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Revolution Helicopter Corp., Inc. (RHCI) was a kit helicopter manufacturer based in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. The company designed, manufactured and marketed the Mini-500 single-seat helicopter, so-called because the fuselage superficially resembled the MD-500 five-place turbine powered helicopter. ==History== The company was founded by Dennis Fetters, a former associate of Augusto Cicaré, the self-taught Argentine inventor of a novel helicopter control linkage system. The design basis of the Mini-500 was Cicaré's CH-4, circa 1982. Before launching RHCI, Fetters had operated Air Command International, a manufacturer of autogyros. The Mini-500 design initially intended to use Cicaré's control system design, but Fetters and Cicaré were unable to agree on licencing terms. Fetters instead elected to design and patent a "newly improved control system" as he termed it.〔Armstrong, Kenneth: ''Choosing Your Homebuilt - the one you will finish and fly! Second Edition'', page 202-205. Butterfield Press, 1993. ISBN 0-932579-26-4〕 RHCI sold the last Mini-500 in October 1999 and the company went out of business in November after the product developed a poor safety record with more than 40 accidents and nine fatalities. Critics said that the aircraft was "woefully underpowered and subject to excessive engine and rotor vibrations that lead to cracked frames and other component failures."〔 At the time of its demise the company had a two-place kit helicopter under development, the Voyager-500. Former employees reported that the prototype flew less than three hours and only ever hovered. None were ever delivered to customers.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Revolution Helicopter Corporation」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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