Photograph:
Niki Rotor Aviation Kallithea ZK-KTH (c/n 007) at Parakai, New Zealand in September 2018 (Keith Morris – NZCIVAIR)
Country of origin:
Bulgaria
Description:
Two-seat sporting gyrocopter
Power Plant:
One 80 kw (100 hp) Rotax 912 ULS four-cylinder horizontally-opposed liquid-and-air cooled engine
Specifications:
- Rotor diameter: 8.5 m (27 ft 9 in)
- Propeller diameter: 1.75 m (5 ft 7 in)
- Length: 4.85 m (15 ft 9 in)
- Height: 2.88 m (9 ft 4 in)
- Max speed: 180 km/h (119 mph)
- Cruising speed: 135 km/h (84 mph)
- Minimum speed: 35 km/h (22 mph)
- Max altitude: 3,000 m (9,843 ft)
- Take-off roll: 0-150 m (0 – 492 ft)
- Landing roll: 0-20 m (0 – 66 ft)
- Endurance: 4 hours with 30 mins reserve
- Fuel capacity: 70 litres (15 Imp gals)
- Empty weight: 285 kg (628 lb)
- Loaded weight: 550 kg (1,213 lb)
History:
The Kallithea is a high-performance sporting gyrocopter produced by Niki Rotor Aviation at Pravets in Bulgaria, the Company specialising in the design, development and manufacture of autogyros, making them available to interested parties in kit form for construction by amateur builders. It has developed and marketed a number of designs since 2004. The first machine marketed was a two-seat model with side-by-side seating known as the Niki 2004. This was replaced by the 2004M, then the Niki Apis and the Niki 2008 of similar configuration.
The next design was the Niki Lightning, also a two-seater but with the seats in tandem. This continued in production until the introduction of the Kallithea. The latter is fitted with a tricycle undercarriage. Kallithea is taken from the Greek word meaning “The best view”. It has adjustable carbon fibre seats, and overall it is built from composites and fibreglass, the wheel covers and undercarriage being constructed of carbon fibre. At one stage the rotor blades were provided by the American Sport Copter company, and Vortech. The rotor head has been produced by Niki Rotor Aviation Inc with aluminium blades produced by Trendak.
First example of the series seen in this part of the World was imported to New Zealand in 2016, this machine being a 2016 manufactured aircraft with the construction number 0007, which became ZK-KTH.