Manufacturer's Showcase Lets Makers Show Their Wares
The lead plane in the first manufacturer's showcase last
week was an RAF2000 gyroplane. Indeed, two of the first three
participants in the forum were gyroplanes, bringing plenty of
attention to this fascinating but very small corner of sport
aviation.
Gyroplanes have a rotor, like a helicopter, but the rotor isn't
powered. Instead a propeller pulls the aircraft forward through the
air, and airflow passing through the rotor (rather than engine
power, like a helicopter) spins the rotor, which in turn provides
lift. They're simpler than helicopters, have much less onerous
maintenance requirements, and the kits tend to be very easy and
quick to build.
This lead gyroplane, N41CL, is an RAF 2000 GTX SE built by owner
Chuck Lukas, and is based in nearby Appleton. The machine won a
Bronze Lindy here at Oshkosh in 2003. The workmanship and finish on
the gyro is, as you might expect from an award winner,
beautiful.
Chuck didn't fly the machine; it was flown by his instructor,
Duane Hunn of Saginaw, Michigan. Duane is one of the most
experienced gyro CFI's, with over 8,000 hours in gyroplanes, mostly
in factory-stock RAF 2000s like Chuck's.
Chuck and Duane give a slight Mutt and Jeff impression. Chuck is
tall and spare; Duane, short and stocky. They clearly respect and
have confidence in one another.
The stability and control characteristics of the gyroplanes in
general and the RAF 2000 in particular have been controversial for
some years. This has led to long and angry arguments between RAF
exponents and detractors, mostly on the internet, due to the
relatively low concentration of gyros in any one place. Chuck is
aware of the arguments, but doesn't listen to them any more.
"I don't even know where that is taking place any more," he says
ruefully, probably referring to the internet gyro forum at
rotaryforum.com or the Australian
forum.
As we watch, Duane prerotates the rotor to get it close to
flying speed and then feeds in some throttle. The weather is hot,
99 degrees F and muggy. The gyro accelerates slowly; Duane adds
more throttle in two more steps and the machine is finally at full
throttle (in a gyro, you don't add all the throttle right away, you
have to manage the acceleration of the rotor to flying RPM).
Chuck watched proudly as Duane lifted off in about 250 feet and
climbed out. He made several passes in the beautiful machine before
guiding it in to a landing and taxiing back. Chuck walked out to
trade places with Duane and taxi his own machine back to parking,
and the show went on.
The next aircraft wasn't even experimental -- well, this
particular one might have been, but not the ones you can buy: The
Adam A500 cabin-class push-pull twin. While Adam is certainly a
general aviation manufacturer, like many of the new breed of
aircraft it has strong EAA roots. In fact, the initial
proof-of-concept craft for Adam, the M309, was crafted by Burt
Rutan's Scaled Composites in 1999 and appeared here in 2000 and
2001.
Compared to the M309, the A500, now in production for customers,
is significantly larger and has better access through an airstair
door (the 309 featured a round overwing hatch). The A500 is the
first pressurized piston twin to be developed in many years. Adam
is working to extend the limitations on A500 certification, to
certify the A700 twinjet, and to obtain production certification
from the FAA, all at once -- an ambitious program.
After several fast and slow passes by the A500, another
gyroplane jumped into the sky: the Golden Butterfly trainer, flown
by designer Larry Neal. The Golden has a 2.5 liter Subary engine,
compared to the RAF's 2.2, and it's considerably lighter. This
translates into dramatic performance.
The Golden Butterfly is a tandem, open two-seat trainer
constructed primarily of anodized aluminum tubing. The aircraft is
remarkably tall -- over eleven feet. The instructor sits in the
back with his knees at the level of the student's shoulder blades.
This gives the instructor unparalleled visibility in all normal
attitudes. Key instruments are repeated in a small pod for the CFI
or BFI. The aircraft is soloed from the front seat.
Unfortunately, the Manufacturer's Showcase forum didn't allow
Larry to show off the Golden Butterfly's best parlor trick: It's
G-Force Landing Gear, that absorbs high levels of vertical energy,
allowing safe landings that look to the uninitiated like
bone-crushing crashes. Larry did highlight the gyroplane's climb
and handling as best he could.
The showcase continued with an Air Creation trike, a very
well-built trike from France, and several other Light Sport
Aircraft, including aircraft from Italy and Russia.