Calidus - flight review - 5.12

[Steve_UK]

Hi

Calidus - flight review

As published in Powered Sport Flying May 2012

see


http://www.auto-gyro.com/chameleon/outbox/public/30/2012_05_PoweredSportFlying.pdf



Cheers

[PTKay]

As usual, very favourable article, omitting many aspects,
not to disturb the kind dealer who offered the author the free ride.

The 6ft 3'' author claims he was seated comfortably in the back seat,
forgetting the small detail, that his knees were firmly suck aside of the
pilot's elbows, which is clearly visible in the pictures on page 31 and 35.

It must have also restricted the freedom of controls for the front seat
pilot.

He also just shortly mentions that the front seat shoulder belts
further restrain the back seat passenger in his freedom of movement.

It certainly is fun to fly, but not for the passenger in the back seat over
longer distances.

[Vance]

It may be that it is a nice article because it is a nice gyroplane.

I read the article and it seemed reasonably factually accurate and from the perception of a fixed wing pilot, in my opinion the most likely customer.

I flew the Calidus with Michael Burton in the back seat who in my opinion is a larger than average person. I don’t know if he was comfortable but I was and he did not interfere with my arms or control inputs.

The Calidus I flew was extremely smooth. The cabin had no perceptible shake and the stick could not have been any smoother.

Thank you, Vance

[PTKay]

Vance, you are absolutely right.

This cosy position with the passengers knees around
the pilots waist, suggested by the shape of the front seat
is just not my thing. :)

I prefer side by side, "horses for courses".

I just do like the reports you can find in other aviation or car
magazines. They report carefully and then sum up with all
the pros and cons leaving the final opinion to the reader.

I miss it in this article.

[choppergabor]

Paul I will have a chance to check one out pretty soon as we are getting one in our hangar. I consider myself a pretty big dude so I will check it out for you. Trust me i won't lie :) If it sux that's what I will say about it. (of course it is always just my humble opinion so take it for what its worth)

[PTKay]

Gabor, we have a Calidus here in Modlin, the most experienced
Polish gyro CFI, meant it sux, and he
gave it public in an authorized interview in a Polish aviation magazine.

But maybe it was also just his private opinion.

He praised it as a nice single seat fast, fun machine,
but not suitable for training. He suggested also that flying it with your
girlfriend with her knees around your waist would be fun.
(He is ex military helicopter pilot.)

In non authorized interviews he calls the CFI's position
in the back seat in Calidus "gynaecological"... :)
(...and he clearly doesn't like it.)

[choppergabor]

Gabor, we have a Calidus here in Modlin, the most experienced
Polish gyro CFI, meant it sux, and he
gave it public in an authorized interview in a Polish aviation magazine.

But maybe it was also just his private opinion.

He praised it as a nice single seat fast, fun machine,
but not suitable for training. He suggested also that flying it with your
girlfriend with her knees around your waist would be fun.
(He is ex military helicopter pilot.)

In non authorized interviews he calls the CFI's position
in the back seat in Calidus "gynaecological"... :)
(...and he clearly doesn't like it.)
Hahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa that's a good one! If you are into that kind of thing I guess it could be advantageous :) I am usually busy flying and prefer to have female knees wrapped around me in a way different settings!
I do too prefer side by side teaching as we both see the same thing (instruments, side picture, blah blah blah) plus it gives me the chances to see the student's face! Lot of times the facial expression is the best tool a CFI has. In my humble opinion of course.

[PTKay]

Hahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa that's a good one! If you are into that kind of thing I guess it could be advantageous :) I am usually busy flying and prefer to have female knees wrapped around me in a way different settings!
:)


I do too prefer side by side teaching as we both see the same thing (instruments, side picture, blah blah blah) plus it gives me the chances to see the student's face! Lot of times the facial expression is the best tool a CFI has. In my humble opinion of course.

I just cannot imagine the instructor sitting behind me,
not being able to communicate with him visually,
or pointing something on the panel for him.

What was described in the fair way in the article and confirmed
here in Poland is the problem for the CFI to see all the
instruments.

In the mentioned article it is described as a need of
"cooperation" between the pilot in front and CFI in the back.
This probably means the one has to lean to one side,
and the other, to the other.

[Vance]

I have trained in a side by side and tandem.

The instructor would ask me to do something over the intercom and I would do it. If I did it badly he would work to mitigate the divergence from our intended path.

In my opinion there is not much to learn from my expressions and I found it disquieting when I would see terror sweep across a CFI's face.

I found less difference between left and right turns.

I found it easier to stay aligned with the center line and the decorative lines that show the taxi path.

I found the response to my efforts to manage pitch more casual.

Terry Brandt had no difficulty in recognizing what was going on without the flight instruments. Terry is not tall and The Predator has no instruments in the back.

I feel there is value in having some instruments in the back.

When I flew the MT-03 at Bensen days I had trouble recognizing yaw excursions from the back seat and did not fly it well.

I feel that training in a Calidus without seeing the flight instruments would be challenging because of the lack of wind.

I find value in feeling the wind against my face when landing.

I find it challenging to land a Stearman from the back seat but the Calidus has much better visibility over the nose.

Thank you, Vance

[PTKay]

In my opinion there is not much to learn from my expressions and I found it disquieting when I would see terror sweep across a CFI's face.

That's a good one, Vance! :)

[Gyro_Kai]

I have only trained in tandem configuration MTOs. Also I did a transitional training in a Calidus, but never sat in the back. Surely the instructor needs different skills in the back to gauge the current state of mind of his pupil. But I never heard, that an instructor needs instruments.

In the Trixy they offer a small EFIS which shows the major numbers on a small display, that can contain whatever information you deem necessary.

Kai.

[PTKay]

But I never heard, that an instructor needs instruments.

That's an interesting one...

It would have saved a lot of money to all the trainer aircraft manufacturers
to leave the instructor seat in the back without any dials. :)

Serious training aircraft, even in the side-by-side configuration
have full set of instruments and controls on both sides.

Of course, we are all 100% sure that during the training flight
it can never happen that they inadvertently fly into IMC... ;)

[choppergabor]

Surely the instructor needs different skills in the back to gauge the current state of mind of his pupil. But I never heard, that an instructor needs instruments.

Kai.
Oh really????? A student on his second flight will recognize a carb icing and put on the carbheat since he is really not that occupied by just trying to fly straight the damn thing? UUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH :der:
Kai my good buddy that statement does not hold water. That may have been a stupid example but real! There are lot of other instances I as a CFI WANT to see my instruments.

[Skyjinks]

The biggest problem with the Calidus is getting off the ground with two up and fuel for more than a short flight. Makes a great fast single seater but otherwise you need tarmac and lots of it!!!

[PTKay]

The biggest problem with the Calidus is getting off the ground with two up and fuel for more than a short flight. Makes a great fast single seater but otherwise you need tarmac and lots of it!!!

Also our observations here.

Or maybe with a skinny girlfriend in the back seat. :)

[choppergabor]

Ok here we go! My ride today was this baby. Backseat experience straight shooting style! Backseat pedals are placed under front seat in a manner that you can NOT make a full rudder deflection to neither direction because your lower limb gets pressed against the front seat. The way around it is that you wedge your foot on both sides and the tip of your toe will be able to fully extend the pedal movement than! Not comfy but doable! Maybe a shorter guy doe not have this problem. Not enough height to see any instruments so you fly blind (apparently I have a built in altimeter and ASI in my skull according to my instructor) I did need help with engine RPM as I couldn't tell where the 4500 or 3000 might be :) The machine is very stable and on the 180 tail turn and during hovering it does feel in complete control and does not want to run away from you like a heli does when is goes into settling with power. I was waiting for it to happen :) Silly me! The death spiral is very easy and also very controlled in this machine. At no point during training I felt the machine doing anything else but what the input was!!! Take off .....is sluggish.....I know I need to lose weight so shut the front door! :argue: It does need a bit more than the 912 in my humble opinion. Landing is nice and I love the feel of the composite landing gear. OK next one comes tomorrow from the front seat OK? See ya guys.

[PTKay]

Keep it coming, Gabor.

:thumbs:

[fara]

Ok here we go! My ride today was this baby. Backseat experience straight shooting style! Backseat pedals are placed under front seat in a manner that you can NOT make a full rudder deflection to neither direction because your lower limb gets pressed against the front seat. The way around it is that you wedge your foot on both sides and the tip of your toe will be able to fully extend the pedal movement than! Not comfy but doable! Maybe a shorter guy doe not have this problem. Not enough height to see any instruments so you fly blind (apparently I have a built in altimeter and ASI in my skull according to my instructor) I did need help with engine RPM as I couldn't tell where the 4500 or 3000 might be :) The machine is very stable and on the 180 tail turn and during hovering it does feel in complete control and does not want to run away from you like a heli does when is goes into settling with power. I was waiting for it to happen :) Silly me! The death spiral is very easy and also very controlled in this machine. At no point during training I felt the machine doing anything else but what the input was!!! Take off .....is sluggish.....I know I need to lose weight so shut the front door! :argue: It does need a bit more than the 912 in my humble opinion. Landing is nice and I love the feel of the composite landing gear. OK next one comes tomorrow from the front seat OK? See ya guys.

I flew in the same exact machine and I am a mere 145 pounds at 5'9" and of course used to trikes with 912ULS so my experience is tainted by that as well.

Yes the machine is nice and very stable (almost too much pressure required for holding pitch away from trim I would say and dampening the phugoid oscillations is no problem). However, as you said, 912ULS just isn't cutting it for this machine even in Florida. I don't want to climb at 300 - 500 feet per minute with a machine that has 100 HP and only 600 pounds empty weight.

[fara]

As usual, very favourable article, omitting many aspects,
not to disturb the kind dealer who offered the author the free ride.

The 6ft 3'' author claims he was seated comfortably in the back seat,
forgetting the small detail, that his knees were firmly suck aside of the
pilot's elbows, which is clearly visible in the pictures on page 31 and 35.

It must have also restricted the freedom of controls for the front seat
pilot.

He also just shortly mentions that the front seat shoulder belts
further restrain the back seat passenger in his freedom of movement.

It certainly is fun to fly, but not for the passenger in the back seat over
longer distances.

6' 3" comfortably in a Calidus .... no way, at least I have a hard time processing that. Steve you sure man? I was comfortable at 5'9" but I could easily see that 6' is about going to do it. My instructor (who was my student in another category of aircraft before) was only 2" below the canopy from the top of his head in the front seat in Calidus at 5' 8".

I like the looks of that machine but it is what it is. Ain't for big and tall people and it as usual kind of sucked at climb (though that is relative and I am coming from high powered trikes mind you) being heavier than the MTO which I also thought sucked at climb for its empty weight and power.

[fara]

It may be that it is a nice article because it is a nice gyroplane.

I read the article and it seemed reasonably factually accurate and from the perception of a fixed wing pilot, in my opinion the most likely customer.

I flew the Calidus with Michael Burton in the back seat who in my opinion is a larger than average person. I don’t know if he was comfortable but I was and he did not interfere with my arms or control inputs.

The Calidus I flew was extremely smooth. The cabin had no perceptible shake and the stick could not have been any smoother.

Thank you, Vance


Interesting. It is indeed a great looking machine and smooth. No question about it. I did find the stick to be much smoother but I don't think more than 190 pounds and above 6' is going to be what I would call comfortable in Calidus. There was still stick shake but about half of what I see on a Dominator. That however depends on individual machine and how much the owner/operator has taken the time and effort to make it track and balanced I guess so I don't think we can make unqualified comments there in general across the fleet. I think Calidus does have some rubber elements in the mast to isolate the vibrations which is cool. I found Calidus handling a lot like an airplane.

May I ask, what's your weight, height etc.? Just for my own curiosity Vance. You don't have to answer if you don't like.
Thanks

[choppergabor]

I flew in the same exact machine and I am a mere 145 pounds at 5'9" and of course used to trikes with 912ULS so my experience is tainted by that as well.

Yes the machine is nice and very stable (almost too much pressure required for holding pitch away from trim I would say and dampening the phugoid oscillations is no problem). However, as you said, 912ULS just isn't cutting it for this machine even in Florida. I don't want to climb at 300 - 500 feet per minute with a machine that has 100 HP and only 600 pounds empty weight.
Yes Abid for sure this baby had a little bit of iron deficiency on take off. Almost didn't make the climb out at 55 mph by the end of the 1860 feet runway. Very bulimic indeed! Again Phuck dieting!!!!! I am big so deal with it LOL :)

[Vance]

Interesting. It is indeed a great looking machine and smooth. No question about it. I did find the stick to be much smoother but I don't think more than 190 pounds and above 6' is going to be what I would call comfortable in Calidus. There was still stick shake but about half of what I see on a Dominator. That however depends on individual machine and how much the owner/operator has taken the time and effort to make it track and balanced I guess so I don't think we can make unqualified comments there in general across the fleet. I think Calidus does have some rubber elements in the mast to isolate the vibrations which is cool. I found Calidus handling a lot like an airplane.

May I ask, what's your weight, height etc.? Just for my own curiosity Vance. You don't have to answer if you don't like.
Thanks

Hello Abid,

My weight varies, when I flew the Calidus at Mentone I was 200 pounds with my gear and I am 5’ 11”.

I flew from the front seat and a similar sized Michael Burton was in the back.

It is a nice gyroplane but not to my taste.

I particularly liked the low drag. It appeared to me that when power was reduced it did not descend as fast as The Predator when power is reduced.

The take off was leisurely and the landing inelegant. I only flew it in between. I have a low fear threshold and approach a strange machine with caution.

I found that power changes required some pedal work to keep her aligned with the yaw string.

I experienced pitch excursions with power changes.

I did not fly her well.

I loved the quiet and the smooth stick. I found it much smoother than the open aircraft by the same company that Gabor is flying.

Thank you, Vance

[ckurz7000]

I'm 6'4" and weigh About 200 lbs. flying the MT03 with 912, full tanks, at 14500 feet was no problem. Similarly in the Calidus, with my wife in back. I was comfy up front and she was OK in the back, although it was a tight fit since I had the seat all the way back. With the two of us, about 25 lbs of baggage and full tanks aw were a bit over gross. The trusty 912 got us wherever we wanted to go but I wouldn't have liked a short runway in this constellation. The Ivoprop made all the difference, though, performance wise.

If it weren't for the ArrowCopter, I would get a Calidus again, probably again with a 912.

-- Chris.

[fara]

Hello Abid,

My weight varies, when I flew the Calidus at Mentone I was 200 pounds with my gear and I am 5’ 11”.

I flew from the front seat and a similar sized Michael Burton was in the back.

It is a nice gyroplane but not to my taste.

I particularly liked the low drag. It appeared to me that when power was reduced it did not descend as fast as The Predator when power is reduced.

The take off was leisurely and the landing inelegant. I only flew it in between. I have a low fear threshold and approach a strange machine with caution.

I found that power changes required some pedal work to keep her aligned with the yaw string.

I experienced pitch excursions with power changes.

I did not fly her well.

I loved the quiet and the smooth stick. I found it much smoother than the open aircraft by the same company that Gabor is flying.

Thank you, Vance

Yes Calidus did require rudder inputs with power changes. I don't think I remember MTO needing that as much but someone else might have been doing it for me :).

I don't remember pitch excursions with power changes but that would be normal for anything that has a 10" high thrust line from vcg. However, the excursion should get dampened all by itself in a second or two once correct speed is established. I made my last 2 trikes high thrust line by about 6 inches as well because the drag is "up" there when the fairings clean up the drag down below (actually depends on the fairings). Trikes did the same thing when power was at first applied and then dampened out very quickly and settled in. It allowed a faster top end speed compared to clt.

[fara]

I'm 6'4" and weigh About 200 lbs. flying the MT03 with 912, full tanks, at 14500 feet was no problem. Similarly in the Calidus, with my wife in back. I was comfy up front and she was OK in the back, although it was a tight fit since I had the seat all the way back. With the two of us, about 25 lbs of baggage and full tanks aw were a bit over gross. The trusty 912 got us wherever we wanted to go but I wouldn't have liked a short runway in this constellation. The Ivoprop made all the difference, though, performance wise.

If it weren't for the ArrowCopter, I would get a Calidus again, probably again with a 912.

-- Chris.

Well I am 5'9" 145 pounds and I flew the MT03 with someone who was probably 220 pounds and they had about 8 to 10 gallons of gas in it and it was in FL with DA being about 1800 feet and to me the climb rate was less than even other gyros I had flown and I am one of those that you guys all got offended about because I did not think gyros are really short takeoff and definitely not great climbers compared to similar weight aircraft in other winged categories. So for me to say MTO3 had anemic climb rate, I am trying to compare it to only other gyroplanes I got to fly.
I am sure it can go to certain heights (MSL). That's something else and related to "service ceiling" not performance or climb rate etc.

[Vance]

At the risk of stating the obvious, The MT03 and Calidus are very different gyroplanes particularly in the area of stick shake..

The Calidus I flew was very smooth and required considerable attention to keep the yaw string straight.

The MT03 was not as smooth nor as divergent.

Both required a longer take off roll than I like.

In my opinion both were pitch divergent with power changes.

Both appeared to me to have slip roll coupling that I found disquieting.

I flew the MT03 from the back seat and the Calidus from the front seat. I could not see the yaw string or the indicated air speed in the MT03.

I do not know enough about gyroplanes to pretend I understand the reason for the differences.

In my opinion the differences are substantial and I would not want to explore the differences in the environment of a gyroplane event.

They were both more and pitch and yaw divergent with power changes than the gyroplane I regularly fly, The Predator.

Thank you, Vance

[ppcmacgyver]

All, thank you for the interesting reviews. I have a 912 Calidus and also instruct in it. My initial training was in the MTO. Both are different aircraft. Location of pedals, seating, surrounding enclosures, pre-rotator, flying characteristics, fuel location, etc. I instruct from the back seat a lot and can fly and land it well from there. I have my students fly from the back seat initially and they have done well from there also. It is not a rocket by any means on takeoff, nor does it fit every pilot out there, however for what it lacks it balances very well with great features.
I will have this at mentone, stop over and see for yourself the pro-s and cons
thank you, Chris

[Fly Army]

I wonder how much of a difference a 914 and a constant speed IVO prop would make on a Calidus ? Too bad AutoGyro does not offer any of the Belgian UL Products engines.

[Resasi]

Just an observation and not based upon experience, but it would seem to me that the 912/914 engines have been chosen for most of the present top end factory gyros because they are certified engines, known quantity with their long history, and are the most suitable available with regard to reliability.

I think however with any of these gyros with two adult males around 200lbs, and full fuel, the available HP and performance of these engines is probably not just quite enough, and just few more horses probably very desirable.

Of course we could all do with more power, but even 20-30 more hp might make a big difference with the inherent drag that gyros have.

Chris I would imagine has a lot of experience in flying some of these at top weights, would you care to say which you thought was the best overall performer, in TO distance, climb rate, ceiling and cruise?

In comparing exec jets they have a very interesting method of bar graphs for the various catagories, above and below the average performance for a number of jets in a particular group. It shows instantly the strenghs and weak areas, because as we all know manufacturers all compromise in certain areas they consider most important. It would be interesting to have one made for all the present top end two seaters.

[cfibob]

I have about 400 plus hours of instruction given in a 912 powered Calidus. People of all sizes have been flown. The aircraft performs fine here at sea level. I can still give instruction with the big 250 lb guy in the hot summer. I have flown 700nm with an adult passenger. Yes, There are times I wished I had the extra power. Learn to use the energy you have available. Many learned to fly a Piper Cub with only 65hp. Energy management. It would be great to have the same performance when I am solo in the Calidus and its 50F outside. Most LSA type aircraft have the same problems. I've also flown and give instruction in MTO's with 912 and 914. I'll have to say the extra power on climb is great to have. But then, so is $10,000. That is about the difference in power plants. If money were not an object... go for the 914 all the time. (If money weren't an object I'd be flying a P51) If you are at all concerned with density altitude...the 914 will help. Now, I am also flying a 914 powered Cavalon. The Cavalon performs well also and is very comfortable on long cross country flights. The Cavalon would probably do fine with a 912, but I do like the power.

I saw a C5 Galaxy at Oshkosh. I wonder how the performance difference is when there is no load and max ramp weight 840,000lbs.

[CLS447]

Bob, you have a Cavalon now ?

Tell me more about your training facility, rates, times ,etc ......I am right up here in PA & would love to get some time with you.

[MichaelBurton]

Interesting. It is indeed a great looking machine and smooth. No question about it. I did find the stick to be much smoother but I don't think more than 190 pounds and above 6' is going to be what I would call comfortable in Calidus. There was still stick shake but about half of what I see on a Dominator. That however depends on individual machine and how much the owner/operator has taken the time and effort to make it track and balanced I guess so I don't think we can make unqualified comments there in general across the fleet. I think Calidus does have some rubber elements in the mast to isolate the vibrations which is cool. I found Calidus handling a lot like an airplane.

May I ask, what's your weight, height etc.? Just for my own curiosity Vance. You don't have to answer if you don't like.
Thanks

I am 6'2" 185 lb. I have no problems in the front or back seat. If the front pilot is larger I do need to lean to get a good view of the instruments.

I guess that if you are short you might like a pillow under you as a back seat/instructor pilot.

[MAK]

I have been flying the Calidus part time over the last six months and would like to share my findings.
First a bit of background. My wife and myself started with our training on a Magni M16, then we bought an Ela 08 and completed our training on it and flew it together for about 100 hours. We then added a Xenon to our hangar which for the last three years I flew mostly and my wife the Ela. About a year ago she sold the Ela and bought a Calidus with a 914 as we mostly fly at 6000 to 8000 feet DA.
I now think we have enough experience on the Calidus to comment.
We were sceptic buying the Calidus as we heard a few negative things about it.
My wife, coming from the tandem configuration of the Ela, took to the Calidus like a duck to water. Myself, being use to the side-by-side took a bit more time.
I struggled on the first few landings to get the nose attitude right and scraped the tail boom quite a few times. I struggled to line and level the gyro on landing and the first ten hour's landings looked like goose steps and others bumpy. It felt to me that I lacked rudder authority and couldn't get the gyro 100% straight on final touch down at low speed. During take off it required a lot more right rudder than what I was used to.
After I completed my conversion I did a lot of circuits to sort out all these small issues and get my convidence in the Calidus. After another 8 hours solo I finally bonded and understood the Calidus, how to manage the rudder authority, align her on landing, etc.

Recently we undertook a 2800mile/37hour cross country trip around the coast of South Africa and sometimes @40degrees celcius, over 7000 feet mountains, in 70 mph wind, cross wind landings and the Calidus performed very well and was very comfortable. Most of the trip I sat in the back seat and never felt like I want the 2-3 hour leg to finish.
I am 6feet and 200pounds, so about average size. Sitting in front, with the seat full back, I am glad I am not taller as I might feel a bit cramped then, with limited head room. Sitting at the back, no problem and quite comfortable even with our four purpose made luggage bags in. We did remove the rear rudders and stick after our conversion. I never felt any interference on any of my movements from the rear seat passenger while flying
A change in power do require some rudder input, similar to the Ela we have flow. The Calidus feels slick in the air and do require some small rudder inputs during flight, but I got use to this quite quickly.
The Calidus do require a slightly longer ground roll but the climb rate is similar to the Ela and Xenon.
I had to reduce my approach speed, to what I am used to, as I found anything above a certain airspeed she just wants to fly and won't settle on the runway.
I found the pre-rotator weaker than the ones on the Xenon and Ela and you require a lot more power to reach a rotor RPM of 180.
The stick shake on the Calidus is slightly more than on my Xenon, but similar to the Ela, but the Calidus' cabin is dead still where my Xenon has a small cabin hop.
The Calidus must be one of the best cross country gyros, during this trip we comfortably cruised @ 90 mph while burning 18 - 20 litres of fuel @530 kg AUW and this enabled us to easily do 3 hour legs with reserve fuel remaining.
All in all, we are very happy with the performance, flying characteristics and comfort of the Calidus.

[aerobatic]

MAK,

what canope do you have on your Calidus? (Standard, Summer on Sun Roof)

Maher

[MAK]

Maher

We have the standard with sun roof canopy.

[Resasi]

Nice to hear a review from someone who has the time, and experience in the various machines in the field to comment Mak, you certainly have spectacular scenery to fly in.

I have inferred from your post that performance of the three is roughly similar, weaker prerotation/slightly longer ground roll with Calidus, but cross country cruise performance is better on that than the other two.

Hop shake and stick movement can possibly vary with rotor adjustment so I unless corrected would tend to discount that aspect and assume, always a dangerous thing, that that is possible with all three machines,

Enjoy.

[aerobatic]

Maher

We have the standard with sun roof canopy.

I would really like that Auto-Gyro make available a tinted sunroof for the Calidus. Something that cut most of the light from above in a sunny day, so the iPad stay readable, but still give you a glance at the planes that are above you.

There is a foldable blind toproof available as an option for the Cavalon, It could be cool if it can be fitted in a Calidus.

Maher