Our high-end Mosquito is called XET, a turbine powered version of the XE series. The Mosquito XET is designed by Dwight Junkin at Composite FX. The XET uses custom gear boxes to handle the 71kw (95HP) Solar turbine. The full turbine engine package is supplied in the kit, ready to bolt on.
The Mosquito XET airframe is the same as the XE airframe, a unibody construction made entirely of high quality fiberglass in a vinylester matrix. Body and structure are the same to minimize weight and maximize structural efficiency. The primary reduction is bolted directly to the engine. A centrifugal clutch on the engine crankshaft permits startup of the engine without the load of the rotor.
Power is transmitted from the clutch to the driven pulley of the reduction through an HTD cog belt, one of the highest power to weight ratio power transmission methods available. The driven pulley houses the sprage clutch which permits the rotor to overrun the engine during autorotation.The main rotor is a semi-rigid configuration.
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When watching this video, we not only get a detailed tour of what exactly you can expect to get with your money here but we also learn that something like this can be acquired for the low price of 30 or $40,000. That might seem like a good chunk of change, however, it’s really not that much more than you would spend on a newer sports car.
Main rotor blades consist of an aluminum spar bonded to a wrapped aluminum sheet skin. Foam plugs at both ends prevent interior contamination and pumping losses. The tail rotor is also of a semi-rigid configuration with aluminum skin wrapped around a tube and foam plugs at either end. A 45 degree drag hinge is utilized to maintain tail rotor alignment.The tail rotor is controlled by the foot pedals through a push pull cable to an actuating lever on the tail rotor shaft.
