Company Has Sold 100 Sparrowhawk Gyroplane Kits and
Conversions
Groen Brothers Aviation says it has sold a total of 100 of its
SparrowHawk Gyroplane aircraft kits and SparrowHawk/P modification
kits.
"We are extremely pleased with the market response to the design
of these remarkable aircraft," David Groen, President & CEO of
Groen Brothers, announced Thursday.
A GBA press release credited the new FAA Sport Pilot rules with
a recent increase in sales. The GBA Sparrowhawk meets the
performance requirements for pilots holding any gyroplane rating to
operate under Sport Pilot privileges, with no FAA medical
certificate required (as long as the pilot's last medical was not
revoked or denied by FAA).
GBA also noted its dealer network, which not only includes
dealers in the USA but also worldwide. "There are now 30
SparrowHawk Dealerships throughout the world. SparrowHawk Dealers
can now be found in North, Central, and South America, Australia,
the Bahamas, New Zealand, Russia, and South Africa," GBA proudly
announced.
The GBA Sparrowhawk was initially introduced by GBA subsidiary
American Autogyro, Incorporated, as the Stability and Control
Augmentation Kit for the popular RAF 2000 gyroplanes offered by
Rotary Air Force Marketing (RAF) of Kindersley, Saskatchewan. It
adds centerline thrust and a large "tall tail," including a beefy
horizontal stabilizer centered in the propwash, to the basic
RAF.
Some critics have blamed the high thrust line and absent
horizontal stabilizer of the RAF 2000 for fatal "bunt-over" or
"power push over" (PPO) accidents, and for contributing to a
large number of "pilot-induced oscillation" (PIO) accidents. The
design of the Sparrowhawk makes such mishaps much less likely. RAF
counters that proper flight training is all that is required to fly
their machine safely.
Both RAF and GBA stress, as do all reputable gyroplane
manufacturers, that pilots must have sufficient class and category
training in gyroplanes to fly them safely. A large number of fatal
accidents in gyroplanes involve self-instruction, or individuals
who have high time in other aircraft but little in gyros.
After a handful of Sparrowhawk/P modification kits were sold to
RAF owners, an entirely original Sparrowhawk was introduced. It has
a larger cabin than the RAF, a standard electronic information
system in place of multiple gages, individually adjustable pilot
and co-pilot seats and numerous other improvements.
Recently, Consensus Standards for Gyroplanes have been approved
by ASTM, which would allow GBA to manufacture Sparrowhawks as
experimental Light Sport Aircraft kits or reedy-to-fly Special
Light Sport Aircraft. GBA has not said whether or how they will
approach this market.
GBA's Sparrowhawk is very much the low end of its technology
range. It's turbine powered Hawk 4 gyroplane was used to provide
security during the Salt Lake City olympics, it has flown a massive
turbine-powered gyro built on a Cessna 337 airframe, and it has
even larger gyroplanes and gyrodynes (gyroplanes that use tip-jets
for zero-length takeoff and landing) on the drawing board, for
which it's seeking government contracts.
Groen's David Groen served in Vietnam as a UH-1 ready helicopter
pilot in the Army. His brother Jay served the nation elsewhere, and
now lobbies in Washington for GBA and the future of gyroplanes.