Mark Rumsey eases the collective lever forward, and the Mirocopter SCH-2A takes flight from a cleared spot in La Cresta, a quiet neighborhood nestled in the hills near Murrieta, California. The rotors above him—two sets piled one on top of the other, whirling in opposite directions—hum steadily as he steers the nose northward. With only 6.5 miles to his destination, Lake Elsinore, this isn’t a long journey.
The SCH-2A requires little of its pilot, weighing only 249 pounds empty, which is less than the 254-pound restriction for ultralight vehicles specified by US Federal Aviation Regulations. With a 273-pound pilot, the total takeoff weight is 552 pounds. The contra-rotating rotors are driven by a Fiate two-cylinder, two-stroke gasoline engine that produces more than 60 horsepower at 5,800 rpm. Dual ignition provides dependability, while electric start and generator handle the essentials. Fuel is stored in a basic 5-gallon tank, which is sufficient for an hour of cruise at 50 mph, requiring 4.5 gallons each hour. Rumsey starts on regular unleaded, no avgas required.
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Up in the air, the countryside appears in sharp relief. Rumsey has flown this machine hundreds of times since it arrived in the U.S., but today’s journey feels new. He turns towards a distant ridge line, a natural landmark he found on Google Earth the night before. The helicopter climbs gradually, the rotors slicing through zero wind air beneath an overcast sky that keeps the heat at bay. He crosses into the wilderness area and looks over the crest – there’s the lake, a big blue smear against the brown hills.
The SCH-2A feels light on the controls at 500 feet above his starting point, at around 2,500 feet elevation. Without a tail rotor, there is no ongoing battle against torque, the counter-rotating blades handle it on their own. Yaw comes from the adjustable tail vanes, hinged at 45 degrees to catch the airflow whether hovering or moving forward.
Rumsey’s interest in this Slovenian oddity began years ago when his daily commute to his job as a digital modeler at Kia became boring. After ten years of looking for a personal VTOL he found the SCH-2A in a 2020 video and was hooked. He contacted the manufacturers, got a reseller spot through his company RotoTrek and now sells four machines every six months for around $37,500 each plus $4,000 delivery. His just arrived and is in the garage until he completes the recommended 10 hours of rotorcraft training. For now he’s sticking to short flights and putting in hours the old fashioned way.
