Cavalon Pro becomes the first certified gyroplane
The Cavalon Pro has become the world’s first modern-era certified Gyroplane after the UK Civil Aviation Authority presented Gerry Speich (MD of RotorSport UK), with the Certificate of Airworthiness for the first-of-type (G-CIEW), on the Autogyro GmbH stand at AERO Friedrichshafen on 15th April.
Gerry Speich of RotorSport UK said “…it has been a long and uphill struggle to get Cavalon Pro to this stage and I am absolutely delighted that a new era for the gyroplane is about to begin. Certification recognises a higher degree of safety, quality and reliability for operators as well as reducing insurance risk and enabling fleet financing. This is a real dream come true and represents years of development showing the world that gyroplanes are serious, useful aircraft that can now take their rightful place in the aviation industry, flying by day or night – and probably IFR later this year. It also demonstrates the huge lead in Gyroplane Aviation that AutoGyro and RotorSport now have in the world market, with our aircraft complying with the newest and highest existing gyroplane aviation standards.”
The Cavalon is fitted with a Rotax 914UL engine and has a MTOW of 560kg. This gives an impressive 250Kg of usable payload. The addition of an IVOPROP propeller gives up to 15% better take-off performance over existing models. It cruises around 85-90 mph with a fuel burn of about 15 litres per hour on unleaded petrol (UL91 is also approved). With a 100-litre tank, that’s up to 5 hours flying plus reserves.