26 | Pilot June 2018 | pilotweb.aero
Rotorheads
In April the CAA granted
Design Approval to the
AutoGyro MTO Sport. It is the
first Permit category gyroplane
approved for day and night
VFR operation. Available with
a choice of Rotax 912ULS or
914UL engines, it has an MTOW
of 560kg and a 270kg payload.
Its 94-litre fuel capacity
provides more than four hours’
endurance. Maximum speed is
120mph, maximum operational
altitude 12,000ft.
Gerry Speich, Chief
Certification Officer of
AutoGyro GmbH and Managing
Director of RotorSport in the
UK, says that the aircraft comes
with a range of body options,
and may be flown ‘open’ with
a nose cowl only, or with full
body and rotor mast cowlings.
“Pilot comfort is world class,
with heated leather seats,
lumbar support, adjustable
seating positions, and easy-
adjust pedal position,” he says.
“Take-off distance is stunningly
short due to the incredibly
fast AutoGyro 300rpm
pre-rotation system. Rotors
available are the nimble 8.4m
RSII, the cruising RSII TOPP,
and 8.6m TOPP for heavyflight operations, so pilots can
choose the ideal rotor to suit
their flight style. These are
complimented by the fitment of
the fixed pitch HTC propeller,
or the Ivoprop in-flight
adjustable propeller for low
rpm cruise and even further
reduced take off distance.
Instructors will love the rearcockpit instrumentation
and equipment, instrument
panel with altimeter, ASI,
warning lamps, engine and
rotor speed gauges, mag and
keyswitch, seat-side mounted
throttle, brake, heated seat,
lumbar support, and full stick
controls. For night operation
the aircraft is available with a
secondary alternator, ventral
landing light, heated pitot, lit
instrument panels front and
rear, and a certified Primary
Flight Display.
“This aircraft re-sets the
standard of open cockpit
gyroplane operations. The level
of comfort, stability, range,
payload and ease of flight is
beyond anything currently in
the market, and flight in these
aircraft at night brings a whole
new dimension.” For more
details visit: auto-gyro.co.ukAirbus Helicopters has received
an additional order for an H225
from the Japan Coast Guard
(JCG), which currently operates
three AS332s and five H225s.
This new order will increase its
Super Puma fleet to thirteen by
March 2021, making it Japan’s
largest operator of the type. The
new H225 will serve in security
enforcement and coastal
activities, as well as disaster
relief missions.AutoGyro MTO Sport gets CAA Approval
Lucky thirteen
for Japan
Another H225 for the Coast GuardNewly CAA-approved AutoGyro MTP Sport offers comfort and performanceOn 12 April Airbus Helicopters celebrated
the 50th anniversary of the first flight of its
Fenestron shrouded tail rotor, then installed
on the second prototype Sud Aviation Gazelle.
Originally called Fenestrou, which is Provençal
for ‘little window’, it was initially developed
to safeguard ground staff and also to protect
the tail rotor in challenging environments,
such as around high-voltage power lines. It
was first certified on the Gazelle in 1972 and
subsequently installed on the first single-engine
Dauphin prototype, which also flew that year.
The second generation came at the end
of the 1970s with a larger, all-composite
Fenestron. Research continued to optimise its
shape and blade aerofoils, and to improve sound
reduction. Between 1987-1991 the Fenestron
was successfully tested on an Ecureuil, and
in 1994 the third generation was fitted to the
then Eurocopter EC135 (now H135) which
optimised sound level reduction by using anuneven setting of the blades. In 1999 the H130
performed its maiden flight with a Fenestron
derived from this version. The H145 followed
suit in 2010, as does the latest medium twin
H160, whose 1.2m diameter Fenestron is the
largest fitted to an Airbus helicopter and is
canted to 12° for improved performance with an
additional payload, and for increased stability at
low speed.A half-century of Fenestrons
The H160's 1.2m diameter FenestronThe latest news from the world of rotary-wing aviation