HELICAT is an aeronautics company which is mainly engaged in RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, MANUFACTURING and COMMERCIALISATION of AIRCRAFT. Its most important product is the HELIGIRO.

The inventor of the HELIGIRO is Mr. Juan de la Cierva Hoces, nephew of the inventor of the AUTOGIRO (Mr. Juan de la Cierva Codorniu).

He has patented 32 different inventions throughout his life, from what would be the first FOTO FINISH recorder, which he developed for the HORSE AND DOG RACETRACK in Madrid to the world recognised DYNALENS (currently used by all video recorders).
As a result of his invention he was the first Spaniard to receive an Oscar from the Academy of Arts and Sciences of Hollywood. All of his patents are registered internationally, in addition to other inventions developed for the Ministry of Defence of the United States, and others which have not been patented.

The HELIGIRO is a hybrid between a helicopter and an aeroplane. It was conceived and designed to break the speed barrier of all Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft). Veritical take-off and landing aircraft are limited in speed due to the tremendous resistance of the rotor when moving through the atmosphere at high speed. In fact, the maximum theoretical speed of a VTOL is 402km/h.* This speed limit was recognised very early in the development of VTOLs and has led to a number of attempts to overcome it.

The HELIGIRO can reach speeds up to 600 Km/h with a combustion engineer and speeds even higher with a gas turbine engine, and has become the fastest Convertiplane or VTOL craft (vertical take off and landing) in the world. Its speed is due to its unique and original aerodynamic design and the use of modern technologies in its design and construction.
Since the very beginning, the HELIGIRO was developed using a modern “fly-by-wire” control system, which consists of the interfacing a digital computer between the control panel, handled by the pilot, and all the craft’s control components (rotor, propellers, wings, engine control, etc.), which makes it the easiest VTOL to fly.

There are no competitors.
And during the lifetime of the patent, we are the only ones who are permitted to build it.

*NOTE
The world speed record for a helicopter is 400.8 Km/h (over 15 Km.). The craft was the Westland Lynx, piloted by John Egginton in August 1986. This record is very closer to the theoretical limit of 402 Km/h. Reference: http://www.aerospaceweb.org/design/helicopter/velocity.shtml