Photograph:
Prototype of the Titanium Explorer G-2462 (2) (c/n ASRA2592) which later became G-1961 (2) (ASRA)
Country of origin:
Australia
Description:
Two-seat sport gyrocopter
Power Plant:
One 80 kw (100 hp) Rotax 912UL four-cylinder horizontally-opposed liquid-and-air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Cruising speed: 140 km/h (87 mph)
- Minimum speed in level flight: 30 km/h (19 mph)
- Take-off distance with two persons on board: 80 m (262 ft)
- Rate of climb with two persons on board: 300 m/min (984 ft/min)
- Range: 500 km (311 miles)
- Empty weight: 230 kg (507 lb)
- Payload weight: 306 kg (675 lb)
- Loaded weight: 550 kg (1,213 lb)
History:
The Titanium Explorer gyrocopter was designed by Neil Sheafer and built at Tamworth, NSW, he previously being the Australian importer for, similar in appearance, Autogyro Europe gyrocopters imported from overseas. Described as a first new-generation gyrocopter to be manufactured in Australia, and the first in the world to make considerable use of titanium, the idea commenced in 2009 with Messrs Neil Sheafer and Andrew Pepper deciding that imported gyrocopters could be better designed for Australian conditions. Part of the plan was to design a rotor and rotor head that would be smooth and shake free.
Power was provided by the Rotax series of engines, either the 80 kw (100 hp) 912UL or the 86 kw (115 hp) Rotax 914 turbocharged unit. The main frame was built from titanium, which is twice as strong as stainless steel or chrome molybdenum, but has twice the elasticity of stainless steel, and this is said to be good for a gyrocopter as it absorbs rotor pulses giving smoother flight. The aircraft body was of carbon fibre, fibreglass and honeycomb, making it strong. The main rotor was composite blades made from pre-peg carbon fibre and fibreglass, the carbon fibre being embedded with pure epoxy resins at the time of manufacture, the carbon fibre then being covered with a special plastic and stored at low temperatures until used. The pre-peg composites were then cured by heating the item in an autoclave to bake the resins. The hub bar was two vertical plates made from aerospace grade-5 titanium.
Wind-tunnel technology was utilised to overcome wind problems in the rear seat and a windshield was designed which limited the amount of air that travelled around the side of the windscreen making the rear seat position less turbulent. The designers worked with the Australian Defence Force Academy and tried several different materials before deciding on titanium for the hub bars in order to prevent cracking of the rotor blades.
The rear undercarriage suspension was constructed of 7000 series aluminium and was complemented by a rubber block suspension on the nosewheel. The pedals, controls, wheels, rotorhead etc were constructed of titanium in order to increase strength and save weight. Two side pods were fitted for storage space, one being 180 litres in the side pods and another 22 litres in the rear of the aircraft.
Pre-rotation was a pneumatic system similar to other designs but with some modifications to allow the rotor to spin up but not overstress anything in the system. There was also a manual pre-rotator lever as a backup in the event the main system failed. The aircraft was marketed with everything included, except radio and instruments in the rear cockpit.
The first two examples were registered with the Australian Sport Rotorcraft Association as G-0911 and G-2462 and production continued, further examples becoming G-0338 and G-1020. Examples have been registered in New Zealand, including ZK-RBZ (c/n 0033-0716) to Gyrate Auckland Ltd of Auckland on 13 September 2016.