Chayair Sycamore
{{Short description|South African autogyro}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use South African English|date=January 2022}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=Sycamore | image= | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Autogyro | national origin=South Africa | manufacturer=Chayair | designer= | first flight= | introduced= | retired= | status=In production (2012) | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built= | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Chayair Sycamore is a South African autogyro, designed and produced by Chayair of Musina. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 178. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 192. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. {{ISSN|1368-485X}}
Design and development
The Sycamore features a single main rotor, a two-seats-in-tandem open or optionally enclosed cockpit, tricycle landing gear with wheel pants and a four-cylinder, liquid and air-cooled, four-stroke, dual-ignition turbocharged {{convert|115|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Rotax 914F engine in pusher configuration. The {{convert|160|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Subaru EJ22 is optional.
The aircraft fuselage is made from bolted-together aluminum tubing and mounts a {{convert|9.10|m|ft|1|abbr=on}} diameter Advanced Kinetics rotor. The tailplane features five vertical tail surfaces for improved directional stability. The enclosed Sycamore Mk 1 version has an empty weight of {{convert|380|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and a gross weight of {{convert|590|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, giving a useful load of {{convert|210|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.
Operational history
By December 2012 one example had been registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration in the Experimental - Amateur-built category.{{cite web|url = http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=SYCAMORE&PageNo=1|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305082221/http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=SYCAMORE&PageNo=1|url-status = dead|archive-date = 5 March 2016|title = Make / Model Inquiry Results|accessdate = 31 December 2012|last = Federal Aviation Administration|date = 31 December 2012}}
Variants
Specifications (Sycamore Mk 1)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Bayerl{{cite web|url = http://www.chayaireurope.com/sales_mk1specs.htm|title = Sycamore Mk 1|accessdate = 31 December 2012|last = Chayair|year = 2007}}
|prime units?=met
|genhide=
|crew=one
|capacity=one passenger
|length m=5.40
|length ft=
|length in=
|length note=
|width m=1.9
|width ft=
|width in=
|width note=
|height m=2.80
|height ft=
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|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=380
|empty weight lb=
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=590
|gross weight lb=
|gross weight note=
|fuel capacity={{convert|55|L}}
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Rotax 914F
|eng1 type=four cylinder, liquid and air-cooled, four stroke, turbocharged aircraft engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=115
|prop blade number=3
|prop name=Warp Drive Inc carbon fibre
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
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|rot number=1
|rot dia m=9.10
|rot dia ft=
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|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=153
|max speed mph=
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|cruise speed kmh=128
|cruise speed mph=
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|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
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|endurance=2.5 hours
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=
|ceiling note=
|g limits=+3.5/-0.5
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ms=4
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
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|disk loading lb/sqft=
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References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.chayaireurope.com/}}
- [http://www.chayaireurope.com/gallery.htm Official Sycamore Mk 1 photos]