Vortech Kestrel Jet

The Vortech Kestrel Jet is an American tip-jet helicopter that was designed in the 1980s. Kits for amateur construction were originally provided by Vortech and plans remain available.

Design and development
The aircraft was designed to fit into the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of 254 lb. The aircraft has a standard empty weight of 175 lb. It features a single main rotor, a single-seat open cockpit without a windshield and skid landing gear. Power is supplied by two G8-2-20 rotor tip jets that run on propane, consuming 12 u.s.gal per hour and producing 47 lb of thrust each.

The aircraft fuselage is made from bolted-together aluminum tubing. Its main rotor is 24 ft in diameter. Due to the lack of torque produced there is no tail rotor and instead the Kestrel mounts a circular-shaped rudder for directional control. Controls consist only of cyclic, rudder and throttle.