Photograph:
GBA Sparrowhawk G-6525 at Albion Park, NSW in 2006 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
United States of America
Description:
Two-seat sport gyroplane
Power Plant:
One 123 kw (165 hp) Subaru EJ-25 four-cylinder horizontally-opposed engine
Specifications:
- Rotor diameter: 9.14 m (30 ft)
- Fuselage length: 3.75 m (12 ft 3 in)
- Height: 3.04 m (10 ft)
- Max speed: 161 km/h (100 mph)
- Cruising speed: 121 km/h (75 mph)
- Rate of climb: 198 m/min (650 ft/min)
- Service ceiling: 3,048 m (10,000 ft)
- Minimum take-off run: 30 m (100 ft)
- Typical take-off run 91 m to 152 m: (300 ft to 500 ft)
- Landing roll: 3 m (10 ft)
- Endurance at 75% power with ½ hour reserve: 3 hours
- Fuel capacity: 87 litres (19 Imp gals)
- Empty weight: 386 kg (850 lb)
- Useful load: 295 kg (650 lb)
- Loaded weight: 680 kg (1,500 lb)
History:
The Sparrowhawk was a two-seat gyrocopter designed and developed by Groen Brothers Aviation (GBA). It was initially built and marketed by a subsidiary of that company, American Autogyro Inc, at a facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. The machine had an aluminium framework with an enclosed cabin of moulded fibreglass. It had centre-line thrust and was advertised as statically and dynamically stable. It was sold around the world in kit form. The first 20 production kits were built by AAI before production was taken over by GBA-USA, new machines being delivered from the Salt Lake City facility.
In October 2004 Groen Brothers Aviation announced it was merging with its two wholly-owned subsidiaries, American Autogyro Inc (AAI) and Groen Brothers Aviation USA Inc. At that time GBA was producing the first turbine-engined powered autogyro, the Hawk 4, and thereafter took on the manufacture and marketing functions of AAI, the Sparrowhawk becoming known as the American Autogyro Sparrowhawk. The Company has a division in Buckeye, Arizona, which was responsible for research and development.
By late 2005 over 100 Sparrowhawks had been delivered. In that year Mr Robert Dubin flew his machine around continental USA, visiting 48 States in a period of seven months from February to October, flying 16,093 km (10,000 miles), visiting 140 airports at an average speed of 89 km/h (55 mph).
The first of the series imported to this region G-6525 arrived in early 2006 and was based at Albion Park, NSW. One of the first in New Zealand became ZK-RCU (c/n SH2003022K) at Nelson in November 2007.