Air Command International
Commander Sport
Photo: Robert Deering 7/16/2014
American Helicopter Museum
West Chester, Pennsylvania

Air Command Commander

The Air Command Commander is an American autogyro that was designed and produced by Air Command International, with its first flight in 1984. Production was completed by 2003. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.

The aircraft was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of 254 lb (115 kg). The aircraft has a standard empty weight of 252 lb (114 kg). It features a single main rotor, a single-seat open cockpit without a windshield, tricycle landing gear and a single engine in pusher configuration.

The aircraft fuselage is made from bolted-together 6061-T6 aluminum tubing that is supplied anodized and pre-drilled. Its 23 ft (7.0 m) diameter rotor comes completely assembled.

The aircraft takes 40 hours to assemble from the factory kit. Original factory options included a cockpit fairing, wheels brakes, wheel pants, rotor brake and a main rotor pre-rotator, although the installation of any of these options will raise the empty weight above US FAR 103 limits for ultralight vehicles.

The aircraft can be readily loaded on a simple trailer for ground transportation.

Source: Wikipedia

Air Command International

Air Command International, Inc. is an American aircraft manufacturer originally based in Wylie, Texas, later in Caddo Mills, Texas and now in River Falls, Wisconsin. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of autogyros in the form of kits for amateur construction for the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles and the US Experimental - Amateur-built aircraft categories.

The company was founded by Dennis Fetters, who later went on to start the troubled Revolution Helicopter Corporation in Excelsior Springs, Missouri and Fetters Aerospace in China.

The Air Command Commander was introduced by the company in 1984 for the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles category. Follow-up models included the single-seat Air Command Commander Elite, the single seat Air Command Commander Sport and Air Command Single Place, plus the two-seat Air Command Commander 147A, two seat Air Command Commander Side-By-Side, two seat Air Command Commander Tandem and two seat Air Command Tandem, all for the US homebuilt aircraft category.

SOURCE: Wikipedia