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Interesting aircraft

At this year’s combined Shobdon Food and Flying Festival weekend, at Shobdon Airfield, I was lucky enough to be invited to have a flight in, and “have control”, of one of the visiting aircraft, a Rotorsport Cavalon Gyrocopter.

Have I ever honestly wanted to fly a gyrocopter. No, as the only ones I had come across required the pilot/passenger to be kitted out in virtually a ski-suit and waterproofs, helmet, goggles and thick gloves just to keep warm in the open cockpit. I usually fly a privately hired 1975 C150, a pretty basic non-IR instrument configured 2 seater Cessna, but adequately does the job even if not all that luxurious. But this Cavalon was a very different kettle of fish or should I say aircraft. Beautiful sleek lines, roomy and more importantly an enclosed cockpit with two side-by-side adjustable seats (position and rake) and extending rudder pedals which meant, as being only 5’3”, I didn’t have to bring my trusty cushion, or booster seat as some of my fellow pilot so called friends call it. Interestingly in a gyrocopter the Pilot in Command sits on the RH seat.

Andy Wall started her up and called for taxi and off we headed for runway 27. The main rotor is an aluminium extrusion and can be flown in any weather which was useful as Sunday was a rather breezy day. The pre-rotator is pneumatically engaged giving up to 80 to 90% of rotor flight speed before commencing take off. Breezy it might have been with the wind varying from down the runway to gusts 90 degrees off but as we rolled down the runway and climbed away you actually wouldn’t have known it. At 200 ft Andy said “you have control”. Was I expecting that, again no but she handled just like a fixed wing light aircraft but much nippier and tighter in the turns. A very responsive stick and with a trim tab meant I could even fly it hands-off once she was nicely set up! Though not for long as needed to avoid various farm houses and other buildings to keep within Shobdon’s noise abatement. Andy took back control after I’d turned onto final on the first circuit as he wanted to demonstrate the hovering manoeuvrability of the aircraft to the crowd as we coasted just above the runway. Climbing away I was again “in control”.

Instruments on board included CHT, rpm gauges for both rotors, a mounted ipad sized GPS and the rest of the usual instruments one would expect to find, expect for a turn co-ordinator. Instead of “the ball in the middle” turn-co-ordinator there was a “what do you think that is then” bright yellow piece of chord dangling down from the cockpit windscreen. The only non-high tech looking piece of equipment on board! The gull-wing doors have 2 air events (one swivel directional) and, if you really want to, you can fly with no doors on at all! The whole cockpit was very luxurious, very comfortable and well equipped, a bit far from what I am currently used to, well unless you count the RH seat trip I did in a PA46TB Meridian last weekend from Oxford to Girona and back.

On the second circuit, turning onto base leg Andy asked that I climb to 1000ft and then turn on to final. Interesting thinks I doing what I am told. And so it was as, with a grin on his face, Andy says “OK PFL” and pulls the power off! We float down, well we did until he then says “lower the nose” and the ground is coming up at a hell of a rate. At about 100ft he thankfully says he “has control”, adds some power arresting the descent and levels out, gently puts her down and taxis very “expeditely” down the runway and off onto the grass. I can quite believe that he was able to recently put the Cavalon down safely within the length of a tennis court even if you might not be able to fly out again.

After shut down, Andy was complimentary about my handling of the gyro, always something every pilot likes to hear and especially a pilot who has only had her PPL(A) for 1 year, 1month and 5 days! and then offered a training flight from my home-base at Gloucestershire Airport next time he is in the area. I am thoroughly impressed with everything about the Cavalon from its kitting out; its handling; instrumentation and 100 litre tank giving a range of 6 hours at 80mph. Am I converted and would I fly a gyrocopter again? Yes. But truthfully only at this end of the market or not exposed to the elements.

EGBJ, EGBP, EGTW, EGVN, EGBS

Interesting reading, Jude, and very well written (which is more and more exceptional on today's internet).

Some comments at first sight:
-) the design seems to overdo the good looks, from my point of view - the twice triple landing lights are rather exaggerated, though I must admit they do look fancy
-) 80 mph cruising speed is definitely NOT impressive, this can never be a travelling machine. The low cruising speed may well be inherent to the autogyro principle, though.
-) who would be the typical buyer of this type of craft? not a microlighter, I bet it would be far too expensive (this craft can never be cheap) ; neither the low budget travellers, for this category it is both too expensive and too slow. Who remains? Posh show-offers, to my simple mind. For them it has a lot to say for it: it could well be less expensive to acquire and to operate than a Robinson, less difficult to learn, and it might be less likely to lead them into dangerous behaviour.

EBZH Kiewit, Belgium

I did a gyrocopter license a few years ago but ended up not pursuing this. The main reason -- they have no real use. You can't travel with them as they're slow and highly inefficient (in terms of what you get out of your fuel, just look at the sink rate without engine). Also back then, there was a lot of vibration on the stick from the main rotor and I suffer from an early stage RSI (repetitive strain injury) and it was not good for my joints. Apparently this got better in the newer models.

Also I found them to be significantly more dangerous than aircraft. They can easily fall over on the ground when there is wind or one makes a small mistake and they are completely unforgiving to any sort of 0 g manoeuver. If you ever take the load off the main rotor, it will stop in no time and you fall like a brick without any chance of recovery. Quite a few accidents follow that pattern.

Last August, a very experienced gyrocopter instructor got himself killed in the said Cavalon, apparently because of a main rotor stall caused by slipping the aircraft (another strictly forbidden thing with gyrocopters). Interim report in German here.

PS: A gyrocopter has nothing to do with a helicopter, completely different animal and no similarities in operating them. A gyrocopter is not an entry-level or poor man's helicopter.

As I recall, gyrocopter fatal accidents run at about 1/2000 hours whereas light GA is at about 1/100,000. Even accounting for the laws of small numbers that would seem to be an order of magnitude more dangerous than regular aircraft.

There is a view that a lot of the accidents could be prevented by better design. At the moment, many of them are designed such that a loss of power causes a pitch-down and 0-G, so you have to have very quick reflexes to cope with a power failure. But I didn't know they couldn't be sideslipped - I'm sure I saw the Cavalon being flown sideways during Welshpool airshow recently.

If the new breed of gyrocopters prove safer I could be interested, especially now that you can hire them. Some are a mite faster than the Cavalon. You can fly in windier weather than most GA, and I could fly in and out of my parent's field which would be on the short side for almost any fixed-wing aircraft.

Jan thank you for your kind words.

EGBJ, EGBP, EGTW, EGVN, EGBS

A gyrocopter has nothing to do with a helicopter, completely different animal and no similarities in operating them. A gyrocopter is not an entry-level or poor man's helicopter.

From a technical point of view I have no doubt you are right, Achim.

Let me explain my concern: there are a number of people around in society, who have both time and money to pass, and some of them take a fancy to doing something fancy with a personal aeroplane. To these innocent skystormers, helicopters are naturally attractive, and will be their first objective. That helicopters are dangerous, not by their nature but rather by their seeming attractiveness to novices with ample means, is never told them, of course.

This is where I do see the gyrocopter as a possible alternative: even if it is technically quite separate from a helicopter, its looks are sufficiently similar for making a believable alternative. Of course still requiring good air(wo)manship - but I hope less lethal if things go wrong.

EBZH Kiewit, Belgium

Price of the Cavalon is around £80K plus VAT

EGBJ, EGBP, EGTW, EGVN, EGBS
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