier Eland turboprops. The rotor was driven for vertical takeoffs, landings and hovering, as well as low-speed translational flight, but autorotated during cruise flight with all engine power applied to two propellers.
The AgustaWestlandAW609, formerly the Bell/Agusta BA609, is a twin-engined tiltrotor VTOL aircraft with a configuration similar to that of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. It is capable of landing vertically like a helicopter while having a range and speed in excess of conventional rotorcraft. The AW609 is aimed at the civil aviation market, in particular VIP customers and offshore oil and gas operators.
Sonex Aircraft, LLC is an American kit aircraft manufacturer located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, producing kits for four all-metal homebuilt monoplanes. The company was founded in 1998 by John Monnett, who has designed the Monnett Sonerai sport aircraft series, Monnett Monerai sailplane, Monnett Moni motorglider, and Monnett Monex racer. Monnett designs are displayed in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum near Washington D.C.
The Robinson R44 is a four-seat light helicopter produced by Robinson Helicopter Company since 1992. Based on the company's two-seat Robinson R22, the R44 features hydraulically assisted flight controls. It was first flown on 31 March 1990 and received FAA certification in December 1992, with the first delivery in February 1993.
The Cirrus VK-30 is a single-engine pusher-propeller homebuilt aircraft originally sold as a kit by Cirrus Design, and was the company's first model, introduced in 1987.
Henry Adler Berliner was a United States aircraft and helicopter pioneer.
The Boeing A160 Hummingbird is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) helicopter. Its design incorporates many new technologies never before used in helicopters, allowing for greater endurance and altitude than any helicopter currently in operation.
A Fenestron is an enclosed helicopter tail rotor that operates like a ducted fan. The term Fenestron is a trademark of multinational helicopter manufacturing consortium Airbus Helicopters. The word itself comes from the Occitan term for a small window, and is ultimately derived from the Latin word fenestra for window.
The Bell 429 GlobalRanger is a light, twin-engine helicopter developed by Bell Helicopter and Korea Aerospace Industries. First flight of the Bell 429 prototype took place on February 27, 2007, and the aircraft received type certification on July 1, 2009. The Bell 429 is capable of single-pilot IFR and Runway Category A operations.
The Zodiac is a family of Canadian all-metal, two-seat, fixed landing gear airplanes that first flew in 1984. The aircraft have been produced as kits and completed aircraft by Zenair in Canada and Zenith Aircraft Company in the US.
The Revolution Mini-500 is a 1990s American single-seat light helicopter, designed and built by Revolution Helicopter Corporation as a kit for homebuilding.
The Epic LT is an American kit-built single-engined turboprop aircraft intended for use by private pilots. The Epic Dynasty was the proposed certified version of the LT that was intended be sold as a completed aircraft, prior to Epic Aircraft's bankruptcy in August 2009 and later acquisition by new owners in April 2010. Under ownership of the reorganized company, the certificated version is to be called the E1000, with first deliveries initially scheduled for 2015, but delayed until 2019.
Skyworks Global, formerly Groen Brothers Aviation, Inc. and then Groen Aeronautics Corporation, is an American autogyro research and development company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company was founded in 1986 by David Groen and his late brother Jay Groen. David Groen remains as Senior Advisor.
The Bell V-280 Valor is a tiltrotor aircraft being developed by Bell and Lockheed Martin for the United States Army's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program. The aircraft was officially unveiled at the 2013 Army Aviation Association of America's (AAAA) Annual Professional Forum and Exposition in Fort Worth, Texas. The V-280 made its first flight on 18 December 2017 in Amarillo, Texas.
The Farrington Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer founded by Don Farrington and based in Paducah, Kentucky. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of autogyros in the form of kits for amateur construction.
The Pawnee Warrior was an American helicopter that was designed and produced by Pawnee Aviation of Longmont, Colorado. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.
The Pawnee Chief is an American helicopter that was designed and produced by Pawnee Aviation of Longmont, Colorado and later McCook, Nebraska. It was first flown in December 2005. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.
The Airbus Vahana was an electric-powered eight-propeller VTOL personal air vehicle prototype financed by A³, by Airbus and Airbus Urban Mobility. The Vahana project started in 2016 as one of the first projects at A³, the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus Group in Silicon Valley. Airbus "envision[s] Vahana being used by everyday commuters as a cost-comparable replacement for short-range urban transportation like cars or trains". It was planned to be a part of urban air mobility. The project was finished in December 2019.
The Volocopter 2X is a German two-seat, optionally-piloted, multirotor electric helicopter. The personal air vehicle was designed and produced by Volocopter GmbH of Bruchsal, and first introduced at the AERO Friedrichshafen airshow in 2017. The aircraft is sold complete and ready-to-fly. Volocopter was formerly known as E-volo.