Fri, Jan 06, 2012
Says Mods To Xenon RST Gyroplane Caused Vapor Lock
A man from Albuquerque, New Mexico who crashed a two-seat
gyroplane in August has filed a claim in the bankruptcy case of a
former owner of the aircraft, claiming a modification made to the
aircraft caused his accident. But according to a report in the
Denver Post, court records show he's seeking not only the full
purchase price of the wrecked aircraft, but the costs he paid for
meals, lodging and fuel he bought learning how to fly it in Las
Vegas earlier last year.
James Cooper filed the claim in mid-December. He bought the
Celier Aviation Xenon RST (similar aircraft pictured) from New
Course Aviation in Golden, CO. But his claim is against Tom
Martino, a Denver talk show host and consumer advocate, who was the
previous owner. Cooper claims modifications made by Martino led to
vapor lock and an engine failure in-flight, and that Martino never
disclosed the modifications which caused the problem.
Martino tells the paper that modifications he made were
disclosed in writing and approved by inspectors, but adds that none
of them are the mods that Cooper claims were at issue. He adds
Cooper had engine problems before the accident, and had fueled the
Xenon with gasoline containing ethanol in violation of manufacturer
instructions. He says Cooper "heard I have a bankruptcy and that I
have millions of dollars so he's lining up. He's a student with no
skill and crashed an airplane. He's an idiot."
The Celier Xenon is a fully-enclosed, two-place gyroplane built
in Poland. The FAA is still stalling on allowing factory-built
gyros to be registered as S-LSA or E-LSA in the US, but about ten
factory-built Xenons were imported before January 31, 2008, during
the LSA phase-in which allowed "fat ultralights" to be transitioned
to E-LSA certificates. The machines can be flown by Sport Pilots
with Gyroplane privileges.
The FAA database lists Cooper as a Sport Pilot in weight-shift
aircraft, but not in gyroplanes. He was not injured in the wreck,
and tells the paper he has a salvage offer for what's left of the
aircraft. The Post reports Martino's lawyers say Cooper is trying
to get rid of the evidence to prevent a proper investigation of the
cause of the accident.
The Xenon RST model uses an 80-HP Rotax 912 boosted to 135 HP
using a Mitsubishi turbocharger. At least one other Xenon RST owner
has reported an engine-out caused by vapor lock when using auto
fuel which was found to contain ethanol.
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