Homebuilt Ultralight Helicopters

Many ultralight enthusiast build their airplanes on their own. They use kits or work "from scratch". The produced ultralight airplanes are known as Experimental/Homebuilt Aircraft. Although doing this requires a lot of work and passion, it does not require engineer skills or high level knowledge. These enthusiast are just people like me and you who are eager to achieve their dream to fly.

Being a helicopter fan, when I found out about the homebuilt airplanes I was immediately interested in having a homebuilt helicopter. Is it possible? Yes, of course. Am I the first who thought about that? Of course not!



The helicopters by default are much more complicated vehicles than the airplanes. But the experimental/homebuilt industry took care for that and created many simplified models. They are perfect for building a helicopter on your own in your garage or personal workshop.

Some of the most poplar simplified homebuilt ultralight helicopter models are the famous G-1 ultralight helicopter, the Indian Ultralight Helicopter or OMH-Eagle Ultralight Helicopter. There are of course many other models with plans available on the Net.

What do you need to build an ultralight helicopter on your own?

Of course you can purchase a kit and make the things easier. The kits are available for most experimental models and are easier to build up than if you do it from scratch.

The real fun however is to start with a construction plan and your two hands. This will not only save you money (and cost you time), but also give you a lot of entertainment and make you a proud owner of an aircraft that you have really built on your own.

If you choose the second route, you only need standard parts and materials which can be bought from an auto store. The plans which are sold for building experimental homebuilt helicopers consider working with approachable parts.

Isn't it too risky?

The practice shows that the homebuilt helicopters are as safe as any other ultralight helicopters available on the market. Of course, you need to follow the instructions in the construction plans and consider flying in good weather conditions.

As many people in the ultralight aviation like to say, flying is as safe as good the pilot is. Saying this, it's good to know that some countries (USA) don't require pilot's license to fly on homebuilt helicopter (if they weight at the range between 150-190 lbs), so the accidents mostly happen because of inexperienced pilots.

The costs of your homebuilt helicopter

If you start from the scratch the parts might cost you as low as a thousand of US dollars. The kits prices start from several thousands USD. The total cost can be kept under $10,000 just like the advertisement of the Indian Ultralight Helicopter says.

Of course, there are much greater models whose kits can cost $20,000 - $25,000 - but even this is nothing compared to the price of a regular helicopter.

Another thing to consider is that the ultralight helicopters are not so hungry for fuel like their bigger brothers.

If you have decided to build an ultralight aircraft or helicopter, it costs you almost nothing to try. The plans start from just $20 and rare exceed $100. Many sites offer digital plans for download so you can start right away!

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