Photograph:
AutoGyro Europe Calidus G-2368 at Albion Park, NSW in May 2017 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
Germany
Description:
Two-seat sport gyrocopter
Power Plant:
One 86 kw (115 hp) Rotax 912UL four-cylinder horizontally-opposed liquid-and-air-cooled turbocharged engine
Specifications:
- Rotor diameter: 8.4 m (27 ft 6 in)
- Length: 4.8 m (15 ft 8 in)
- Width: 1.7 m (5 ft 8 in)
- Height: 2.7 m (9 ft 9 in)
- Max speed: 201 km/h (125 mph)
- Cruising speed: 177 km/h (110 mph)
- Take-off run: 3 to 30 m (10 to 100 ft)
- Landing run: 15 m (49 ft)
- Fuel capacity: 90 litres (20 Imp gals)
- Empty weight: 240 kg (529 lb)
- Loaded weight: 500 kg (1,102 lb)
History:
The AutoGyro Europe Calidus was a development of the Company’s MT-03 gyrocopter and basically differed in having a fully enclosed cockpit but was similar in configuration. Seating was for two in tandem and power was provided by a turbocharged Rotax 914UL engine driving a fixed-pitch propeller; but a variable pitch propeller was available as an option. The machine was built at the Company’s facility at Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, Germany.
The first example of this model was delivered to Sweden on 12 March 2009. Construction was of stainless steel framework, the rotor being of extruded aluminium. The machine was fitted with a pneumatic rotor trim and rotor brake, and had a pneumatically assisted pre-rotator which provided a rotor speed of up to 90 per cent of flying speed.
The cabin was heated and instrumentation could be analogue or glass. Luggage lockers were provided so the machine could be used for cross-country work.
First of the series in this region was a Calidus Fern which became ZK-OTM (c/n NZC001) to its owners, Gyrate NZ Ltd at Tauranga Airport, in March 2010. Further examples became ZK-DCF (c/n CD0272), ZK-YGG (c/n D10C38) and ZK-ZMM (c/n NZC002).
A number have been registered in Australia under Australian Gyrocopter Association Regulations, including G-2367 (c/n 10018), G-2368 (c/n C00423) and G-4040 (c/n C00443).