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  1. #1
    cluttonfred's Avatar
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    Affordable modern gyroplanes?

    I had a chance recently to fly in both the MTO Sport and Calidus gyroplanes from German company Auto-Gyro (see also the clip below) and I am hooked. Despite my longtime skepticism about gyroplanes, I was very impressed--rock solid stability, great maneuverability and completely benign low-speed and engine-out characteristics. The only thing that puts me off is the hefty price. What are some of the modern gyroplane kits or plans out there with that kind of handling and stability but a lower price tag? I am interested in a two-seater with four-stroke power, preferably in the LSA (600 kg) or even European microlight (450 kg) gross weight categories. Cheers, Matthew

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  2. #2
    Chris In Marshfield's Avatar
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    Great question! There are amazing gyro-craft out there now, but man, are they spendy! It sure would be nice if there was a nice, more affordable kit for these. All the ones I've seen that I've liked are well over $115K US. Curse my good taste!
    Christopher Owens (EAA #808438, VAA #723276)
    Germantown, WI
    Bearhawk Plans #991, Bearhawk Patrol Plans #P313

  3. #3
    cluttonfred's Avatar
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    You are clearly looking at a different price point than I am! You can get an open-cockpit MTO Sport with a 100hp Rotax 912ULS for €50,000 (about $66,00), so still not cheap but about half the number you mentioned. Moving up to the top-of-the-line, enclosed-cockpit, side-by-side Cavalon with a 115hp Rotax 914 turbo and and some fancy glass displays and you'd be right at that $115,000 mark. Still, both of those are full equipped with radio, transponder, LED lights, even helmets, just about everything but the GPS. You could probably get a bare-bones MTO Sport down to about €42,000 ($55,000) if you left all that off, but then you'd probably spend at least half the savings and a lot of time and effort sourcing and putting most of that stuff back in yourself.

    For an affordable gyroplane, I imagine the critical element would be sourcing a safe and affordable mast, rotor hub and blades--the rest shouldn't be any more expensive than the fuselage, landing gear, powerplant and tail of a conventional plane. What we need is a Sonex-equivalent gyroplane, an 80hp VW-powered two-seater for about $25,000 complete but without instruments, avionics, lights or any other goodies.
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    Matthew Long, Editor
    cluttonfred.info
    A site for builders, owners and fans of Eric Clutton's FRED
    and other safe, simple, affordable homebuilt aircraft

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by cluttonfred View Post
    What we need is a Sonex-equivalent gyroplane, an 80hp VW-powered two-seater for about $25,000 complete but without instruments, avionics, lights or any other goodies.
    Little Wing LW-4 or LW-5 has you covered! http://www.littlewingautogyro.com/lw4pictures.html

  5. #5
    cluttonfred's Avatar
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    I am not at all opposed to the tractor configuration but the Little Wing models are a little more rustic than what I had in mind.
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    Quote Originally Posted by cluttonfred View Post
    I am not at all opposed to the tractor configuration but the Little Wing models are a little more rustic than what I had in mind.
    And here I was falling in love with the design! Now that's just the sort of look a gyroplane should have.
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

  7. #7
    Chris In Marshfield's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cluttonfred View Post
    You are clearly looking at a different price point than I am!
    I was just going by the splash screen of the video you linked to. Those fancy side-by-side ones, or the really nice tandem ones (Magni Gyros comes to mind), are spendy spendy. I'll have to take a look at the ones you described. The open-frame guys don't appeal to me too much, but those are the affordable ones.

    Thanks for the reference! :-)

    ~Chris
    Christopher Owens (EAA #808438, VAA #723276)
    Germantown, WI
    Bearhawk Plans #991, Bearhawk Patrol Plans #P313

  8. #8
    EAA Staff / Moderator Hal Bryan's Avatar
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    I'm a member of the Popular Rotorcraft Association, and they periodically publish the definitive Manufacturer's Directory. They have a public version available dated 2005, but their 2012-2013 edition will be available to PRA members only once it's finished. I'd recommend joining if you're really interested! (I have all of .5 gyro time in my logbook, but I'd love to actually get the rating and build/buy one...)

    http://www.pra.org/default.aspx?p=Manufacturers&i=37

    Hal Bryan
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  9. #9
    cluttonfred's Avatar
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    I already joined after my flights last week!
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  10. #10

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    I know a little something about helicopters, autogyros not so much. The text books say that the most stable mode of rotorcraft flight is in autorotation. Hovering under power is the least stable, followed closely by the transverse flow cruising mode of a helicopter. The autogyro only sees autorotation, therefore, very stable.

    Thanks to Zack, we got links to the Little Wing and that sleek Russian model. Both are tractors, just like the first models going back 80 years. These have always been very user friendly. Then came the pusher types. If not carefully designed in regard to the thrust line/CG, they had control problems in some areas. .As I said, I’m not a “gyro head.” That Little Wing has an attractive price.

    A late friend/fellow pilot/boss once told me over milk and cookies one evening about his stint as an experimental test pilot. The project was a USN contract for an air droppable, pusher autogyro fueled by hydrogen peroxide. Came knocked down in a canvass bag. No pilot enclosure. On par with a lawn chair. Even a fighter pilot could fly it (in theory) after reading the instruction sheet. There were a few out of control in flight breakups in testing trying to make the specified straight and level speed. This happened abruptly when the test pilot kept stuffing the nose down. When the rotor tip path plane in front of the so called aircraft went below the horizon, it kind of looked like a lomcevac.

    The Navy dropped the project in favor helicopter rescue of downed aircrew. The National Museum of Naval Aviation used to have some of these on display. There also was some use of the Fulton rig. There is one pilot in my local area who got out with the Fulton. I heard the story from a mutual friend. Like a James Bond story.

    Bob

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