Information on Popular Enstrom Aircrafts
Enstrom | October 27, 2010The Enstrom light-helicopter, the most popular member of the F 28 series was first conceived and created by Rudy. J. Enstrom. The innovative machine climbed the air for the first time in the late 1960s. The design of the F-28 is quite basic: with an un-skinned rear fuselage, it was a two-seater with a dual-blade main rotor. Following its wake, after six months, two three-seaters ascended the air experimentally, which was followed by the unveiling of the first production model in 1963. It was propelled by the AIA cylinders (0-360 by Avco Lycoming, with a power of 134,000 watts); an added improvisation was a tri-blade rotor, a treated alloy frame and a cabin area. It also had the convenient monocoque plan for the tail-section.
1959 witnessed the foundation of the R J Enstrom Corporation in the field of creating and selling the light-helicopters. In October 1963, Purex acquired the R J Enstrom Corporation, which banked on the previous year’s success by researching and building an improved version of F-28. The F-28 B and T 28 evolved from the continuous improvement of the parent model, and both were successfully marketed.
In the early part of 1971, F. Lee Bailey took over Purex Corporation and returned to perfecting the unique F 28 as F 28A. The F28 A was, in fact, a light and agile helicopter which made great use of the smooth aerodynamics rather than sheer power. Glass alloy and light fiber made up its front-fuselage and a bench seat accommodated two passengers. The central area (containing the 205 piston engine, which in turn is supplied from fuel-tanks with a working volume of 151.4 l) was built using steel-tube and the rear fuselage was made with aluminum.
The F28 was marketed in several avatars raging from the archetypal F28 A to the Shark 280. The F28 C is another such ingenious model. This series of Enstrom aircrafts had a rotor on the tail’s left-hand side. Incorporating both models, the Enstrom 280C Shark was made, which was a successful recombination from the best of two worlds.
The F28 C series offered space for a one-man crew and a passenger. With a takeoff weight of a little over thousand kilos (1066, to be precise) and an empty-weight of 680 kilos, the helicopter could attain a maximum speed of 180 km/hr and cruises at 172 km/hr. 8.94 meters long and 2.79 meters tall, it had a ceiling of 3660 meters. The range given for this particular make was 435 km.
A helicopter this light is obviously intended for non-heavy purposes like taking a trip. With its intended range of circling and a diameter for the rotor placed at 9.75 meters, it was the perfect machine for covering the distances that are inaccessible by car. However, this model and the F280 C can also be used for irrigational and farming needs, if mounted (two side) with hoppers and sprays. The storage capacity for powder is 0.5 cubic meters and that for liquid the capacity is 340 lt.
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