Vortech Shadow
The Vortech Shadow is an American autogyro that was designed by Tyler Flight, Inc. and produced by Vortech of Fallston, Maryland. The aircraft is supplied as a kit and also in the form of plans for amateur construction. Vortech also supplies rotor blades for the design. Design and development. The Vortech Shadow was designed to comply with the US "Experimental - Amateur-built" aircraft rules. It features a single main rotor, a two-seats-in side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit with a windshield, tricycle landing gear, plus a tail caster. The acceptable power range is . The standard engine  used is the four cylinder, air-cooled, four-stroke, dual-ignition Lycoming O-320 powerplant in pusher configuration. The aircraft fuselage is made from tubing and composites. Its two-bladed rotor has a diameter of . The aircraft has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for the pilot, passenger and baggage is . The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off with a engine is and the landing roll is . The manufacturer estimates the construction time from the supplied kit as 250 hours. Operational history. By 1998  the company reported that four kits had been sold and were completed and flying. In January 2015 no examples were registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration.