Microlighters

Johan flying the Trojan today:

Wow. at last. Congrats to the team at Wagtail and thanks for finally letting the cat out of the bag ( or is it the gyro out of the hanger )

Still not the prettiest gyro, but an excellent piece of engineering.
From the flight I have seen, she clibs out effortlessly with 4 hours of fuel and 120 kg's of water load...@ 14h00 with a thermometer reading of over 30 degree.....on the Highveld...

Now my dream of actuelly also building a gyro seems closer than ever before..

I like the custom made space for the cooler box...

Congratulations Wagtail!
Now can you concentrate on getting all the other sick gyro's in the Klipdift hangar back into the air?

Hi All

Wow finally you boys in SA are finally catching up with what we have been doing here is OZ for years (sorry couldnt help myself ) On a serious note, its great to see the boys at Wagtail leading the charge in home built style gyro's in SA, I wish you all the greatest success and its great to see what appears to be a viable solution to the factory machines.

Regards
Darren

OzGyro wrote:Wow finally you boys in SA are finally catching up with what we have been doing here is OZ for years (sorry couldnt help myself )

Yes Darren, it is nice being the number one test cricket team in the world, that is what you are referring too.
Nice to see that you are still alive, will we see you for the North / South trip?

Interesting indeed. Must be many applications where 2nd seat is not priority. Good Luck

Hey, thought I recognised my old gyro's registration. Would love to know what happened to my previous Sycamore with the same registration ZU-BPU.

What's the story with the Trojan? Are they modifying old Sycamore's replacing the airframe, undercarriage, engine and modifying the canopy, or is a brand new gyro throughout?

latest news is that she is still travelling around the country. She has flown to Bloemfontein, Gariep, Eastern Cape and the latest is that she is in the Western Cape.
Hopefully I can convince Johan to tell us a bit more.
How many other Gyro fanatics out there are interested in this machine
I also hear a birdy whispering that a whole team of "looks engineers" are working on the canopy form to get her to look sexy....Please Frans ( scary pilot ), Mr UFO, Mr Jaco, Mr Struis, Mr Hennie, you must pick up speed....we want to see sexy Trojans as well........not that the current one is not looking great......I will rather stop before painting myself into a corner...
I will stop by saying from what I hear the Mechanics and flying is excellent.....looks Engineers, you guys have your work cut out......
Cheers, let me go and drool again

The Feb African Pilot has an article on the Trojan.

What happened to the last posting? I am sure I saw a posting about the new fuselage, but now the post is gone??? or was I just dreaming?

gyrofan wrote:What happened to the last posting? I am sure I saw a posting about the new fuselage, but now the post is gone??? or was I just dreaming?

+1

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Just to refresh. picture taken today. first flight made today. trojan no 5. new two seats model no 2. with new sexy body...... more info coming soon

WAGTAILS NEW TROJAN GYROPLANE
The new Trojan number seven is under construction at the Wagtail facilities near Sasolburg.It appears to be quite a hi-tech piece of flying equiptment and the new longer and wider body makes it very good looking with a distinct robust look.Wagtail has realy improved so much on the first design since i last saw the development models.More than 10 years of design and development went into this project and the results are showing.Finaly we are again approaching a uniquely South African designed and build gyro with an engine with lots of power and abundant space inside the cockpit.
The ROTAX motor is replaced with a 2,5L Fuel injection Subaru boxer motor that produces just short of 170 hp.In addition a 2L turbo model is also available for serious performance applications producing in excess of 200 hp if required.
It has what must be the best suspension in gyro business consisting of large tyres and pressurized gas/spring dampers.The turbo model also features a radiator built into the tail with the VHF antenna and the frame carrying the coolant.
The rotor head and aluminium rotors with the hydraulic pre rotator has been proven beyond doubt.The 2 seater tandem unit is very wide at the back with a 120L fuel tank as part of the rear seat and the fuel consumption is on par with the Rotax thanks in part to dual redundant Engine Management Unit that allows full control of all the relevant engine parameters including engine/fuel mixture for extended range during cruising conditions.
The instrument panel has a fully integrated PC which provides nearly unlimited on-board applications such as GPS coupled GOOGLE MAPS and in flight tuning of the engine.In addition IP based devices such as camers can be integrated with in flight Wi-Fi,internet, Email and SMS connections.
The Trojan appears to be in a league of its own and if competitively priced could have a major impact on the global Gyroplane market.
Congratulations to the Wagtail team
SCARY PILOT

Well done Johan ! Will pay you a visit soon ...