Colorado Dominator for sale

I have been scarce in the rotorcraft community in the last year or so. My schedule has been such that I haven’t been able to keep up. And, my once average piloting skills have now likely degraded below average because I haven’t had the time. After consideration, I am putting my “Colorado Dominator” up for sale:

Suzuki 1.3L fuel injected (4-cyl 4-stroke) with SDS programmable EFI
60” 4-blade Powerfin prop
Raven damped reduction drive
Dragon Wings rotor blades
RFD heavy-duty double-bearing rotor head w/slider damper
12-gallon seat tank

Garmin transponder and mode-c encoder
ICOM A5 radio
Comtronics helmet with radio headphones, mic, and push-to-talk

It regularly flew my 225lbs at 6000’-7000’ feet at ~70 degrees F, so maybe it could carry you. Disclosure: some will (should) recall I had an engine out with a blade strike in this aircraft. The cause was isolated to an engine sensor wire that had work-hardened and it has since been repaired. I posted the report here at the time. I replaced the blades, I had Ernie rebuild the rotorhead, and I replaced the push-pull rods and joystick. I wanted to be sure…because I got back in and I continued to fly it. Unfortunately, the last time I flew was last May. It has been in the hangar since, although I’ve run it up about every 1-2 months. Currently, I am only listing it here on the forum. I’d like to keep it in the community if I could. The aircraft is located in the Denver/Boulder area.

Price: $15,200.

Best,

Rob

price change & pics

price change & pics

Dominator looking for a good home in spring. Here are some pictures. I've reduced the price to $15,200.

Rob

Bump. Thanks for the interest so far. The weather is getting nice...nice enough to fly.

For sale

For sale

Bump. Just fired up the ship today!

Hey Rob, lets go fly together sometime and I will take some air to air shots of you.
Be carefull though, if we do that you may change your mind about selling it.
Todd

I see you're using the SDS on your ship, how well does it work?

Thanks, Mike

technical question

technical question

How long are your rotors and what is the dia. of your prop? And how much hp is that engine?

Dominator

Dominator

Todd: After spending some time running it yesterday, I realized how much fun it is having it around. If you're going to be up north here any time, let me know.

Mike: The SDS EFI has worked well. Their support has been great. I had one wiring issue I ran into in flight, but that was due to me not supporting a wire properly during installation, and not due to the SDS system itself.

Brooke: The rotors are 26' and the 60" prop has four blades. I have also flown it with 27' rotors. I could probably go down to 25' as well, although it would be slightly less efficient. I don't know the exact horsepower of the engine, but it's somewhere between a 912 and a 912S.

Have a great day,

I have been planning to come up sometime and fly around with Curt sometime, Maybe we can schedule it so that we can all go tear up the skies.
Todd 719 499-2378

Bump

Bump

Just another bump for visibility...thanks for the interest I have received so far. Gotta love the gyro community!

Rob,

What size cable are use using for your prerotator? I liked your handle so much I bought a pair from Bike Bling .com.

You have a very nice looking Dominator.

Thanks,

Hi Chris- thanks. The prerotator handle is a shorty brake lever normally used on BMX bikes. It’s light. The BMX’ers use bars of the same dimension as my control stick (mtn bikes have larger bars).

I used a “tandem length” brake cable available in bicycle stores. The cable end fit the brake lever. I don’t think a derailleur cable would fit, so watch for that mixup. The tandem length made it back to the wunderlich friction wheel. The black wire casing is also standard bike store stock.

Rob,

Thanks for the reply. I would have to assume that you have had no issues using the thinner 1.5mm cable. I have one of Ernie's Hydraulic units and like the stock Wunderlich, uses a thicker cable. I had thought about having a thicker cable made rather than use the 1.5mm tandem bike cable. I have all the pieces in hand to make your set up.

I do like the small break lever as opposed to the full size motorcycle lever. This will keep from hitting my instrument pod at full stick forward when engaging the rotor break.

Thank you,

How many hours on the engine?
How many hours on the blades?

Chris,
Originally, I also had the same instrument panel interference problem with the larger, heavier Wunderlich lever. It was a nice opportunity to save a little weight. I haven’t had any issues with using the lighter cable. In my application, the pressure I apply really isn’t too great. In fact, if I apply too much pressure, it causes the friction wheel to wear faster than I’d like.

Dirty Dog Chris,

My log books are out at the hangar, but the blades are 20-25hrs and the engine is around 30-35hrs.

Thanks Rob for the insight. Good Luck selling your Dom. BTW How do you like the Raven set up?

Thanks for the well-wishes on selling the ship Chris. For the first time in over a year, my schedule is lightening up in the second half of August. Around then, I’m going to go out and run the ship up on the taxiway to see how I feel about getting my flying chops back. People have had interest in my Dominator, but the buyers haven’t come through due to one thing or another not related to the ship (waiting for finances to improve, my Colorado location, other life factors, want a lowball price, just tire-kicking for now, etc). It just needs the right pilot. I wish I was able to make Mentone this year to see everyone and to show off the ship. I’ll miss Ernie’s water cooler and conical cups.

The Raven reduction drive has worked well. The rubber conical dampers in the hub seem to contribute to pretty smooth running.

Enjoy the summer flying in the lone star state.

Rob,
Too bad your not going to make Mentone it would have been nice to meet you. The conical cups made comment me laugh out loud. Dad's cooler seems to draw a crowd at Bensen Days also.

It would have been great to finally catch up Mike. I've bothered your dad enough and I should start working on the rest of the family. I'd go to Mentone, but I have something that Friday that I can't move. Drink a cone water for me.