Xenon Gyro

[grahame]

Braam, your post reminds me of a knight's quest for the holy grail! Challenging, perhaps impossible, but oh what a cause!

Quick question relating to tundra tyres. What kind of penalty do they exact on payload and speed?

[braam hechter]

Hi Grahame.

Question "What kind of penalty do they exact on payload and speed? " Answer, Approx 2 kg's heavier and loosing approx 3 mph on speed.

Send me a pm with your contact details and i will phone you and tell you about the holy grail... Or contact me on 08Four6977Seven03. Make sure you have time to chat.

"If you don't have a dream, you can't have a dream come true"

Greetings

Braam

[OzGyro]

Hi All

Well I guess its time for a bit of a confessional. Yes it is true, for the past 3-4 weeks I have been fortunate enough to undertake some familiaristaion flying in the newest Xenon here in SA. I try and live by the motto believe none of what you read and only half of what you see . Well as we all know there has been plenty written about the Xenon both good and bad, and Celier Aviation has certainly copped its fair share of crticism on the US forum. The following report is purely my own opinion on my recent and brief experience so take it as you wish.

Ok so as far as appearance goes I think most of us like the way the Xenon looks, and I for one was a fan from the beginning. The Xenon is extremely comfortable and certainly has more than enough internal space. Flying with the MGL panel was certaily different the first few times. Performance of the 912 RST is more than adequate here on the highveld, and yes I was pleasantly suprised at its rate of in the climb, and yes I have flown it on a warm day with a DA of 8700Ft + The RST motor certainly is working but always operated well within its P+T limits. The Xenon is not a rocket ship, but it seems more than happy to sit at 75 MPH +-
The particular machine I have flown would have to have without a doubt the smoothest rotor I have ever experienced, I am not sure wether this is attributed to the maufacturer or to the efforts of Johan, Braam and the local support network here in SA, either way it truly is a pleasure to fly. In my opinion the Xenon is the pleasure cruiser of the gyro world, you could just fly it for hours on end and never get tired or tired of it.

I guess in summary I think of the Xenon as the 5 Series BMW of gyro's, a truly comfortable and pleasurable flying machine, whilst the other tandem two seaters are more inline with BMW M3, at the end of the day its all about personal preference and expectations. I truly look forward to being able to log some hours in this great flying machine.
A special thanks must go to Frank (Owner) and Matthew (303Sqn) for allowing me to share the Xenon experience.

Safe Flying to all.

Cheers
Darren

[FLYNOTE]

With the upcoming long weekened we expect many overexited tourists from the South to visit our fair shores ( of the Vaal river).
If you are planning on doing some gyro flying, may I propose to you a scenic flight over some of our exotic highways followed by a leisurely cruise down the Vaal river ending in a convenient spot , the Soweto sewerage works, where most visitors from the South congregate to express their views on the sights and sounds of the beautiful Gauteng they have experienced.
Now I am getting pretty tired of being outdone by the Capie gyronaughts lately I try and impress with my new camera mounted on my undercarriage then Len goes and takes much more interesting shots from inside the M24 and doesnt say a word about it. Just posts the pics !
I try and boast about the huge Magaliesburg mountainrange and FO takes shots in his stride from Swellendam back home, of mountains that dwarf ours. I go on and on about the wonder of flying over a vast expanse of water such as the Vaaldam then Cilliers sends me pics of a whale and its calf which he took from his Xenon while flying over the ocean. I am not going to give up !! I did not trade the Cape for Gauteng 30 years ago for nothing. I will still beat you Southerners at your game Ok , try and beat the Soweto sewerage works let me see ? Ja you see... you guys dont have half the crap that we have up here. Put that in your pipe and smoke it !!
GARIEP SHES COMING ! I notice that the fraternity is growing by the day. Guys,this is extremely good for all of us flying gyros. Don't be left out on this event. It is going to be history and a bonding excercise for all who love and enjoy flying gyros. Keep those bookings coming in. Gariep is going to be a blast and the first of many to come ! You want to be a part of history in the making!!
Darren I really am very happy that you got to fly the Xenon. She is something special . You cannot explain the sensation of piloting or being a pax in this machine. Everytime I take off I find myself giggling and just cannot take the smile off my face. I love this gyro !

[FLYNOTE]

And now I would like to take you on a tour from Tedderfield followed by flying down the Vaalriver followed by flying past an extremely popular tourist attraction , the Viljoensdrift powerstation ... an absolute must for those who just love powerstations and actually prefer them to sewerage works followed by "look ma no hands or feet and she just cruises on straight and level happily followed by "here comes the rain again" followed by landing on 29 followed by ... nee dit wys ek wragtag nie vir julle spul nie !
My Xenon is ready for her 100hrs service inspection and she has not given me a seconds problems so far apart from the odd minor niggle here and there that I have mentioned and was sorted out.
Now as I was saying about the camera shots from the cockpit of Len's 24...

[Gyronaut]

Very nice photo's Flynote, gives one a sense of what its like inside the spacious cockpit of a Xenon.

It is seemingly so spacious that you (and your lady friend) had a chance to change during the flight... a couple of times actually. The softness appears to remain the same, and you are unmistakably you - even in a kortbroek, the clothes change baffles me still.

I suppose they even get a choice of chicken or beef?
All in good fun ne?

Keep it up Johan, we all look forward to your posts.

Len

[abezzi]

So wasn't me that had visual problems...he really changes his clothes, and what about the glasses on the landing pictures?, didn't wear before!

[Jabbanaught]

Johann be carefull they watching your every move !

[Gyronaut]

"Kyk hoe kyk/loer hulle vir my!"

[FLYNOTE]

Julle almal se gatte !! Dit was n blerrie langnaweek and I flew everyday trying to set the correct angle for the camera inside the cockpit in order to outdo the Klopper-man and you see in a Xenon you don't have to wear the same flightsuit every day You can wear a different outfit every day ranging from shorts to calf length pants to jeans to t shirts to jockstraps and yes, you can do them all during one flight due to the space inside the Xenon. Julle blerrie varke !! Mens kan julle ook nêrens saamvat nie !! I'll show you in Gariep what else is possible inside the spacious cabin of the Xenon and then I will allow you to try it out for yourselves !

[Jabbanaught]

Julle almal se gatte !! Dit was n blerrie langnaweek and I flew everyday trying to set the correct angle for the camera inside the cockpit in order to outdo the Klopper-man and you see in a Xenon you don't have to wear the same flightsuit every day You can wear a different outfit every day ranging from shorts to calf length pants to jeans to t shirts to jockstraps and yes, you can do them all during one flight due to the space inside the Xenon. Julle blerrie varke !! Mens kan julle ook nêrens saamvat nie !! I'll show you in Gariep what else is possible inside the spacious cabin of the Xenon and then I will allow you to try it out for yourselves !

Len maak net seker dat die kamera aan is in sy Xenon as jy dit inklim "jy weet vir evidence" , Ons weet nooit netnou SLA hy jou

[FLYNOTE]

Yip ! Beware at all times. Big brother ( my snazzy camera) sees all at all times. It even checks out the transgressions of the pilot and records them. So ; as the mgl instrument panel is in full sight of the glass eye your low flying as reflected on the altimeter is recorded. Your banking in access of the prohibided 60 degrees is recorded. Your bum landing is recorded. Your too fast taxi speed is recorded. Your flying over built up areas and crowds is recorded. Ja !! Watching you
So now Im off and out of here for the next few weeks. Gotta make a living. Keep the Gariep bookings and confirmations to my man Paulus going guys. We can start counting the sleeps one of these days. My Xenon is covered up and tucked away awaiting my return in April. No ... I do not need someone to fly her every now and then during my absence ! Get your own Xenon

[ZS-NEL]

Hi Johan, laat my weet as jy nie saam daai girl Gariep toe vlieg nie. Ek soek 'n lift.

Groete
Marius.

[OzGyro]

Hi All

Just a quick question to all the Xenon owners, how many of you guys fly PIC from the right hand seat? Is it allowed or reccomended? I know there is no brake lever on the right hand side, can this be modified to accomadate flying PIC from that seat? I guess its probably mentioned in the flight manual, but as we all know things are sometimes a little diferent in the real world.

Cheers
Darren

[braam hechter]

Good Morning Darren.

Thanks for the question. What we have found is that most fixed wing pilots fly from the left hand side and the people that started flying on gyros stay on the right hand side. I think it goes around the throttle and hand interaction, and the ease of adapting. The brake lever can be swapped easily, just loosen the allen cap screws holding it to the control stick and move it through the tunnel to the other side. Just be careful not to waste brakefluid and remember to fill in the required logbooks. A second brake lever can also be installed. We just need to install some non-return valves to keep the fluid flow in check. It is also good to know which side the owner will be flying from, when the order is placed. One set of controls are removeable and it is worthwhile if the set on the passenger side can be removed.

Johan von Ludwig is busy flying Joep's Xenon down to the Cape. We have installed a tracker and the progress can be viewed on;

http://pulstrack.mypsx.net
Username: zu-rgh
Password: zu-rgh

You can go to the history button on the lefthand side and then draw a report. There is quite a number of parameters but these are not currently open for viewing.

Greetings and have a splendid day.

Braam Hechter