title: Ekin Airbuggy
text: # Ekin Airbuggy
  
  The Ekin WHE Airbuggy is a British single-seat autogyro designed and built by the W. H. Ekin (Engineering) Company in Northern Ireland.
  
  ## Development
  
  The company was formed in 1969 to manufacturer six McCandless M-4 Gyroplanes under licence. The company improved the design to produce the Airbuggy which was first flown on 1 February 1973. It was a conventional single-seat autogyro with a rear-mounted 75 hp (56 kW) Volkswagen flat-four motor car engine. It had a fixed tricycle landing gear with an open cockpit in a nacelle forward of the rotor pylon. The first Airbuggy was delivered in December 1975.
  
  ## Specifications
  
  Data from Jane's all the world's aircraft, 1975-76
  
  General characteristics
  
  * Crew: 1
  * Length: 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
  * Height: 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)
  * Empty weight: 355 lb (161 kg)
  * Max takeoff weight: 650 lb (295 kg)
  * Powerplant: 1 × 1600-1800cc Volkswagen air cooled engine 4-cyl. air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine, 75 hp (56 kW)
  * Main rotor diameter: 21 ft 9 in (6.63 m)
  * Main rotor area: 405.0 sq ft (37.63 $m^2)$
  * Propellers: 2-bladed Hoffman pusher propeller, 4 ft 9 in (1.45 m) diameter
  
  Performance
  
  * Maximum speed: 69 kn (80 mph, 128 km/h)
  * Cruise speed: 52 kn (60 mph, 97 km/h)
  * Never exceed speed: 69 kn (80 mph, 128 km/h)
  * Range: 121 nmi (140 mi, 225 km)
  * Rate of climb: 1,000.6 ft/min (5.083 m/s)
  * Disk loading: 1.7 lb/sq ft (8.5 $kg/m^2)$
  * Power/mass: 0.188 kW/kg (0.115 hp/lb)
  