Redback Aviation

Last updated

Redback Aviation
Privately held company
Industry Aerospace
Products Plans and kit helicopters
Website www.redbackaviation.com

Redback Aviation is an Australian aircraft manufacturer based in Hoppers Crossing, Victoria. The company is engaged in the development of kit and plans-built helicopter designs for amateur construction. [1]

Australia Country in Oceania

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 26 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.

Hoppers Crossing, Victoria Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Hoppers Crossing is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 23.1 km south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Hoppers Crossing recorded a population of 38,701 at the 2016 Census.

Helicopter Type of rotor craft in which lift and thrust are supplied by rotors

A helicopter, or chopper, is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward, and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of VTOL aircraft cannot perform.

Contents

History

The company was formed to design plans and supply kits for home-built helicopters, initially proposing two designs, which were to be developed concurrently. The Buzzard is a minimalist, open frame, single seat helicopter of limited performance, powered by a Suzuki four stroke automotive engine of 56 kW (75 hp). Only one prototype was completed and this was later sold. The company then turned its attention to designing a more capable helicopter, to be designated the Redback Aviation Spider. By 2014 design work on the Spider was proceeding slowly as outside investment was not sought and resources were limited. [1] [2]

The Redback Buzzard is an Australian helicopter that was designed and produced by Redback Aviation of Hoppers Crossing, Victoria. The aircraft was intended to be supplied as a kit for amateur construction, but only one prototype was ever completed and development ended.

Suzuki Japanese multinational corporation

Suzuki Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, four-wheel drive vehicles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines. In 2016, Suzuki was the eleventh biggest automaker by production worldwide. Suzuki has over 45,000 employees and has 35 production facilities in 23 countries, and 133 distributors in 192 countries. The worldwide sales volume of automobiles is the world's tenth largest, while domestic sales volume is the third largest in the country.

Automotive engine car and truck technology

As of 2013, there were a wide variety of propulsion systems available or potentially available for automobiles and other vehicles. Options included internal combustion engines fueled by petrol, diesel, propane, or natural gas; hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrids, fuel cell vehicles fueled by hydrogen and all electric cars. Fueled vehicles seem to have the advantage due to the limited range and high cost of batteries. Some options required construction of a network of fueling or charging stations. With no compelling advantage for any particular option car makers pursued parallel development tracks using a variety of options. Reducing the weight of vehicles was one strategy being employed.

Redback's focus is on traditional methods and where possible, commercial off-the-shelf components, to save money and decrease development time, as well as builder construction time. The company states its design aims as "low maintenance (by comparison to the traditional Rotorway Exec and Scorpion designs), improved safety, and high performance". [1] [2]

Commercial off-the-shelf or commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products are packaged solutions which are then adapted to satisfy the needs of the purchasing organization, rather than the commissioning of custom-made, or bespoke, solutions. A related term, Mil-COTS, refers to COTS products for use by the U.S. military.

The company is named after the venomous Redback spider, which is indigenous to Australia. [1] [2]

Redback spider species of arachnid

The redback spider, also known as the Australian black widow is a species of highly venomous spider believed to originate in the South Australian or adjacent Western Australian deserts, but now found throughout Australia, Southeast Asia and New Zealand, with colonies elsewhere outside Australia. It is a member of the cosmopolitan genus Latrodectus, the widow spiders. The adult female is easily recognised by her spherical black body with a prominent red stripe on the upper side of her abdomen and an hourglass-shaped red/orange streak on the underside. Females usually have a body length of about 10 millimetres (0.4 in), while the male is much smaller, being only 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long.

Aircraft

Summary of aircraft built by Redback Aviation
Model nameFirst flightNumber builtType
Redback Buzzard 1Single seat, open frame helicopter. Only one prototype constructed.
Redback Aviation Spider noneHomebuilt helicopter, under development 2014

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 193. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
  2. 1 2 3 Redback Aviation (2014). "Welcome to Redback Aviation's world of homebuilt helicopters" . Retrieved 21 December 2014.