Wish I had the money, I'd buy it in a heart beat. I just retired, at age 75 but have always wanted to have a mosquito helicopter since the first time I saw one. Love your videos.
The first 5min 24 seconds my stomach jumped to my heart, then my heart jumped into my throat...and stayed there. Whew....man. I knew you breathed deeply at 5:25. ;-) Nicely done, sir!
Just came across your Vids one in the garage and this one, congrats! My experience with Motorcycles tells me that Blue pips mean to lean a fuel mix which causes it to run hotter hence the Blue pipe, assuming you bought this used the blue on the muffler may be pre your ownership, and I'm mentioning this so that you might check if you already haven't the fuel mixture. Happy safe flying!
You like this helicopter. I think you should Store it and keep it until you return if you can afford it. I sold my favorite car when I went over seas with the Air Force and I have always regretted it. Regret is difficult to resolve and you can’t always resolve it.
Great stuff. You’re the man! Where I fly my paramotor there is a bay with a bunch of these helicopters in it. They scare me just looking at them lol. Take care bud.
Can you please provide some technical information about your heli? Probably there will be more enthusiasts, thinking to repeat your wonderful construction and get to the air even on low budget
It would need a larger engine probably two 40-50 horsepowers would be best and the frame would need to be made of light metal. Also one engine may need to be 5 horsepower larger or more than likely just a larger taller rotor in the back to make it even weight. A 80-85-100 horsepower helicopter would be able to hold two 170lb people and tow a person with a harness they would need to put on themself as well.
It's a shame they don't make the kits anymore. I like the XEL's bubbly look, but that adds more weight onto an already taxed engine. I'd be very surprised if the ol' girl could lift me, lol. Something I'm a bit curious about, though, as this is the closest I've ever seen of a Mosquito's rotorhead... Where's the swashplate??? are the pitch links connected to it? I'm just trying to compare it to my T-Rex, which obviously isn't a direct comparison because R/C has a Hiller Bar, but I don't see where the Cyclic is attached to anything at all. I've wondered that about the mosquito ever since I first saw pictures of one.
@@MitchG Thanks! so it's at the bottom of the shaft and not the top then. explains why I didn't see it. That's an interesting design choice, but I guess it might make the linkages shorter.
A lot of engine tuning on a 2-stroke engine can be done with the exaust system. Not sure that 2-into-one setup is optimal. I imagine separate exaust for each cylinder would increase power output, especially with tuned expansion chambers. That's how its done on 2-stroke racing engines anyway. At any rate, great job! (and you're a braver man than I)
Amazing! Could you fit a parachute on top of those blades axis? I’ve seen gyrocopters having these. I’ve always felt weird about gyros and hellis because of fear of bird strike destroying a blade and depriving the machine from autorotation means there where a plane may glide…
No need for a parachute. Just autorotate. Helicopters hit birds all the time with the blades. The birds just get chopped up, the blades are strong enough to not get damaged
@@MitchG wow, I didn’t know that! Glad to hear that they are so strong, it makes sense because of the sharp, knife-like edge of the contact. With the plane wings and windows they break holes or huge dents but these are two blunt surfaces hitting eachother. Cheers!
You are a brave man running a Hirth ... I would practice my auto rotation alot. with a Hirth Just a matter of time it will quit when u need it the most...
Hey man, that was even stressful from my couch!! Bahaha hey I think what was happening when you were doing those drop tests is that your rotor speed was actually going faster than your engine when it was re-engaging. Personally, I would probably try to do a landing using rotor speed alone once I was good and comfortable. It's too bad there isn't a 103 viable turbine for it.
Do the fiberglass blade grips stay in track? The guys at the factory said that they switched to the newer aluminum blade grips because the fiberglass ones wouldn't track properly.
About a third of the way into video I was thinking it was way less chill to fly that a para motor. I was not surprised when you talked about the attention required to make it do what you want. Looks fun, but the fun to hassle ratio is way lower than motoring.
I’ve just started flying drones and it’s making me want a helicopter. Only problem is I’ve crashed and totaled 4 times in 2 months. I should probably hold off on the helicopter for now.
Hey Mitch, it's hard to find the specs on this since the company has been sold and bought, and this model was discontinued.....what are the times left on the life limited components? Can you get parts for it? Any support from the current owners of the company?
Yes they still sell parts. Tbo is 50 hours to replace the pistons. This helicopter shares many parts with the current mosquito xel including using the same engine.
One thing I noticed about the mosquito helicopter whether it be the air or the xel xe or xet, the direction that the tail rotor rotates seems wrong to me. Shouldn't the tail rotor blades be rotating so that the front side is advancing upwards into the rotor wash from the main rotors? I used to fly RC helicopters and whenever I would put one together I would make sure that the belt was twisted the right way so that the rotation of the tail rotor would have the blades rotating so that the blade closest to the main rotor is advancing going upward into the rotor wash. It almost seems like it would be less efficient to have the forward-facing blade rotating with the direction of the rotor wash being that it is the closest to the tip of the main rotor blades? At least that is how I was taught to set up the RC helis and it made perfect sense as well as had excellent authority. It also seems it would be more efficient/effective as opposed to the direction of rotation that they use on the mosquito helicopters.
I also flew rc helis and I noticed the same thing. Some of the synergy helis had the tail rotor rotate the same way this mosquito does. I think there's some very small benefits to having it rotate the opposite direction but I'm not sure if I could actually notice. I think it's done this way just to keep the splitter gearbox simple and have the main rotor rotate counter clockwise.
@@MitchG The direction of the tail rotor has pro’s and con’s for each direction. Actually has nothing to do with the splitter gear box on the Mosquito’s. If you wanted to change direction you can simply turn the tail gear box over. I actually thought about doing this when I first started flying my XET, until I got into forward flight. The obvious major pro for the front of the tail rotor disk direction going up into the main rotor down wash is more efficiency, or more authority in a hover and in/out of ETL. The tail rotor diameter is large and as you’ve commented, the tail has plenty of authority on this light weight helicopter. One of the con’s of going down with the main rotor down wash in a hover is less total authority “in a hover” and I’ve noticed this especially coming out of ETL. But, in forward flight, the top of the tail rotor disk is now in clean air and into the relative wind and is a lot more efficient and doesn’t suffer any efficiency losses of a retreating blade in the relative wind for that section of the disk. Because of this and the vertical tail fin, technically you can go faster with “X” amount of power as the normal 15-18% is not being consumed by the tail rotor system and that power can be applied to the main rotor. At 80mph on my XET, I’m pulling the same power setting (fuel burn) as in a hover but the tail rotor system is only about 1/4 of pitch required to hover. I hope this helps. Good luck and stay safe over seas! Dave Storey/storeyaviation.com
Static movements. Try to minimize inputs on stick and peddles . Work front to. Back left and right .slow as you can possibly do it. Makin me wanna buy 1 For your sensitivity range, can you adjust the throw on the stick?
Thanks. Yeah you could make a new bracket and mount the push pull rods higher on the cyclic. It's has been a while since I've flown a heli without a computer helping 😁
You studied helicopter before.a governor would alleviate issue' s.What helis did you fly before.Do you need any petal input in flight when turning or just aieleron. thanks Robbie
The specific model meets FAR 103 requirements which makes it the same as a paramotor. No license or registration required. Composite FX sells other models that do require a license and registration
So how many times had you taken it out at this time to teach yourself to fly it? I was the video where you were learning to hover and then the next video was this one so just curious if there were some in between the 2 videos? One of these days I'll be teaching myself the same way so thanks for the videos brother, they definitely give motivation and a little confidence in taking that leap!
One of the most terrifying things ive ever seen. Talk about throttle control and faith in your machine..Hats off to you sir.
Wish I had the money, I'd buy it in a heart beat. I just retired, at age 75 but have always wanted to have a mosquito helicopter since the first time I saw one. Love your videos.
Perfect place to learn. Lots of wide open area and no people.
Super nice flight demo, wish you a Mosquito XE285 Helicopter from Switzerland! I
The first 5min 24 seconds my stomach jumped to my heart, then my heart jumped into my throat...and stayed there. Whew....man. I knew you breathed deeply at 5:25. ;-) Nicely done, sir!
*Someting tells me this guy really **_knows_** his helicopter! . . .* ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐💓 🇳🇴
Is the leading edge of his blade dented? I don't think that's air worthy.
It’s not an Apache!!! You are a true heli pilot... Burp timing was perfect. Awesome man! 🤙🏼
Eh... mount a couple sidewinders on it, and it'd be "close enough" in my books!
I think that has more bolts than my Cessna 150 does. More complicated than I thought it would be. Very Nice. So glad you have a good helmet.
Just came across your Vids one in the garage and this one, congrats! My experience with Motorcycles tells me that Blue pips mean to lean a fuel mix which causes it to run hotter hence the Blue pipe, assuming you bought this used the blue on the muffler may be pre your ownership, and I'm mentioning this so that you might check if you already haven't the fuel mixture.
Happy safe flying!
I had a big smile on my face for the entire video. So cool!
I used to live in this area when I was stationed at Bliss. I loved the area and the people. Be safe!
Nice! It's my dream to get one of these one day. Looking forward to more adventure videos with you Mosquito. Looks like fun! I'm interested.
What other helicopters have you flown and how many hours had you logged before flying this machine? Great videos...congrats.
You like this helicopter. I think you should Store it and keep it until you return if you can afford it. I sold my favorite car when I went over seas with the Air Force and I have always regretted it. Regret is difficult to resolve and you can’t always resolve it.
Great stuff. You’re the man! Where I fly my paramotor there is a bay with a bunch of these helicopters in it. They scare me just looking at them lol. Take care bud.
In your Crocs haha, awesome, safe flying out there rotorbrain.
That has to be spooky as all get out. But one hell of an amazing experience that open up flying on a chair
If you weren't wearing crocs i'd be worried... so awesome mate
Love the autorotations! Remember your height/velocity curve..... May want to have just a little more forward speed the lower altitude you are.
Pretty sweet, i bet with the right reach someone would want it for 30,000. Especially since you already proved its airworthiness.
If I had 30k I would definitely take that baby....I would even wear crocks lol
It's really cool to make your own helicopters❤
I miss my time with the TH-55. Such a fun way to learn.
Can you please provide some technical information about your heli?
Probably there will be more enthusiasts, thinking to repeat your wonderful construction and get to the air even on low budget
That looks like so much fun! I wonder if you could build a 2-seater?
It would need a larger engine probably two 40-50 horsepowers would be best and the frame would need to be made of light metal. Also one engine may need to be 5 horsepower larger or more than likely just a larger taller rotor in the back to make it even weight. A 80-85-100 horsepower helicopter would be able to hold two 170lb people and tow a person with a harness they would need to put on themself as well.
@@RippedNerdyKid thanks very much for the info. I really enjoy your channel. Keep up the great content.
Good thing you had the safety crock foot gear on.
Water proof 😄
That's ACE Amazing work bro
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
It's a shame they don't make the kits anymore. I like the XEL's bubbly look, but that adds more weight onto an already taxed engine. I'd be very surprised if the ol' girl could lift me, lol.
Something I'm a bit curious about, though, as this is the closest I've ever seen of a Mosquito's rotorhead... Where's the swashplate??? are the pitch links connected to it? I'm just trying to compare it to my T-Rex, which obviously isn't a direct comparison because R/C has a Hiller Bar, but I don't see where the Cyclic is attached to anything at all. I've wondered that about the mosquito ever since I first saw pictures of one.
The swash is inside of the mast frame behind the pilot, at the bottom of the tube.
@@MitchG Thanks! so it's at the bottom of the shaft and not the top then. explains why I didn't see it. That's an interesting design choice, but I guess it might make the linkages shorter.
Nice tactical boots there! xD
Thanks 😊
A lot of engine tuning on a 2-stroke engine can be done with the exaust system. Not sure that 2-into-one setup is optimal. I imagine separate exaust for each cylinder would increase power output, especially with tuned expansion chambers. That's how its done on 2-stroke racing engines anyway. At any rate, great job! (and you're a braver man than I)
The exhaust on this one is custom. They sell a tuned exhaust for this motor but since this one works and has enough power as is, ill save the money.
@@MitchG I definitely understand that. Thanks for the reply.
@@MitchG Jeremy Clarkson wouldn’t approve your above comment. “power”
Amazing! Could you fit a parachute on top of those blades axis? I’ve seen gyrocopters having these. I’ve always felt weird about gyros and hellis because of fear of bird strike destroying a blade and depriving the machine from autorotation means there where a plane may glide…
No need for a parachute. Just autorotate. Helicopters hit birds all the time with the blades. The birds just get chopped up, the blades are strong enough to not get damaged
@@MitchG wow, I didn’t know that! Glad to hear that they are so strong, it makes sense because of the sharp, knife-like edge of the contact. With the plane wings and windows they break holes or huge dents but these are two blunt surfaces hitting eachother. Cheers!
You are a brave man running a Hirth ... I would practice my auto rotation alot. with a Hirth Just a matter of time it will quit when u need it the most...
Hi dude i am from indonesia and i am fascinated by your mosquito helicopter,i wanna learn how to build one just like you
What do i need to prepare ?
Something tell me Mitch has a good bit of military experience coming into this ultralight.
Bro pls explain how to build it
Parabéns pela sua coragem não tem medo de altura 👏👏👏
Beyond badass. So impressed.
Great explanations! Thank you!
very nicely done I'm gonna get one
Real inspiration! 👍
Excellent 👌🏻😇
Nice job bruv but what are the specs,speed, service ceiling, endurance etc
Homeboy has balls of steel..
Looks like some west Texas scenery.
Hey man, that was even stressful from my couch!! Bahaha hey I think what was happening when you were doing those drop tests is that your rotor speed was actually going faster than your engine when it was re-engaging. Personally, I would probably try to do a landing using rotor speed alone once I was good and comfortable. It's too bad there isn't a 103 viable turbine for it.
Do the fiberglass blade grips stay in track? The guys at the factory said that they switched to the newer aluminum blade grips because the fiberglass ones wouldn't track properly.
That's what they told me but I haven't had issues in the 3-4 hours of flight time I've had
How much does this cost to buy? Is this a kit chopper?
About a third of the way into video I was thinking it was way less chill to fly that a para motor. I was not surprised when you talked about the attention required to make it do what you want.
Looks fun, but the fun to hassle ratio is way lower than motoring.
That depends on one's idea of fun! 😉
@@MitchG ha ha better keep it $30k fun fun fun
@@NelsonsWings, that is because it is a helicopter. You need a lot of experience flying a helicopter for it to become chill 😂
@@noahpfeifer6931 of course, understood! BTW I know Mitch and watched him fly this bird.
@@NelsonsWings, cool ;-)
I’ve just started flying drones and it’s making me want a helicopter. Only problem is I’ve crashed and totaled 4 times in 2 months. I should probably hold off on the helicopter for now.
Hey Mitch, it's hard to find the specs on this since the company has been sold and bought, and this model was discontinued.....what are the times left on the life limited components? Can you get parts for it? Any support from the current owners of the company?
Yes they still sell parts. Tbo is 50 hours to replace the pistons. This helicopter shares many parts with the current mosquito xel including using the same engine.
Now that's a nice place to fly
please the specs of the helicopter you made and the complete tutorial made it i want to make one too
What country are you heading too?
Where did you buy this kit? I really REALLY want one :(
Hi buddy I am from England where can I get some more information thank you
Now I Am Your Biggest fan I want to work with you, you can hire me as your personal assistant😂😄.. lots of love from India🇮🇳🇮🇳
How much does it cost to get one please
One thing I noticed about the mosquito helicopter whether it be the air or the xel xe or xet, the direction that the tail rotor rotates seems wrong to me. Shouldn't the tail rotor blades be rotating so that the front side is advancing upwards into the rotor wash from the main rotors? I used to fly RC helicopters and whenever I would put one together I would make sure that the belt was twisted the right way so that the rotation of the tail rotor would have the blades rotating so that the blade closest to the main rotor is advancing going upward into the rotor wash. It almost seems like it would be less efficient to have the forward-facing blade rotating with the direction of the rotor wash being that it is the closest to the tip of the main rotor blades? At least that is how I was taught to set up the RC helis and it made perfect sense as well as had excellent authority. It also seems it would be more efficient/effective as opposed to the direction of rotation that they use on the mosquito helicopters.
I also flew rc helis and I noticed the same thing. Some of the synergy helis had the tail rotor rotate the same way this mosquito does. I think there's some very small benefits to having it rotate the opposite direction but I'm not sure if I could actually notice. I think it's done this way just to keep the splitter gearbox simple and have the main rotor rotate counter clockwise.
@@MitchG The direction of the tail rotor has pro’s and con’s for each direction. Actually has nothing to do with the splitter gear box on the Mosquito’s. If you wanted to change direction you can simply turn the tail gear box over. I actually thought about doing this when I first started flying my XET, until I got into forward flight.
The obvious major pro for the front of the tail rotor disk direction going up into the main rotor down wash is more efficiency, or more authority in a hover and in/out of ETL. The tail rotor diameter is large and as you’ve commented, the tail has plenty of authority on this light weight helicopter.
One of the con’s of going down with the main rotor down wash in a hover is less total authority “in a hover” and I’ve noticed this especially coming out of ETL. But, in forward flight, the top of the tail rotor disk is now in clean air and into the relative wind and is a lot more efficient and doesn’t suffer any efficiency losses of a retreating blade in the relative wind for that section of the disk. Because of this and the vertical tail fin, technically you can go faster with “X” amount of power as the normal 15-18% is not being consumed by the tail rotor system and that power can be applied to the main rotor. At 80mph on my XET, I’m pulling the same power setting (fuel burn) as in a hover but the tail rotor system is only about 1/4 of pitch required to hover.
I hope this helps.
Good luck and stay safe over seas!
Dave Storey/storeyaviation.com
@@dstoreyaviation cool! Thanks for sharing!
The balancing weight is holding up using a SAB Goblin battery velcro strap haha
were did you get the helmet?
Probably harder to fly than the apache right!
Static movements. Try to minimize inputs on stick and peddles . Work front to. Back left and right .slow as you can possibly do it.
Makin me wanna buy 1
For your sensitivity range, can you adjust the throw on the stick?
Thanks. Yeah you could make a new bracket and mount the push pull rods higher on the cyclic. It's has been a while since I've flown a heli without a computer helping 😁
@@MitchG I wonder if you could put a heading hold gyro on it?
@@terrycarver1255 that takes the fun out of it! I love a challenge
Scary, but I would love it.👍
Now I’m confused I thought you had never flown one before?
Where do you live bro? Looks like the desert out there. Pretty awesome
Nice shoes you got there
Could you please tell me the engine specifications sir....?
Do you still have, is it still for sale?
Did you ever sell it?
Great video where did you get your helmet from
Looks like a hgu56, from Gentex.
You studied helicopter before.a governor would alleviate issue' s.What helis did you fly before.Do you need any petal input in flight when turning or just aieleron. thanks Robbie
Just little pedal inputs during turns. This heli has a governor but I prefer to not use it
This guy amazes me, I’ve watched a few of his vids. Does this guy have a military background?
He's an Apache pilot.
Has the motor ever quit, and had to auto rotate?
Where is the swashplate at??? I would love to have a single place Helicycle
The swash is located inside the mast.
@@MitchG What other helos have you flown prior to this one?
Did you 3d print the helmet
Can you you fit/remodel a honda lawn mower regulator for the carb?
What's the ATM for the Mozzy?
Kick the tires and light the fires 🔥pull pitch and wiggle sticks
Having to use throttle seems so weird. Be safe out there brother
How much is a Black Fly?
did you ever end up selling the Heli?!
C'est combien kl maitre heures ??
How much did it cost to build?
Nice heliport!
Are you a military helicopter pilot?
What kind of engine you used ? It's awesome 😄
Mz202. 2 cylinder air cooled, 2 stroke
I want more information how to connect with you. 🙂
Amazing ❤️❤️
I wished I lived in a country where this was allowed.
Would have bought on in an instant.
A Real Pilot
im interested in buying ?
Do you need a pilot license or registration of the craft for this? Or it it like ppg?
The specific model meets FAR 103 requirements which makes it the same as a paramotor. No license or registration required. Composite FX sells other models that do require a license and registration
How much did it cost
Is their any type of protection for engine failure, or is this a completely risk type of operation? Coming from a complete newbie.
Google autorotation
Where can I get one of these
Where on earth is the place located at? It looks to me to be a good place to move then I would have lots of room to fly my rc powered parachute.
West Texas
How long can this helicopter be in the air?
Could you fuel inject it and add fly-by wire from a motorcycle?
30k for a flying car is cheaper than a non flying car.
id have no problem putting floats on mine since there is alot of water where i live
So how many times had you taken it out at this time to teach yourself to fly it? I was the video where you were learning to hover and then the next video was this one so just curious if there were some in between the 2 videos? One of these days I'll be teaching myself the same way so thanks for the videos brother, they definitely give motivation and a little confidence in taking that leap!
I have lots of helicopter experience prior to buying the mosquito. But this is my first experience with a mosquito
how did you get this
good video, Mitch! What is weight of this heli?
Around 250lbs
This is for sale?
PS, where is that location AZ, NM?
Looks like West Texas to me.
ROTOR 6 m 7"?