Thoughts having flight tested the Auto Gyro Sport with Rotax 915 - game changing world's first!

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The worlds first flight test of the production Auto Gyro 2017 Sport with Rotax 915 power.
I am the only instructor in the UK currently qualified on this aircraft and it is a total game changer.

[@user-ol1qm9ey7g]

ฉันสนใจมากพูดตรงๆเลยนะถ้าฉันมีเงินก็จะเป็นตัวแทนขายทำสนามบินตามเมืองท่องเที่ยวใหญ่ๆให้พัทยาก็ภูเก็ตแล้วก็ขยายไปตามประเทศเพื่อนบ้านผมได้บินเที่ยวไปในราวบูชาเวียดนามสนุกแน่

[@esau82]

How does the cavalon handle this engine? Is it a good improvement over the 914?

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

Hi - So in a gyro I didn't ever really think that the 914 was a limitation in the Cavalon unless you were very heavily loaded. I mean in the UK the Vne is 120mph and really it cruises "nicer" [more smoothly] at 100. The 915 does aid take off performance especially at max all up weight and of course it is a little smoother in terms of less engine work / thrash at the 100mph cruise. However if I am honest I am not a huge fan of Cavalon in respect to the general reliability / service from AutoGyro which has never been great.

[@COIcultist]

Thanks for the video Phil. Very glad you're happy with the 915 engined Sport and can see a lot more reasons for its existence. I'm a bit lost with your films at the moment. Thought I'd seen you review 915 engined enclosed Auto Gyro. Am I confused or have you pulled a review?

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

Hi - yeah you had seen a cavalon 915 overview but there was some handbagging from the owner and i pulled it. I'll try and resurrect soon.

[@markwinship6812]

Hi. I have heard instructors who have bottled it when trying to take it to VNE.. It’s hard to know if this is just gossip or if there really is issues at the top end of the speed range. Have you flown it near VNE and how does it behave?

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

Hello Mark - an interesting phrase when ref: VNE! No idea to be honest and I can't believe its a subject that is brought up often. VNE on the aircraft will be 120mph and I've very rarely flown beyond 100mph in a gyroplane. Why? Well high speed isn't really a gyroplane strong point (if that is a need then fixed wing is the way forward). Do they have issues well at 120mph it doesn't fall apart and it won't have any handling issues but the motor will be flat out and the vibration levels higher. I think the only time i've flown at VNE in a gyroplane is during permit renewal test flights.

[@markwinship6812]

Thanks. I rarely fly above 95mph and I understand your comments regarding engine rpm and vibration levels. I was just curious to find out if what I had heard was true or not. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

@@markwinship6812 No problems. In truth I'm not so sure it is a scary event as much as you obviously don't want to go there as a matter of regular flying. Perhaps that is what the others meant?

[@SKYGUY1]

Love Gyroplanes ever since I rode with Steve Graves back in the mid nineties. We had an AutoGyro MTO drop in to visit at KOLS, Nogales AZ, USA about a month ago. It was a beautiful aircraft. Here's a link. Enjoy! kzbin.info/www/bejne/imfSqZWwjL-eo7s

[@armanijamal9712]

pro trick: watch series at flixzone. I've been using it for watching lots of of movies during the lockdown.

[@edwinimmanuel2041]

@Armani Jamal yup, have been watching on flixzone for years myself :D

[@maddoxblaze348]

@Armani Jamal yea, have been using flixzone for since november myself :)

[@blazetaylor367]

@Armani Jamal yup, have been watching on flixzone for since december myself :D

[@karsynmayson3687]

@Armani Jamal yea, I have been watching on flixzone for since november myself :D

[@crawford323]

I love it. The aircraft has faired landing gear, springs snd wheels but has an ugly square cooling box like a big black pimple protruding in the face of an attempt to make the thing aerodynamic. Once again this shows the laziness of the manufacturers and totally dependence on Rotax to have any glory at all. So do not tell me this fuselage was designed for this engine. If it was, they did so with not much effort. I expect they opened the engine crate and exclaimed bloody hell.

[@chrisstockdale2667]

How much does this one cost in the US?

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

It is likely to be the FX adjusted amount from the EUR price in Germany tbh.www.auto-gyro.com/en/news/BUY-NOW-FLY-NOW-_532.html#lg=1&slide=0

[@chrisstockdale2667]

@@gyrocopterflyingclub6148 for a first gyrocopter what would you suggest? Something that i can land in a feild or water. I live in the mountains.

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

You can certainly fly a 915 as a new pilot - the motor is very linear in its power delivery and indeed I have trained a pilot in the UK on a 915 Sport without any issues. It was actually one of the easiest aircraft to train someone on actually. I don't have any experience with floats but the guys in Sweden have done all of the float development here is the contact - they are very knowledgeable gyrokopter.se

[@tanyano9]

You 80kgs...? Pull the other one Tubbs!!!

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

hahaha - the insult is balanced by flattery of the fact you are watching this again after 3 years!

[@q.e.d.9112]

Downvoted. If you’re going to call your video “Flight test” then ffs show us the thing flying.

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

Yes its been a complaint of many but let me give you the rational for posting it as it was. The aircraft was initially made available for me to fly at short notice and the radio connections are now GA twin plug not Binder as in the old AutoGyro aircraft. My helmet with a Go-Pro mount was on my usual "binder" style helmet. I thought it better to fly it and give you the view than faff around with a helmet/camera. After all the view out of the front is effectively the same as any other gyroplane to be honest. The detail of flying it was as I describe.

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

David Milton fair enough although the lecture would have been the same images on the ground or in the air...

[@q.e.d.9112]

Gyrocopter flying club Don’t think you’ve taken on board what David (and I) we’re complaining about. Rationalisations don’t change a thing. My objection was not to the content of your video, but to its description. Please take it onboard for your future videos. As it stands, the title is click bait and people get really annoyed by click bait.

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

Q. E. D. Yes I completely understand what is being said regarding the not flying part - maybe a better title is reflections of a test flight. Clumsy naming from someone not really attentive to the 1st world problems of needing to know if it suits everyone. I think given the what? 100+ films on my channel most/all with relevant pilot type content perhaps you might think that suggesting it’s “click bait” is pretty harsh. Come on...

[@seikibrian8641]

@@gyrocopterflyingclub6148 No, it's not "pretty harsh"; it's spot on. Your title says "Flight test of Auto Gyro Sport" and there was NO flight test; not even an engine runup. It's a false title plain and simple, and rather than making excuses you should change the title. "My thoughts on the Autogyro Sport with Rotax 915 power" would be an honest title.

[@crawford323]

Gad 36K USD for that engine. Wow. Gyros used to be a way for a poor person to get into the air.

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

I agree the general direction of gyroplanes certainly in the UK has been wrong but that is largely the fault of a regulatory framework that is poorly resourced and an attitude that seeks to be a disincentive to those that may like a cheaper alternative. However outside of the price the 915 Sport is great fun.

[@crawford323]

Jerry Moody The problem is because Rotax is a drop in solution for this specific weight and power needs, the designers have been lazy and not built an airframe which can take any other engine but Rotax. So here we are in more or less a monopoly situation and they can charge what they damn well please.

[@bivibuddydan]

Just a sales pitch.

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

Have you flown one?

[@gyrocopterflyingclub6148]

Let me be clear. I have no commercial relationships at all with Gyroplanes beyond my own channel here and a flying school. As anyone who knows me would tell you I say things as they are without fear or favour - indeed often to the known and obvious detriment to my own interests. Fly one and highlight any errors I’d be welcome but like very many people you give a one line cheap shot then loose your voice.