WA rotor kite or gyrokite is an unpowered, rotary-wing aircraft. Like an autogyro or helicopter, it relies on lift created by one or more sets of rotors in order to fly. Unlike a helicopter, gyrokites and rotor kites do not have an engine powering their rotors, but while an autogyro has an engine providing forward thrust that keeps the rotor turning, a rotor kite has no engine at all, and relies on either being carried aloft and dropped from another aircraft, or by being towed into the air behind a car or boat or by use of ambient winds for the kiting. As of 2009, no country in the world requires a license to pilot such a craft.
WThe A-70 is a gyroglider that was sold by Aerotechnik.
WThe Bensen B-6 was a small rotor kite developed by Igor Bensen in the United States in the early 1950s and marketed for home building. It was a minimalist design based on Bensen's B-5 and consisting of little more than a seat mounted on wooden skids and with a two-blade rotor mounted on a tubular framework above it. Small fins for directional stability were mounted at the rear of the skids. The pitch of the rotors was fixed, but a handlebar allowed them to be tilted for directional control.
WThe Bensen B-7 was a small rotor kite developed by Igor Bensen in the United States in the 1950s and marketed for home building. It was a refined to be a slightly larger version of the B-6, replacing the skids with a tricycle undercarriage, and adding a single large fin to the rear of the aircraft.
WThe Bensen B-8 is a small, single-seat autogyro developed in the United States in the 1950s. Although the original manufacturer stopped production in 1987, plans for homebuilders are still available as of 2019. Its design was a refinement of the Bensen B-7, and like that aircraft, the B-8 was initially built as an unpowered rotor-kite. It first flew in this form in 1955, and on 6 December a powered version, designated B-8M first flew. The design proved to be extremely popular and long-lasting, with thousands of sets of plans sold over the next thirty years.
WThe Focke-Achgelis Fa 225 was an experimental single-seat rotary wing glider built in Nazi Germany by Focke-Achgelis in 1942. Only a single example was constructed.
WThe Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 Bachstelze was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see further.
WThe Hafner H.8 Rotachute was a British 1940s experimental one-man rotor kite designed by Raoul Hafner.