Microlighters

What gyro do you guys think is the most value for your rand?

In my humble opinion Bennie I say a



































Fixed wind errie.
Ek is maar bang vidi wings wat draai.

JetRanger and I took off in my plane with full fuel (50kgs) and 15 kgs of bagage and still climbed out from Brakpan no problem.
JetRanger - 1 up with the 33 ft alli rotor (Brakpan) 1200 ft/m
2 up (190 kg pilot / 1/2 tanks ) climbed out of Brakpan but sadly I didnt look at the VSI.
The new alluminium rotor is awesome and very very quite (stick shake) - I must admit my aerie is a fantastic aircraft.
He recons that my aerie up here has the same performance as his Eagle (31 ft rotor) has in Cape Town. So now tell me that Sycamores are too heavy - come fly with me I will prove you wrong.

To answer your question Bennie - I think that there is a small window of opportunity to pick up a 2nd hand Sycamore for a ridiculously low price and put on the 33 ft alluminium rotor - you will have an increadible aircraft - come fly in mine and I'll show you. I dont think that it will last long once guys find out about how amazingly the Sycamores are flying.

So how expensive is these new rotors and is there any factory backup on the Sycamores still available?

Eagle1 wrote: come fly in mine and I'll show you.

They all say that and still they all fly right over me and I never get the chanse to make up my own mind.

I spoke to the Sycamore guys at the AGM over the weekend, and you are right, watch this space.

They are so enthusiastic what they are currently doing!

They find old unused Sycamores, upgrade with latest rotor and other things and you can pick them up for +-R300k.

Lot less than any new Gyro and I think good for entering the market, maybe the JSE recovers and you have a spare million soon to upgrade

Bennie - New rotor will cost +- R35 000 landed in SA. They are imported from Australia (Advanced Kinetics). The guys use these rotors to fly around the outback and do horrible things to them without incident. They have in excess of 10 000 hrs flying so far.

Regarding the backup - Sycamore have a new invester called Derek Moore. He is a Sycamore owner and enthusiast but also a self made entrepeneur. The factory are here to stay and have already had a huge cash injection which will contitue until all the R+D projects are completed.

I nearly sold my plane for R250 000 and once I flew with this new rotor immediately took my plane off the market (phew). It would have been a big mistake. There are a couple around for alot less than R300 (closer to R200) - Give me a ring and I will put you on to the ones I know of.
Will PM my number to you

As I have said before, any ignoramus that talks kak about how heavy a Sycamore is should come fly with me anytime. Sycamore's are here to stay and they fly really well. Rotax 914F with the AK rotor makes for a very nice package.

I have almost 150 hours on mine which I bought new last year and I am loving every moment of it. I have never experienced this 'heavy' everyone is talking about in a machine with the new rotor. The old composite rotors generated less lift yes.

I believe we have a solid 'proudly South African' product here and people should beware that we dont always think imports are better.

A Sycamore is like a bakkie that flies, ideal for SA conditions. I have landed and taken off on farm strips that would have destroyed most other gyro's. Fact!

You get some change from R500k on a new one, good second hands around for about 200 to 300k and I agree with Eagle1, put a new rotor on an older machine and you will have a good buy.

Bennie is n Gyro volgende op jou lys??

Quentin Ferreira
ZU-ATP
Newcastle

Quentin Ferreira wrote:Bennie is n Gyro volgende op jou lys??

Quentin Ferreira
ZU-ATP
Newcastle

Watch this space.

Jetranger wrote:

As I have said before, any ignoramus that talks kak about how heavy a Sycamore is should come fly with me anytime.

I saw the Sycamore in the flesh for a the first time a while back when we hooked up with Jetranger over Franschoek. He certainly had no problem whatsoever keeping up with the Magni's and I was impressed with the Sycamore's build and quality of finish.