Newsletter Page 2

This page shows what offspring of Bensen’s gyrocopters some of the officers of the CarolinaGeorgia Rotors & Wings Club are building and flying.
Club Treasurer Ray Pierce wrote: “I have a StarBee
style Gyrobee. It has a SCSI 503 Rotax turning a 60"
Tennessee prop under 24.5 ft. Rotordyne rotor blades.
All up it weighs 270 lbs. It would have made ultralight
if the rotor blades weren't 70 lbs. I believe Sportcopter
blades weigh only 50 lbs. I started shortly after the
second Rotors Over Carolina in Barnwell, South
Carolina, in 1998. Finished it in 2008 ....March or April
....was inspected a week or two before it got the Ray trying to take off
airworthiness certificate from the FCC ...probably in in his Gyrobee in
May. ”
Dana Linn’s hangar
Ray’s Gyrobee
at the Twin Lakes
Airpark.
Club Vice-President Barry Kropelin wrote: “I have a modified
SnoBird: Just installed an EJ22 engine in it. It has 27' Dragonwings
rotor blades, Dominator Tall Tail, electric trim, 14 usable gallons
of fuel, Warp Drive prop (still determining how many blades; trying
4 this week) It is now ready for test flights!
Barry’s SnoBird
Barry’s Dominator: He got it in Lumberton in 2009. It has a Rotax
618, 23' Dragon Wings rotor blades, 60"/4 blade Powerfin
propeller.
Barry had a Gyrobee: He built it in 2004. He started out with a
Rotax 447 but later installed a Rotax 503. He. won "Best
Workmanship" at Bensen Days 2004. He sold it ~2006.
Barry’s Dominator
Barry’s Gyrobee
Club Secretary and Newsletter Editor John Magnan has had a
Bensen B8-M for many years. Slowly he has acquired parts to
rebuild it since it had been sitting behind someone’s house under
a tarp for several years. It’s still not done! He does have new
Bensen rotor blades, instruments, a McCulloch 72 hp engine
never used in a drone (never crashed, then!) and is constructing
a horizontal stabilizer section for the tail.
This is the original
John also is slowly building a Nieuport 11 replica from plans.
Bensen B8-M which
John bought. It needed
much rebuilding.
Ron’s current Dominator
gyroplane.
John riveting at the tail section
of the Nieuport 11.
Club President Ron Awad has owned, and then sold, many
aircraft over the past few years. Among them was an RV-4,
S-10 Sakota, a Pacer, and a series of different gyroplanes,
which he sold. Here is a photo of his current gyro. He wrote
“ I have a tandem Dominator with a Yamaha 120 hp
snowmobile engine conversion powering it. It has 27 foot
dragon wings, 100 mph top speed and 1500 FPM climb
rate. I purchased it in 2007 and since have changed out the
engine and redid alot of the gyro’s systems.” You can see
many photos of Ron flying at any Websites reporting gyro Ron at the Wrens Fall Fly-in
2007.
fly-ins East of the Mississippi.