Little Wing Autogyro
Little Wing Autogyros · United States · first flew 1995 · light aircraft
The Little Wing Autogyro is a series of conventional one and two-place autogyros with a tractor engine layout, produced by Little Wing Autogyros of Mayflower, Arkansas.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, rotary |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 5.49 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Autogyro with the engine in a tractor layout rather than pusher
- One or two seats in an open frame
- Single main rotor 23 ft in diameter
The engine and propeller are at the front, unlike most light gyrocopters of its time, which used pushers.
Specifications
- The Little Wing Autogyro has a length of 5.49 m (18 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 7.01 m (23 ft).
- Typical crew: 1-2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Ron Herron was concerned about pushover fatalities in pusher gyrocopters and set out to build a tractor-layout gyrocopter that met the US ultralight rules. The prototype LW-1, powered by a Continental O-200, was soon followed by the LW-2. The design was influenced by Juan de la Cierva's autogyros.
Variants
The LW-2 was a single-place machine weighing under 254 lb. The LW-3 was a 70 hp covered version, the LW-4 a two-place long-frame version, the LW-5 a two-place short-frame version, and the Roto-Pup an ultralight based on the Preceptor Ultra Pup airframe.
Where you'll see it
Andy Keech set 29 world records in an LW-5. An LW-5 is displayed at the EAA Air Venture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Related aircraft
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