The Talon 600 Is The First Of A New Generation For Rotorway

Last year at AirVenture 2007, Rotorway proudly displayed its newest aircraft, the A600 Talon. Successor to the well-known Exec 162F, the A600 looks almost identical... but Rotorway CEO Grant Norwitz is quick to point out beneath the aircraft's skin is an entirely new aircraft.

Building upon Rotorway's experience in the kit helicopter world -- which Norwitz feels is due to B.J. Schram's efforts in creating the first Rotorway -- the company has incorporated many design changes planned to ease its transition into building a certified ship. The A600 Talon is not an incremental change in Rotorway's aircraft, though the exterior remains much the same. Conventional steam gauges have been removed and replaced with a Stratomaster Enigma glass cockpit incorporating an HSI, CDI, TAWS, and GPS.

A FADEC control system, which Rotorway helped revolutionize in previous helicopters, now has a controller displaying every aspect of the system on the glass cockpit. The Talon is wider and taller than the Exec 162F it replaces, and a buyer can choose the conventional belt-driven tail rotor or a new design that incorporates a tailshaft assembly.

Two power plants are available for the new helicopter: a Rotorway 600N at 147 horsepower, and a Rotorway 600S, which is supercharged and ups horsepower to 167. The two-seat helicopter will have a useful load of 535 pounds, and a cruise speed of 100 miles per hour. Rotorway has also designed a brand new belt-driven system with a hydraulic tensioner to get the rotors turning.

Rotorway has been testing the prototype since January, and the current A600 has flown for 180 hours. As Norwitz says, "we want to make sure we have a product that we want to fly." The A600 is aimed at the training market as well, and Rotorway plans to have the aircraft tested in the training environment at a Rotorway facility in South Africa. The helicopter comes with full dual controls and stability is reportedly similar to a Schweizer.

But what does the A600 cost? With everything but the radio and transponder, the A600 kit will retail for $95,700. Another option is to buy the aircraft ready to fly, or "turn key," for $135,000, though this will not be the certified cost. Estimates are that the cost of a certified A600 will be somewhere in the $150,000 range.

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