Can you guess what this is???

[skyguynca]

I received a email today from the gentleman wanting to sell a Bensen gyro. These are the pictures I recieved. I promptly informed him as to what he really had. I even sent him the plans for it so he would really know more about what it is....

Anyone else care to guess what it is?

Has anyone ever seen or know someone who has actually flown this model???

[okikuma]

There's a Yahoo Group called "Gyrocraft". In the file section, there's plans for a "Bensen B19 - B20" which this gyroplane looks like. I doubt that this was a Bensen design in the first place. Could this be an old Vantec design?

What's interesting is that this specific design used "piston rods" as part of the rotorhead mount (instead of cheek plates). Ingenious if you think about it. All one has to do is perform a hang test and adjust the position of the rotorhead (by moving the piston rods fore or aft thus repositioning the rotorhead) to obtain the proper angle. No need to make a new set of cheek plates if the pilot is too heavy or too light for the "standard or normal" setting.

I also notice in your pictures that the rotor blades are made of wood. I can see that the aft portion of the blades are built up with ribs and covered with fabric, much like the early Autogyros of the 1920s & 30s.

Where's this gyro located? I'd like to see it up close if not too far from me.

Wayne

[Brent_Brown]

It looks like an old blue gyro.

[Brent Drake]

looks like a museum piece

[gyroplanes]

BK (B&W?) Copters, out of Towanda,Kansas?

They were an early gyro plans seller. I bought a catalog of theirs on ebay a while back.

Good to see you back Skyguy

[skyguynca]

Tom is right!!! Yes it is a BW20, which the design was sold to Helicraft and now to the oh so great to deal with vortech!!!

I have seen only one other of these machines and yet to see one fly.

[skyguynca]

There's a Yahoo Group called "Gyrocraft". In the file section, there's plans for a "Bensen B19 - B20" which this gyroplane looks like. I doubt that this was a Bensen design in the first place. Could this be an old Vantec design?
Wayne

Bensen would never do something like this....I have seen those plans also posted elsewhere. They are really B-19 and B-20 plans for this gyro.

[GyroRon]

To be blunt, it looks like a old blue POS gyro!

[skyguynca]

Keith Fraser is the owner of the gyro B-20 pictures I posted. I sent Keith the plans for this gyro and recieved a email from him about it. If you look closely at the pictures of the vertical you will see the tail numbers N2099 and Keith pointed out to me low and behold that is the tail number of the gyro on the cover of the plans!

(attached pic from plans cover below, compare to gyro pics above)

Seems this is their demonstraitor they used to sell the plans, so I am just guessing here but he may have the first one built and the first one to fly.

Me I probably would not fly it, but atleast it flew once for the pictures.


By the way if the administrator is reading this Keith has been trying to get on here but has not received his activation email.

[Stephen Toor]

This gyro looks very heavy. Has anyone flown this one? What is the guy planning to do with it?