The “center line thrust” Golden Butterfly trainer is a two-place tandem gyroplane. Climb out with a 200 lb. pilot is a whopping 1,500 ft./minute and with two 200 lb. people it still climbs at 800 ft./per minute. With a 300 lb. pilot The Golden Butterfly still climes out at an amazing 900 ft./minute.
By removing one bolt the mast can be folded from 11′ high to 7’10”. The same bolt can be used to give 4 different pilot Center Of Gravity setting for a 150 lb., 200 lb., 250 lb., or a 300 lb. pilot with superb handling qualities.
What a ride.
The G-Force Landing Gear is a long stroke shock mounted parallelogram. The mast has a unique shock absorption and spring loaded dampening system that has removed most of the vibration out of the airframe. There is practically no stick shake due to isolation dampeners in the push pull tubes.
The Subaru 2.5 engine with a cam grind puts out 180 hp and drives a 74″ propeller. The Stratomaster glass cockpit display includes a rotor tachometer. The all flying 60″ tall tail with a 50″ wide horizontal stabilizer that centers the propeller blast is a true airfoil combination that gives The Golden Butterfly yaw control to easily overcome a large crosswind component.
The instructor in the rear seat also has an instrument panel with airspeed and altitude gauges included.
The Golden Butterfly is specifically designed to train students how to fly The Butterfly and Monarch gyroplanes but can also be used for a thousand other tasks, one of which is just pure fun flying in a huge, open frame, gyroplane with a friend. Set up with a climb prop the top speed is 95 mph with a fuel capacity of 15 US gallons.
The airframe materials kit has pre drilled locator holes that will have to be re drilled to size and some of the tubes will have to be cut to length. The kit is intended for the experimental category where you as the builder fabricate at least 51% of the kit for recreation and education. The cheek plates and various other parts are cut to shape and have undersized locator holes.
The front landing gear, landing gear support, joystick, and rotor head washer are made from 4130 Chrome Molly steel and they are heat-treated. All the parts are either powder coated or anodized in this kit. The tail is made using Kevlar.
Digital EIS which in addition to all engine functions includes, ASI, VSI, OAT, ALT, and others. Hydraulic Disk brakes are included. An electric pre-rotator is included.
This gyrocopter was a failure. The only customer went through 8 engines before accumulating even 100 hours on the airframe, and everyone who flew it declared it a terrible machine. It never maintained sustained flight at an airshow and was finally abandoned.
Greg Mills
Engine: 2.5L EFI Subaru 180 hp
Propeller: 74″
Height: 11′
Folded Height 7′ 10″
Length: 17′ 5 “
Width: 7′ 7″
Top Speed: 95 mph
All Aero 