Microlighters

http://www.innovator.mosquito.net.nz/mbbs2/index.asp



Uses the Canadian MZ202 60hp.

Doing a youtube search shows up quite a bit too

http://www.innovator.mosquito.net.nz/mb ... sp?tid=267

Watch the discovery one

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... rch=Search

I'm a correct in saying under 200k for a chopper!

http://www.innovator.mosquito.net.nz/mb ... A_Wadv.asp

http://www.google.co.za/search?hl=en&q= ... rand&meta=

Wow that is cheap?

Length: Frame 16 ft., Overall 20 ft. Width: 72 in., Height: 84 in.

Rotor Diameter: Main 19.5 ft., Tail 40 in.

Empty Weight XE: 298 lb

Empty Weight XEL: 312 lb

Gross Weight: 610 lbs

Useful (Pilot) Load: 240 lbs.

Fuel Capacity XE: 12 US gallons

Fuel Capacity XEL: 5 US gallons (as required by FAA Part 103, Ultralight Regulations)

Engine: Compact Radial Engines MZ202, 2 cylinder, 2 stroke, rated 64 HP (45kW)

Electrical System: 12 volt DC battery, starter, 180 watt alternator

Rotor Speeds: Main 520 rpm, Tail 2500 rpm

Fuel Flow at Cruise: Approximately 4 U.S. Gallons per hour

Flight Duration XE: Approx. 140 minutes depending on conditions, loading, speed, etc.

Flight Duration XEL: Approx. 60 minutes depending on conditions, loading, speed, etc.

Performance: Hover in ground effect: 8,000 ft. (estimated)

Hover out of ground effect: 6,500 ft. (estimated)

Max Speed: 75 MPH

Some assembly photos

and can be ordered without fairing

Problem is you need more than 50% of the cost of the heli for the license

Sharing is caring.

I saw a very nice tandem 2 seater kit helicopter around cape town a while back, was pricey. Once you're getting into those price ranges you have to seriously consider a Robbinson R22 instead.

It will be difficult to beat the cost/benefit of a Gyro since it requires far less energy to provide equivalent lift. It follows that the enudrance and payload can be significantly increased without needing equivalent/additional power (as opposed to a heli.)
... (but I am biased of course)

So what does an R22 go for? Saw a very impressive display of the R44 at Rand

If you read about it - this chopper - the owner / creator taught himself to fly and this is recent


I will register it as a gyro and just state that my landing gear is for thick sand and snow and my prerotor is a slightly more powerful engine than norm, also the rear rotor also acts as a pusher config - albeit sideways

Seriously tho and bias aside is it worth 180k? I mean even if license is 90k thats 270k, still cheaper than many 2nd hand gyros and plus it is very light so it's registered as a microlight? They reckon the autorotation in case of engine failure is pretty jacked due to it's lightweight config.

Thanx for the info DF.

Guy I know bought a secondhand R22 for 1.2 mil, cost of license R 120 000. That's the cheap part.

According to the guys on AVCOM a while ago, the running cost is in the region of R450 an hour, excluding fuel and insurance (apparantly about R 85 000 p/a). Say you fly 10 hrs a month - add another R 700. That means about R 12 000 worth of flying a month.

Getting back to the single seater heli - check out helicycle.com. Turbine powered single seater for approx. R270 000. Apparantly one in Krugersdorp - a guy named Pete.

Still need chopper licence. RRRRRRR?????

Ldel wrote:Thanx for the info DF.

Guy I know bought a secondhand R22 for 1.2 mil, cost of license R 120 000. That's the cheap part.

According to the guys on AVCOM a while ago, the running cost is in the region of R450 an hour, excluding fuel and insurance (apparantly about R 85 000 p/a). Say you fly 10 hrs a month - add another R 700. That means about R 12 000 worth of flying a month.

Getting back to the single seater heli - check out helicycle.com. Turbine powered single seater for approx. R270 000. Apparantly one in Krugersdorp - a guy named Pete.

Still need chopper licence. RRRRRRR?????

Anytime LDel! I get confused between you and JetRanger the Avatars...perhaps one of you could do a loop or "wingover" and grab a pic

To the Gyro boys / experts how would this compare to a gyro, I mean could it be a REAL alternative? A full blown heli at 180k and 15l/h fuel. I can already see it flies slightly slower but at 75mph in a gyro what's the fuel burn? Don't get me wrong I dig Gyro's but this has appeal and could really "takeoff" so whats the cons other than license? Objectively ofcourse

I met two guys not long ago at Petit who went solo after 5-10 hours on an Allouette without prior heli experience

The capital price of the heli is attractive yes. Down side is that its a single seater and you will still have to do your training in a Robbie or similar multi seat machine.

For many years Gyro's were only single seaters an I am sure that the bad accident record they have was largely due to this. How can you train someone effectively in a single seater?

With almost 500 heli hours under the belt I can give you the assurance that 10 - 15 hours is just enough to make you really dangerous and I would put money on a short life expectancy. 50 hours training on a heli is just enough to make you reasonably safe, THEN you learn to fly!

I personally stopped flying heli's because of the prohibitive cost. I dont care how much money you have, its a waste in a heli. I have always said that helicopters can never be justified on cost. BMW said it very well in one of their adds, "I want it because I want it". Can't justify it ever.

My Gyro burns 18 to 20 litres of fuel per hour on average. The fixed costs calculate out at R280.00 per hour and the variable costs (oil, fuel and major overhaul provision at 1 000.00 hours) an additional R198 per hour. This is based on 250 hours a year. (I am happy to send you the spreadsheet to work out your costs if you let me have your email address.) R480 per hour for a relatively fast two seater rotorwing is unbeatable I assure you! Not sure what a Robbie or a Jetranger runs at today but I assure you its a factor of several times what we are talking about here. Last heard Robbie R22's were running at close to R2k per hour and Jetrangers/R44's at close to R4k p.h.

So, you want to fly your wife to a game farm for the weekend? a Jetranger is going to cost you R12 000.00 to get there and back if you only fly for 1.5hours there and 1.5hours back and a R22 R6 000.00! Scary huh? My Gyro does the same (roughly same speed as R22) and will cost me R1 400.00 for the same trip. Makes you blink doesn't it!?

Also keep in mind that a heli is dynamically unstable and requires constant work whereas a gyro is dynamically stable, once trimmed it flies like a fixed wing and you can enjoy the ride.

Rgds

Len