Photograph:
ELA ELA-09 Junior at Goolwa, SA (Author’s collection)
Country of origin:
Spain
Description:
Two-seat light sport gyroplane
Power Plant:
One 75 kw (100 hp) Rotax 912ULS four-cylinder horizontally-opposed liquid-and-air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Rotor diameter: 8.25 m (27 ft)
- Never exceed speed: 150 km/h (95 mph)
- Cruising speed: 100 to 120 km/h (60 to 75 mph)
- Fuel capacity: 45 litres (10 Imp gals)
- Endurance: 2.5 hour
- Range: 250 km (155 miles)
- Take-off distance: 100 m (330 ft)
- Landing distance: 0 to 20 m (0 to 65 ft)
- Empty weight: 245 kg (540 lb)
- Useful load: 205 kg (450 lb)
- Loaded weight: 450 kg (992 lb)
History:
The ELA-09 Junior was one of a range of gyroplanes designed and built in Spain for the gyrocopter market and became popular around the world, having a wide speed range of 35 km/h (22 mph) to 120 km/h (74 mph) and a max speed of 150 km/h (93 mph). The fuel capacity gave it an endurance of 2.5 hours. The rotor blades were of extruded aluminium leading-edge and foam trailing-edge, covered by epoxy resin reinforced with carbon fibre.
The machine had a pre-rotator and a pneumatic trim/rotor brake. It had hydraulic wheel brakes with a parking system. This model was aimed at the training role and the first examples were imported to Australia in 2017 by the importer, Fleurieu Gyroplanes of Finniss, SA.