title: Hegy R.C.H.I. El Chuparosa
text: # Hegy R.C.H.I. El Chuparosa
  
  The Hegy "El Chuparosa" (English: Hummingbird) is a homebuilt, enclosed-cockpit biplane that was designed in the early 1950s.
  
  ## Design and development
  
  The aircraft was designed to be a low-cost, high performance aircraft. The Ray Hegy design used full size wall drawings and wooden mock-ups. The aircraft was started in February 1950 and finished in May 1959 with the prototype displayed at the Rockford EAA Fly-In in 1960.
  
  "El Chuparosa" is a single place biplane featuring a short fuselage with a tail swept to a sharp tip. The fuselage cross section was based on the Heath Parasol design. The fuselage was constructed from welded steel tubing, with wooden wing spars from a J-3 Cub, the ailerons were made from 1929 Douglas O-38 rudders and the engine cheeks cowlings were made from Fairchild 24 wheelpants. The cockpit is enclosed.
  
  ## Operational history
  
  The prototype "El Chuparosa" was donated to the EAA Airventure Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on August 14, 1977.
  
  ## Specifications (Hegy R.C.H.I. “El Chuparosa”)
  
  Data from Sport Aviation
  
  General characteristics
  
  * Crew: one
  * Length: 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m)
  * Wingspan: 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
  * Wing area: 72 sq ft (6.7 $m^2)$
  * Empty weight: 478 lb (217 kg)
  * Fuel capacity: 19 U.S. gallons (72 L; 16 imp gal)
  * Powerplant: 1 × Continental A-65 , 65 hp (48 kW)
  
  Performance
  
  * Cruise speed: 96 kn (110 mph, 180 km/h)
  * Stall speed: 52 kn (60 mph, 97 km/h)
  