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Dennis Fetters
United States
Приєднався 29 гру 2006
Mr. Fetters has designed and built over 9 different designs of piloted and non-piloted Gyroplanes and Helicopters, with 11 deferent variants.
Fetters-Built Company is available to design and prototype aircraft, and instruct the customers on how to manufacture the product themselves, saving vast amounts of time and money by avoiding the learning curve.
Fetters-Built Company is available to design and prototype aircraft, and instruct the customers on how to manufacture the product themselves, saving vast amounts of time and money by avoiding the learning curve.
Відео
Interview with Dennis Fetters & Air Commander by Action 4 News Report in Kansas City
Переглядів 3,5 тис.7 років тому
This was a news report my Action news located in Kansas City Missouri that interviewed and filmed Mr. Dennis Fetters and his company Air Command International at their factory location on the Missouri City Airport in the late 1980's. Mr. Fetters was selling 97% of all gyroplanes being purchased around the world after he founded the company in the 1980's. Before selling Air Command, he had deliv...
SVU-200 UAV Helicopter First Non-Autonomous Controlled Flights, Designed by Dennis Fetters
Переглядів 1,3 тис.7 років тому
www.fettersaerospace.com/ - This video is being posted again because UA-cam deleted the soundtrack off the previously posted video. So I applied some new music (soundtrack off The Final Countdown) and posted it again. - These are the first human controlled flights of the SVU-200 before it became fully autonomous. The pilot is Mr. Walt Farar, who successfully controlled the SVU-200 in these vide...
Robinson R44 helicopter getting Crashed China
Переглядів 22 тис.7 років тому
That was a waste of a perfectly good helicopter! www.fettersaerospace.com/
The Latest Revolution Mini-500 Helicopter Demo Video (Full Length)
Переглядів 107 тис.10 років тому
www.fettersaerospace.com/ This was the latest official Revolution Helicopter Corporation's demonstration video (Full Length) featuring the Mini-500 Bravo kit-built helicopter, and it's designer and Company founder Mr. Dennis Fetters. Mr. Fetters now is associated with Ewatt AeroSpace company in Wuhan China, developing UAV vehicles as well as manned rotorcraft. Mr. Fetters is one of the only peo...
Interview with Dennis Fetters Ewatt AeroSpace VTUAV Systems by Tactical Tech TV
Переглядів 2,8 тис.10 років тому
www.fettersaerospace.com/ Dennis Fetters and Ewatt AeroSpace as showcased on the television show Tactical Tech TV. Filmed on-location at the 2013 AUVSI in Washington D.C.
Ewatt Aerospace and Fetters AeroSpace EWG-1 Fixed-Wing Autonomous UAV System
Переглядів 62610 років тому
www.fettersaerospace.com/
Ewatt Aerospace and Fetters AeroSpace EWZ-1, EWZ-2 and SVU-200 Autonomous UAV Helicopters
Переглядів 3,5 тис.10 років тому
www.fettersaerospace.com/ This video contains information about the 3 UAV helicopters that Ewatt currently has in inventory. The EWZ-1 and EWZ-2 were developed independently by Ewatt before the arrival of their new Director of VTOL vehicles, Mr. Dennis Fetters. Mr. Fetters has been charged to improve the reliability and performance of Ewatt's existing UAV platforms, as well as to design and dev...
First Autonomous Flights of World's Best Medium Size UAV Helicopter, The SVU-200 by Dennis Fetters
Переглядів 19 тис.11 років тому
Please rate our Video with Like or Dislike! www.fettersaerospace.com/ When I say the world's largest RC helicopter, I'm being sarcastic, because this is anything but a big toy!! These are compiled segments of the first fully autonomous test-flights of the improved version of the Star-Lite UAV helicopter, now designated as the Heavy-Lift SVU-200, designed and built by Mr. Dennis Fetters and his ...
Second Flight of Star-Lite SUV-200 Autonomous UAV Helicopter by Dennis Fetters
Переглядів 2 тис.12 років тому
www.fettersaerospace.com/ This is the second tethered test-flight of the improved version of the Star-Lite UAV helicopter, now designated as the Heavy-Lift 4-rotorblade SVU200, designed and built by Mr. Dennis Fetters for the Hunan Sunward Science and Technology Company in China. This second flight is still being performed by a person that is only a pilot of small RC type helicopters, and has n...
First Flight of Star-Lite SVU-200 Autonomous UAV Helicopter by Dennis Fetters
Переглядів 2,8 тис.12 років тому
www.fettersaerospace.com/ This is the first tethered test-flight of the improved version of the Star-Lite UAV helicopter, now designated as the Heavy-Lift 4-rotorblade SVU200, designed and built by Mr. Dennis Fetters for the Hunan Sunward Science and Technology Co in China. It is powered by a Rotax 582 engine producing 78 horsepower, and capable of lifting 200kg of payload and with a top speed ...
Fetters AeroSpace Gyroplane In-flight Rotor Test
Переглядів 1,4 тис.14 років тому
www.fettersaerospace.com/ Video of in-flight stress and deflection test of composite Gyroplane rotorblade
Elisport Angel CH-7 Helicopter Crash, Bad Autorotation
Переглядів 34 тис.15 років тому
Elisport Angel CH-7 Helicopter Crash, Bad Autorotation
Factory Destructive Testing of the Mini-500 helicopter
Переглядів 73 тис.15 років тому
Factory Destructive Testing of the Mini-500 helicopter
Air Command Jump Takeoff Gyroplane with Hydro-Drive
Переглядів 111 тис.16 років тому
Air Command Jump Takeoff Gyroplane with Hydro-Drive
Part 2 of the 447 Commander Gyroplane original demo video
Переглядів 61 тис.16 років тому
Part 2 of the 447 Commander Gyroplane original demo video
Part 1 of the 447 Commander Gyroplane original demo video
Переглядів 104 тис.16 років тому
Part 1 of the 447 Commander Gyroplane original demo video
The Star-Lite UAV Autonomous Helicopter
Переглядів 18 тис.16 років тому
The Star-Lite UAV Autonomous Helicopter
Air Command Gyroplane with Dennis Fetters Hot-Dogging
Переглядів 27 тис.16 років тому
Air Command Gyroplane with Dennis Fetters Hot-Dogging
The Revolution Mini-500 Helicopter demo Video "Part 2"
Переглядів 56 тис.16 років тому
The Revolution Mini-500 Helicopter demo Video "Part 2"
The Revolution Mini-500 Helicopter demo Video "Part 1"
Переглядів 240 тис.16 років тому
The Revolution Mini-500 Helicopter demo Video "Part 1"
Dennis Fetters flying the Commander Gyroplane
Переглядів 8 тис.16 років тому
Dennis Fetters flying the Commander Gyroplane
Commander Gyroplane and Designer Dennis Fetters
Переглядів 17 тис.16 років тому
Commander Gyroplane and Designer Dennis Fetters
There is a red mini 500 for sale in north Idaho currently for $25,000 and it has an upgraded Rotax 670. So tempting! I've wanted one of these for years
👍👍👏👏👏👍👍👍💪💪💪😯😯🇪🇦🇪🇦
ua-cam.com/video/nwxKFzvcpDM/v-deo.htmlsi=at3akl_n_zMZV_VR Have you guys seen this? A fella flew his Mini-500 in his garage and crashed it... luckily he was not in it at the moment.
Id take an direct electric drive version of this, over a multirotor evtol. Direct electric drive eliminates the need for gears in ultralight helis, by apllying high torque "pancake" shaped outrunner motors to drive the main and tail rotors directly. I've noticed companies like Tier 1 Engineering which has an "e-R44" (heres the video: ua-cam.com/video/G8eXjpWDmUs/v-deo.html ), they replaced the conventional drive systems in an R44 with direct electric drives, making it into an evtol. (they and another company in New Hampshire are gradually eliminating gears in conventional helis) The helicopter could still autorotate as long as the tail rotor has an extra layer of redundancy, via an emergency back up tail rotor power system.
When the fat lady sings
The Final Count Down, staring the USS Nimitz CVN- 68, my aircraft carrier! Every time we pulled into/left home port of Bremerton, Washington. . . . San Diego, California. . . . Hawai'i, they played this song over the 1-MC speakers!
A great little copter
Looks like hes coming in at 10m/s +. At least he was able to kind of walk away.
Hello, where could I buy the Air Command 447 Commander Gyroplane and for how much, or where can I get the documentation to make such a model?
Hi, I'm Dennis Fetters. I designed the Commander and started the company Air Command. I sold the company back in 1990 so I could start the helicopter company called Revolution Helicopters. Air Command has changed hands again and is now owned and built by the people at this website: aircommand.com I have nothing to do with the company now, but you can contact them and see what it takes to buy a Commander. Good luck!
Great sales video for the time period.
Excelente.
a cubism freedom to thee
Well I suppose it’s a fat chance to get a response but I bought an Air Command gyro two weeks ago. I have a couple hundred hours in fixed wing single engine but no rotorcraft time. I’m going to take lessons just to be on the safe side. The aircraft is really a beautiful machine, I’m waiting until after training and it cools down, it’s in the 100’s currently.😊
What kind of a response would you like? Is that skinny of a chance enough response? Sincerely, Dennis Fetters 😁
Hey Dennis… I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for all of the hard work that you put into your Air Command gyroplanes. I purchased a brand new 447 kit in 1985, built it in my parents living room, and went on to fly it more than 500 hours… Incident and accident free. Those flying days were some of the greatest days of my entire life!!! ❤ Thank you!!
Hello, and thank you for taking the time to express here your happiness with my little Air Command gyroplanes. You must have been one of my first customers. I will always appreciate you and others giving me the chance to branch off into the aircraft manufacturing business by buying my first aircraft design. I ended up building and selling over 1,200 Commanders before I sold the company, and they are still manufacturing them today. It was also the best time of my life when aviation was new to me, and the Commander is still my favorite thing I have ever flown. Someday I would like to build my newest idea for a gyroplane, but my time is demanded in the UAV helicopter field now. I have been in Abu Dhabi going on 3 years where demand is great. Again, thank you for your kind words, they mean so much to me, and I wish you long life and happiness. Dennis Fetters www.fettersaerospace.com
A true killer! "Engine manufacturer Rotax warns owners of the 582 engine in the Owners Manual about its limitations:[6] "This engine, by its design, is subject to sudden stoppage. Engine stoppage can result in crash landings, forced landings or no power landings. Such crash landings can lead to serious bodily injury or death ... This is not a certificated aircraft engine. It has not received any safety or durability testing, and conforms to no aircraft standards. It is for use in experimental, uncertificated aircraft and vehicles only in which an engine failure will not compromise safety. User assumes all risk of use, and acknowledges by his use that he knows this engine is subject to sudden stoppage ... Never fly the aircraft equipped with this engine at locations, airspeeds, altitudes, or other circumstances from which a successful no-power landing cannot be made, after sudden engine stoppage. Aircraft equipped with this engine must only fly in DAYLIGHT VFR conditions."[6]"
This is a very misleading statement. Yes, that is the disclaimer that Rotax wrote to protect itself against liability for the thousands of people that didn't install or maintain their engines correctly, and with more than 175,000 engines sold in 40 years, the engine still has a remarkable safety record. In fact, 99% of all Rotax engine failures were due to improper installation, setup, or lack of maintenance. Out of 500 Mini-500 helicopters produced, not even one crashed due to an engine stoppage from a failure of an engine part supplied by Rotax. What engine failures the Mini-500 owners did experience were all completely avoidable if proper setup and maintenance would have been performed.
So this was the helicopter that advertised on POPULAR MECHANICS in the early 90s...
I started getting dizzy 😵💫
Very nice little helicopter. The music isn't bad either. (The Final CountDown music)
Thank you for saying so, Mihaly!
I definitely think your heart was in the right place, but can definitely see all the user assembly mistakes that are no fault of yours but still could just ruin your brand name. Something as serious as a helicopter needs to be assembled and tested by a professional. Neat concept though to try and provide a helicopter to the average guy. I'd love to have a helicopter but the huge price tags and maintenance costs just don't make sense.
Love the 80s vibe, video quality, and music!
I keep seeing that the rotax 582 engine in these was was prone to sudden stoppage due to its design. If so why was it ever coupled with this helicopter?
At that time, Revolution was needing to ship high quantities of helicopters, and the only engine available "new-in-the-box" and with a warranty was the Rotax 582, so as any aircraft, the Mini-500 was designed around that engine due to nothing else being available to meet the requirements. It was also a very good engine for the time period, and I had used the Rotax 582 on my previous Gyroplane models with good results. However, like any engine in any aircraft, if it's not installed or maintained correctly, it will fail. The Rotax 582 was a very good and reliable engine if jetted correctly by the user for their weather conditions. Rotax could not "force" the customer to follow the jetting directions, so for liability reasons, they wrote the warning it was prone to sudden stoppage. For the 2500 hours I have flown Rotax 2-stroke engines, I have had only 2 forced landings due to engine stoppage. That was due to our crew failing to mix the oil and fuel. After Rotax came out with an oil injection system, I never had problems since. In the Mini-500, the only engine failures that occurred were the operators failing or refusing to properly jet the engine. Owners that properly jetted and maintained their Rotax-powered Mini-500s had no problems and flew many hundreds of hours, those that did not have troubles, despite all the warnings we sent them on how to do it right. It's funny that when something works well no one rights about it, however when they have even a self-inflicted problem, they publish all over the Internet that it was the helicopter's fault.
@@fettersbuiltco thanks for that detailed info. So out of interest was it all to do with having the right oil/fuel mix, or did you have to adjust other parts of the engine, like air fuel ratio etc. (Sorry new to the term jetting)
@@farleym4486 It was all to do with putting the right size jets in the carburetors to achieve the right fuel-to-air ratio. If it was winter you needed larger jets, and in summer you needed smaller jets. If the jets were too small, you could have too high of an EGT and seize the engine. I can't believe how some owners would pay no attention to their EGT readings and seize their engines. It's such an easy and fast thing to adjust before flight.
@@fettersbuiltco I understand now. You would think owners would be super attentive to that when you could drop from the sky! I had a look on the wikipedia page for that engine. And see what you mean about the warning. It seems to have been a really popular engine saying they built more than 30,000 between 1989 and 2021. So they are in a hell of a lot of different aircraft. From my first comment and reading those "horror stories" of engines stopping as if it was common, I was thinking you must be nuts to run that in a helicopter. Now it seems clear, user error and safety waivers as you said which people have taken the wrong way to seem like you were rolling the dice with the engine. Very interesting stuff.
Can't wait to see what WD does with his latest purchase.
Yes, I saw that. Revolution Helicopter was my company. A Mini-500 is a kit-built aircraft and will only perform as well as it is assembled and maintained by the Buyer. Unfortunately, the one he bought is one of the poorest examples I have ever seen and can never again be flightworthy. His treatment and carelessness presented in his video are typical of the type of people that killed themselves in the Mini-500. I don't foresee a good outcome. The Mini-500 was a wonderful helicopter to fly if built and maintained correctly, as seen in this video over and over again.
@@fettersbuiltco go watch again it’s dead
@@fettersbuiltco lol he destroyed it what a shame
@@skimask5049 - I think it showed how well it was built if nothing else. They kept trying but it took the licking, but kept on ticking. It's sad to see such fools doing this to even a helicopter in such bad shape. It was like seeing someone torture your son.
Ok. I'm gonna build a tree house 90+ feet up and have a helicopter pad just outside of it. 😊
P
Such a Beautiful project was my dream never came through 😔 Swashplate replacement technology is Awesome still 2022 no one else has it wonder why you don't hear about this anymore, Dennis when there's other ones like the "mosquito" taking off which can't even compare ☝🏾😔Sad ☝🏾
I want it, I want it , I want It
Very good
The finest looking single seater I've seen. Just learned of this craft today 10/11/21.
Awesome machine. Many possibilities.
I remember REALLY wanting one of these back then. It was the closest thing I'd found available in the USA to James Bond's "Little Nellie" (a British-designed Wallis WA-116). I never got the funds to get one, but I have a new interest anyway...an Auto-Gyro Calidus. Where's that winning lotto ticket when I want it?
good job!
Ha!...I ordered that tape after reading about it in Popular Mechanics back in 1988. I never ended up buying one but I bet I watched that tape over 100 times. Funny thing is, I finally took to the air 26 years later in a powered paramotor.
Is this your new remote control helicopter you are building? How many have you built so far and how much do they cost? www.fettersaerospace.com/uav-helicopters.html
I no longer manufacture and sell to the public. I now enjoy being a freelance rotorcraft designer where I travel the world and design new UAV concepts for other companies. The one you are showing on my website is the StarLite-2A, the latest one I designed for myself, derived from all the earlier concepts as my final solution to a medium payload UAV helicopter. It's the best work I have ever done. It is for sale to a qualified company willing to buy the project where I would travel to them and help setup manufacturing, and I have been negotiating with a few people already, but nothing final. The StarLite-2A could sell for as little as $450,000 each with fully autonomous controller, or easily for twice that much if the owned so desired to sell it for that much. That is still a much lower price then what is available today from the competition, and the StarLite-2A is a far better helicopter. But, this site is for Mini-500 discussion. You are welcome to go to the Star:ite-2A videos on my UA-cam channel to discuss it, or email me directly with questions, if you would not mind please.
When these were manufactured, what was the cost of the piston engine versus the cost of the turbine engine along with the helicopter?
Back then I believe the cost of the Rotax 582 was about $3000. We never offered a turbine engine for the Mini-500. There were no affordable turbine engines available new "in a box" back then that we could have sold, and we only sold new equipment, nothing used or rebuilt. The only thing that could accidently be called a turbine engine was the Solar APU's, and those were not real turbine engines, used too much fuel and too unreliable, and all used or rebuilt. So, the only engine for the Mini-500 at that time was the Rotax 582. Some people did manage to put an APU on their Mini-500 and fly them for very limited time, but to my knowledge, all have failed to outperform the 582.
Dennis Fetters. Did you ever have Hot Rodders that put expansion chambers on their Rotax engines? Make them sound like a Kawasaki 750 H2?
We designed what was called the "Power Enhancement Package", or PEP. It was a special tuned exhaust that took the power from the low RPM range of the engine where it was not needed for a helicopter, and moved it to the operational RPM range of the engine, where it was used in helicopter applications. It increased our horsepower from 65 to 78, and moved the torque to just below the green line of operation which gave us better low rotor RPM recovery. It was later made a mandatory upgrade. It did little to change the sound of the engine.
Dennis, with the new boom of ultra lite Helios you may have to start taking orders again. I know there is a stock pile of parts some where. I read some where there was a two seat in testing or was it a 4 guess it had to be two to stay in the class . Very nice love the head ...stop it all of you just stop it. " the rotor head " I was look at one of the gnats I mean mosquito when I found the mini way better. I'm just kidding about the gnats there pretty solid from what I have seen so far just out classed by the mini. Bring back the mini.
Hello Shawn, and thank you for the nice compliment. The Mini-500 was great for 20 years ago. It was my first helicopter I ever designed, and I have learned much more since then, and if I ever were to build another manned helicopter, I would start over and use what I learned to build a better design. But, that would never be only a single-person helicopter due to the very limited market. It would have to be a two-person so demand would be better, like the later Voyager-500 Two-Place that was basically an extended version of the Mini-500. Also due to the stupid rules in the USA, I can't provide people with a fully assembled and tested helicopter like they can do in Europe, and that was the main problem with the Mini-500, because people building it just made too many assembly mistakes. Mix that with the few design mistakes of it being my first helicopter, and it gets an undeserved bad rap. But, the biggest problem right now is the economics; You see, your basic manned lite-helicopter right now only sells for $115.3 per pound, while your average 100kg UAV helicopter can sell for $4,500 per pound, and the UAV cost less to manufacture! So, due to market demand and the situation of the economics of the UAV at this time, I can't afford to stop making UAV's to build manned helicopters for the foreseeable future. The USA would also have to change the regulations so that I can provide a fully assembled and tested aircraft before I would go down that road again. I hope my answer makes since, and I do appreciate you watching my video. Again, thank you for the compliment! Sincerely, Dennis
Dennis. it is incredible to see a godfather of aviation replying to all these interested people below. I am 26 and my opportunity to fly a Mini has now passed. I guess will settle for a MD500. Your helicopter kit design was always my favorite. I think you did an OUTSTANDING job with your kit, considering you were always at the mercy of the owners ability to follow instruction. Hope to earn my CPL-H within the next two years, you have been an big inspiration on this journey. Great airframe, thank you! @@fettersbuiltco
@@enneffgaming - what an incredibly nice compliment, thank you very much. I had a lot of fun flying my Mini-500 AND Commander gyroplanes. They enabled me to travel all over the world and see many amazing places and people. I'm extremely glad people enjoyed my aircraft. I would still like to build my new gyroplane design, however that UAV helicopter demand keeps me tied up. Thank you again and wishing you the best of luck. Sincerely, Dennis
Great stuff. Tiger.
I wanted one of these so bad back in the day. I had many brochures I would daydream almost everyday.
Well now you can have one. I see them all the time on marketplace for like 15 to 22 grand
Is this better than the Helicycle?
Charles, It is different from the Helicycle in that it is much more affordable. The Helicycle has a larger APU turbine engine. For the money, there is not a better helicopter than the Mini-500, but if money is no issue than I think the Helicycle will give a little better performance.
Thank you for an honest answer. I like the fact that there are actual test videos on the parts of the mini whereas with the Helicycle they are very hard to find (i only found one). The 2 stroke version did not do well here in South Africa but i think the turbine one would do much better.
either overweight, or low rpm---don't think it was settling with power-----takeoff downwind?? The wind did not look that strong! Not sure what altitude or temp were-----if high--then lack of power
Chinese aren't too heavy as people go... RPM sounded fine.... Was not setting with power, maintained height.... Too slow for downwind to matter..... Had enough power to land on the road if needed.... Looks to me like poor judgment and just not watching or thinking. My experience; Chinese fly like they drive a car; with no common since and poor judgment.
pretty amazing to watch!!!!
YES QUITE TRUE ,BUT IF YOU MISSED UP YOUR STEPS YOU WILL END UP CRASHING,YOU NEED TO PRACTICE THIS A LOT ON THE GROUND ,BEFORE T/O,OR YOU END UP SPINNING THE COPTER IN THE AIR AND CRASHING
There were two reasons I never came out with another jump-takeoff gyro after this one. 1. The people that paid me to develop it made me sign an agreement not to use the technology for 10 years. 2. After flying the prototype, I realized there would be a lot of people crashing it, so I would have needed to first design one that was a two-place for instruction, and at that time there were no engines suitable to design around. I ended up selling the company and got into designing helicopters, so I never went back to the jump-take-off gyro again...... YET! ;-)
OK GREAT THANK YOU FOR THE ANSWER,I AGREE
Why ohh why would you do that?!
I'm sure that is exactly the same question the pilot was asking himself..... just 0.3 seconds after he took out the sign.
This helicopter seems way to small for an autorotation.
rigorous testing
Whoa... what year was this taped? 1982?
+DustyCowdog Well Dusty,....... close. About 1994 or 95.
+Dennis Fetters I was a baby when you built the Mini 500. 😀
I'm sure many people were as well. We didn't stop making babies after 1995. In fact my wife and I just made a new one a year ago.
Dennis Fetters I was born on 7th May 1998. That's why I said "I was a baby." You know, this helicopter could be my twin!
Born in 1998!!?? Sun, you weren't even a sparkle in your daddies eye yet. ;-) I starter building the Mini-500 in 1990, and flew it in 1991.
What exactly is this metal rotor cone? I thought it applied only to the rotor disc profile.
Prachtig !
Poor man's Huges 500 :D
my father use to be a test pilot for this company as i recall this company, also had another 2 seater chopper that was in testing phase
+Dan Aita Yes he was, and much more. Your father was a good and loyal friend of mine, and a very valued employee of RHCI. He also went to China with me to work, and I saw him there the last time. I have missed him very much over the years and wonder where he is now. I am proud to have known him. Sincerely, Dennis Fetters
sadly he passed away almost 10 years ago flying an ultralight in peru.
Dan, I'm so sorry to hear this. I always hoped to meet up with him again. About 1 years ago I even tried to search for him on google to see if I could get back in contact. He was a good man, good pilot and good friend and always concerned about his kids and expressed his love for them. I'll remember him always, an I'm very sorry for your loss. My email is fettersbuiltco@sbcglobal.net, I sure would like to know more about what happened with him after I left him in China if you're ever up to talking about it. Sincerely, Dennis Fetters
Does anyone know what city this was filmed in?
Dave, much was filmed in Excelsior Springs MO, but there are also segments from other location, even Brazil.