Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles Lie Ying Falcon

The Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles Lie Ying (猎鹰, lit. "Falcon"), otherwise known as Falcon Strike Gyrocopter,^[5] is a Chinese autogyro that was designed and produced by the Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles Manufacturing Company of Baoji in Shaanxi province.^[6]

Falcon
Role	Autogyro
National origin	China
Manufacturer	Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles Manufacturing Company/ Shaanxi Bao He Defense Technology[1]
Designer	Wang Baohe; Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles Manufacturing Company; Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics[2]
First flight	2011[3]
Status	In production (2015)
Primary user	People's Liberation Army[4]

The manufacturer is a builder of armoured vehicles for police and military use and the aircraft was reportedly flying in 2015.^[6][7]

The aircraft gained media attention when it appears as part of 2019 China National Day military parade.^[8] Nicknamed "air tricycle". In 2022 the aircraft reportedly costs approximately 40,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately 5,500 USD).^[9]

Design and development

The lead designer of the Falcon is Wang Baohe, who in 2010 introduced German rotorcraft research and technology to a joint research program by Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles and Nanjing University's Aeronautics and Astronautics department, the results of which led to the Falcon.^[10]

The Falcon was designed for police and military use as a surveillance aircraft. It features a single main rotor, a two-seats-in tandem open cockpit with a windshield, tricycle landing gear and a Rotax 914 engine in pusher configuration. The Rotax engine is an Austrian-made, four-cylinder, liquid- and air-cooled, four stroke turbocharged 115 hp (86 kW) unit.^[6]

The aircraft has a two-bladed rotor with a diameter of 8.4 m (27.6 ft). It has a typical empty weight of 290 kg (639 lb) and a gross weight of 560 kg (1,235 lb), giving a useful load of 270 kg (595 lb). With full fuel of 70 litres (15 imp gal; 18 US gal) the payload for the crew and mission equipment is 220 kg (485 lb).^[6]

The basic model of the aircraft is a two-seater. An upgraded three-seater version of the aircraft also exists.^[11] The three-seat variant feature a 135 hp (101 kW) engine, a larger fuel tank made from different materials, to give greater range, and allow the transportation of more cargo, as well as for parachuting operations.^[12]

The aircraft can be armed with anti-tank guided missiles. The two-seater version can carry four missiles on hardpoints.^[13]

Specifications (Falcon)

Data from Tacke^[6]

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Capacity: one passenger
• Empty weight: 290 kg (639 lb)
• Gross weight: 560 kg (1,235 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 70 litres (15 imp gal; 18 US gal)
• Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 914 four cylinder, liquid and air-cooled, four stroke turbocharged aircraft engine, 75 kW (100 hp)
• Main rotor diameter: 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)
• Main rotor area: 55 m² (590 sq ft)
• Propellers: 3-bladed composite

Performance

• Maximum speed: 180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn)
• Cruise speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
• Rate of climb: 2.5 m/s (490 ft/min)
• Disk loading: 10.2 kg/m² (2.1 lb/sq ft)

See also

• List of rotorcraft
• Celier CA-22
• Kamov A-7 – Autogyro armed with dumb rockets, bombs and machine guns
• Kayaba Ka-1 – Autogyro armed with depth charges
• Trixy Eye