Rotortec Cloud Dancer II

The Rotortec Cloud Dancer II is a German autogyro, designed by Jochen Steinbeck and produced by Rotortec of Görisried, Allgäu. The aircraft was first shown at AERO Friedrichshafen in 2009 and is supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.

Design and development
The Cloud Dancer II features a single four-bladed main rotor, a two-seats in side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit, tricycle landing gear with wheel pants and a twin cylinder, air-cooled, four-stroke, turbocharged 135 hp Rotortec MPE engine that was developed in-house and is mounted in pusher configuration. It drives a three-bladed composite propeller though a planetary reduction drive.

The aircraft fuselage and the three vertical surface tail are made from aluminum and Kevlar composites. Its 6.7 m diameter rotor has a chord of 17.5 cm and is equipped with a micro-processor controlled hydraulic pre-rotator. The prototype aircraft mounted a three-bladed main rotor, but this was changed to a four-bladed unit during development. The four-bladed rotor provides improved vibration levels, but at the cost of requiring larger space for storage. An electronic touchscreen instrument panel is standard equipment. The aircraft has an empty weight of 248.5 kg and a gross weight of 450 kg, giving a useful load of 201.5 kg. The fuel tanks hold 115 L, giving a full fuel payload of 120 kg.

Aircraft on display

 * Hubschraubermuseum Bückeburg