Vertical Hummingbird

The Vertical Hummingbird is an American helicopter, produced by Vertical Aviation Technologies of Sanford, Florida that was introduced in 1991. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.

Design and development
The Hummingbird is a development of the certified Sikorsky S-52 that first flew in 1947, adapted to kit form. The aircraft features a single main rotor, a four-seat enclosed cabin, quadracycle landing gear and an option for skids. The prototype was converted by Vertical Aviation Technologies from a Sikorsky S-52-3.

The Hummingbird fuselage is made from riveted aluminum sheet. The nose section is adapted from the Bell 206. Its 33 ft diameter fully articulated three-bladed main rotor employs a NACA 0015 airfoil. The two-bladed tail rotor has a diameter of 5.75 ft. The aircraft has an empty weight of 1790 lb and a gross weight of 2800 lb, giving a useful load of 1010 lb. With full fuel of 57 u.s.gal the payload is 668 lb.

Variants

 * VAT S-52-3:Prototype of the Hummingbird family, converted from an original Sikorsky S-52-3.
 * Hummingbird 260L
 * Version powered by a six cylinder, air-cooled, four-stroke, dual-ignition 265 hp Lycoming IVO-435 engine


 * Hummingbird 300LS
 * Version powered by an eight cylinder, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, single-ignition 325 hp General Motors LS7 V-8 automotive conversion engine, derated to 280 hp


 * Hummingbird 300L
 * Version powered by a six cylinder, air-cooled, fuel injected Lycoming IO-540 derated to 280 hp