# Showers Skytwister Choppy

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American helicopter

Skytwister Choppy General information Type Helicopter National origin United States Manufacturer Showers-Aero Status Plans no longer available (2015) Number built 12 (1998) History First flight 1992

The **Showers Skytwister Choppy** is an American [helicopter](/source/Helicopter) that was produced by [Showers-Aero](/source/Showers-Aero) of [Milton, Pennsylvania](/source/Milton%2C_Pennsylvania), introduced in 1992. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied in the form of [CAD](/source/Computer-aided_design) plans for [amateur construction](/source/Homebuilt_aircraft).[1][2]

## Design and development

The Skytwister is a modernized and updated version of the [Adams-Wilson Hobbycopter](/source/Adams-Wilson_Hobbycopter), also called the "Choppy", as redesigned by Ben Showers.[1][2]

The Skytwister was designed to comply with the US *Experimental - Amateur-built* aircraft rules. It features a single main rotor, a two-bladed [tail rotor](/source/Tail_rotor), a single-seat open cockpit with a windshield and skid-type [landing gear](/source/Landing_gear). The standard engine used is a twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, [two-stroke](/source/Two-stroke), [dual-ignition](/source/Dual-ignition) 64 hp (48 kW) [Rotax 582](/source/Rotax_582) powerplant with a 2.58:1 reduction drive, which replaces the original Choppy's motorcycle engine.[1]

The aircraft [fuselage](/source/Fuselage) is made from bolted-together [aluminum](/source/Aluminum) tubing. Its two-bladed Fleck 2706 aluminium alloy main rotor is made as an extrusion and has a 21.50 ft (6.6 m) diameter. The tail rotor has a diameter of 36 in (91.4 cm). The aircraft has an empty weight of 320 lb (145 kg) and a gross weight of 670 lb (304 kg), giving a useful load of 350 lb (159 kg). With full fuel of 5 U.S. gallons (19 L; 4.2 imp gal) the payload for pilot and baggage is 320 lb (145 kg).[1]

The designer estimated the construction time from the supplied plans as 300 hours.[1]

## Operational history

By 1998, the company reported that 200 sets of plans had been sold and 12 aircraft were completed and flying.[1]

By April 2015, no examples were [registered](/source/Aircraft_registration) in the United States with the [Federal Aviation Administration](/source/Federal_Aviation_Administration), although a total of one had been registered at one time.[3]

## Specifications (Skytwister)

*Data from* Purdy and All-Aero[1][2]

**General characteristics**

- **Crew:** one

- **Length:** 15 ft 8 in (4.78 m)

- **Width:** 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)

- **Height:** 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)

- **Empty weight:** 320 lb (145 kg)

- **Gross weight:** 670 lb (304 kg)

- **Fuel capacity:** 5 U.S. gallons (19 L; 4.2 imp gal)

- **Powerplant:** 1 × [Rotax 582](/source/Rotax_582) twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, [two stroke](/source/Two_stroke) [aircraft engine](/source/Aircraft_engine) with a 2.58:1 [reduction drive](/source/Reduction_drive), 65 hp (48 kW)

- **Main rotor diameter:** 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)

- **Main rotor area:** 363 sq ft (33.7 m2)

**Performance**

- **Maximum speed:** 85 mph (137 km/h, 74 kn)

- **Cruise speed:** 65 mph (105 km/h, 56 kn)

- **Rate of climb:** 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s)

- **Disk loading:** 1.8 lb/sq ft (8.8 kg/m2)

## See also

- [List of rotorcraft](/source/List_of_rotorcraft)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Aerocrafter_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Aerocrafter_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Aerocrafter_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Aerocrafter_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Aerocrafter_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Aerocrafter_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-Aerocrafter_1-6) Purdy, Don: *AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition*, page 331. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9636409-4-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9636409-4-1)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-AllAero_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-AllAero_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-AllAero_2-2) AllAero (2015). ["Ben Showers Aero Skytwister"](http://all-aero.com/index.php/component/content/article/35-helicopters/copters/1519-ben-showers-aero-skytwister). Retrieved April 5, 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FAAReg_3-0)** [Federal Aviation Administration](/source/Federal_Aviation_Administration) (April 5, 2015). ["Make / Model Inquiry Results"](http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=SKYTWISTER&PageNo=1). Retrieved April 5, 2015.

## External links

- [Photo of the Skytwister](http://all-aero.com/images/stories/bsskytwister.jpg)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Showers Skytwister Choppy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showers_Skytwister_Choppy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showers_Skytwister_Choppy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.