Photograph:
Butterfly Aircraft Monarch ZK-YZM (c/n B208) at Statford, NZ in January 2015 (Nick Furmage – NZCIVAIR)
Country of origin:
United States of America
Description:
Two-seat light sport gyrocopter
Power Plant:
One 48 kw (65 hp) Rotax 582 two-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Length: 3.41 m (11 ft 2 in)
- Width: 1.82 m (6 ft)
- Height: 2.28 m (7 ft 5 in)
- Max speed: 113 km/h (70 mph)
- Cruising speed: 100 km/h (62 mph)
- Fuel capacity: 28 litres (6.2 Imp gals)
- Empty weight: 163 kg (360 lb)
- Loaded weight: 285 kg (628 lb)
History:
The Butterfly series of gyrocopters has been marketed in kit form in the United States in a number of models, including the Emperor Butterfly, Monarch Butterfly, Golden Butterfly, Aurora Butterfly, Turbo Golden Butterfly, Ultralight Butterfly, etc. The Golden Butterfly was a larger and more powerful variant, being fitted with a 142 kw (190 hp) Subaru 2.5-litre EFI four-cylinder engine driving a 1.93 m (76 in) propeller.
The manufacturers were The Butterfly Aircraft LLC of Aurora Texas. The machine was intended for the experimental category, to be used for recreation and education. The undercarriage and its support, joystick and rotor head washer were constructed from 4130 chrome moly steel and heat-treated. All parts were either powder-coated or anodised and the tail was of Kevlar.
First example of the type seen in New Zealand became ZK-YZM (c/n B-208) in Queenstown on 14 October 2011.
Examples have also been imported to Australia, one example crashing into the Tamar River near Georgetown, TAS in April 2009.