- Joined
- Oct 30, 2003
- Messages
- 18,363
- Location
- Santa Maria, California
- Aircraft
- Givens Predator
- Total Flight Time
- 2600+ in rotorcraft
The Predator turned over 1,000 flight hours on the way to Camarillo.
To put that in perspective according to the EAA a typical experimental flies 50 hours per year, my research says that a typical experimental gyroplane flies 25 hours per year so in experimental years that is 20 years of use and in experimental gyroplane years that is 40 years of use.
Mark Givans designed and started building The Predator in 1997 and she first flew in 1999. After six years and 136 flight hours Mark sold her to his friend who put another 50 hours on her before he sold her to me.
She is the only one built of this design.
She is a little over 17 feet long and had 30 foot RAF blades on her. She has a Toyota starter for a pre-rotator and an RFD two bearing rotor head. She is made from .058 mild steel tubing and had a Lycoming O-290G in her that was supposed to make 135 horsepower and a Prince P-Tip propeller. She holds 22 gallons of gas. She was close to centerline thrust when I got her and is closer now. She has no torque roll and no pitch change with power changes. The Predator has an unusually large vertical stabilizer, rudder and horizontal stabilizer with tube and fabric construction. The body is fiberglass.
I put dual controls in her, different seats, a lighter battery and a bicycle brake for a rotor brake. I made a few other minor modifications. I took her to Buckeye where we did a hang test and created a weight and balance chart. She weighed 800 pounds then and still does. In Buckeye one of the main rotor bearings started making metal and I rebuilt the rotor head. The sky tech starter broke.
After 6 hours of dual instruction I was signed off to solo at KSMX, Santa Maria, California even though my CFI, Terry Brandt was based in Buckeye, Arizona.
I had the rigid nose gear collapse in the non movement area of KSMX and have flattened 4 front tires.
I put a second hand transponder and altitude encoder in her.
Terry came to visit me in December so he could raise my wind limits and OK me to fly to two airports.
Six months later I returned to Buckeye and did my night cross country to Gila Bend in her and then took my Private Pilot’s practical test in her and on the second try Jim Mayfield passed me.
I replaced most of the rod ends on the rotor control system and at my first annual modified the little flipper arm on the control system and installed some coned washers on that arm.
I installed 8.5 inch 30 foot Sport Copter blades on her at around 300 hours.
I wacked the rudder with the rotor blade at Oceano when the pre-rotator motor stopped working. I tried to crowd the blades on the somewhat short runway. Eventually the frame of the tube and fabric tail broke. I replaced the Toyota starter pre-rotator.
I blew off a second starter off the engine and went to a slightly different starter from Sky Tec.
I had a landing light burn out and went to larger KC off road lights.
The pre-rotator starter motor died one more time at about 400 hours and has been giving good service ever since.
I have relined the brakes twice and replaced all the tires twice.
I was flying a lot with Ed in the back and after scaring myself at Santa Paula on a windy day I found an IO 320 B1A that is supposed to make 160 horsepower and a 68 inch 3 blade Catto propeller. My friend Smokey did the fabrication on the instillation and we raised the engine a little less than two inches to make clearance for the four inch larger propeller.
She has flown to 12,700 feet and over 120kts indicated air speed in a slight descent.
She climbs out faster and uses less fuel and oil than with the O-290. I used to get a lot of carburetor ice so the fuel injection is nice. My plugs seem to be holding up much better with the different engine.
After about 50 hours on the IO-320 the alternator brackets broke and the alternator hit my propeller. Craig Catto carved a new propeller with a little more pitch. The alternator eventually died and I installed a 65 amp one from Plane Power. That alternator recently broke a wire internally so I am on my second one from Plane Power. It was covered under their warrantee.
The muffler we built our of very thin stainless steel broke several times before Smokey built one out of a little thicker stainless. The new muffler has around 200 hours with no cracks so far.
During her annual condition inspection in 2010 we found five cracks in the frame near the front.
In early 2011 the upper support bracket for the vertical stabilizer ripped out of the frame.
I recently replaced the battery.
I have had remarkable little trouble with her and she seems to attract attention wherever we fly.
My longest cross country was about 800 miles.
I love The Predator and she has given me good service.
I have spent more on Gas than I paid for her including the engine swap.
She needs the fabric replaced on the empennage and some paint touch up on the frame and body.
The upholstery on the both seats has some tears in it from stepping on the seat to get in.
I have flown with a person who claimed to weigh 260 pounds but was probably closer to 300.
I have had only one unplanned landing and that was because of an oil pressure gage that read incorrectly.
Thank you, Vance
To put that in perspective according to the EAA a typical experimental flies 50 hours per year, my research says that a typical experimental gyroplane flies 25 hours per year so in experimental years that is 20 years of use and in experimental gyroplane years that is 40 years of use.
Mark Givans designed and started building The Predator in 1997 and she first flew in 1999. After six years and 136 flight hours Mark sold her to his friend who put another 50 hours on her before he sold her to me.
She is the only one built of this design.
She is a little over 17 feet long and had 30 foot RAF blades on her. She has a Toyota starter for a pre-rotator and an RFD two bearing rotor head. She is made from .058 mild steel tubing and had a Lycoming O-290G in her that was supposed to make 135 horsepower and a Prince P-Tip propeller. She holds 22 gallons of gas. She was close to centerline thrust when I got her and is closer now. She has no torque roll and no pitch change with power changes. The Predator has an unusually large vertical stabilizer, rudder and horizontal stabilizer with tube and fabric construction. The body is fiberglass.
I put dual controls in her, different seats, a lighter battery and a bicycle brake for a rotor brake. I made a few other minor modifications. I took her to Buckeye where we did a hang test and created a weight and balance chart. She weighed 800 pounds then and still does. In Buckeye one of the main rotor bearings started making metal and I rebuilt the rotor head. The sky tech starter broke.
After 6 hours of dual instruction I was signed off to solo at KSMX, Santa Maria, California even though my CFI, Terry Brandt was based in Buckeye, Arizona.
I had the rigid nose gear collapse in the non movement area of KSMX and have flattened 4 front tires.
I put a second hand transponder and altitude encoder in her.
Terry came to visit me in December so he could raise my wind limits and OK me to fly to two airports.
Six months later I returned to Buckeye and did my night cross country to Gila Bend in her and then took my Private Pilot’s practical test in her and on the second try Jim Mayfield passed me.
I replaced most of the rod ends on the rotor control system and at my first annual modified the little flipper arm on the control system and installed some coned washers on that arm.
I installed 8.5 inch 30 foot Sport Copter blades on her at around 300 hours.
I wacked the rudder with the rotor blade at Oceano when the pre-rotator motor stopped working. I tried to crowd the blades on the somewhat short runway. Eventually the frame of the tube and fabric tail broke. I replaced the Toyota starter pre-rotator.
I blew off a second starter off the engine and went to a slightly different starter from Sky Tec.
I had a landing light burn out and went to larger KC off road lights.
The pre-rotator starter motor died one more time at about 400 hours and has been giving good service ever since.
I have relined the brakes twice and replaced all the tires twice.
I was flying a lot with Ed in the back and after scaring myself at Santa Paula on a windy day I found an IO 320 B1A that is supposed to make 160 horsepower and a 68 inch 3 blade Catto propeller. My friend Smokey did the fabrication on the instillation and we raised the engine a little less than two inches to make clearance for the four inch larger propeller.
She has flown to 12,700 feet and over 120kts indicated air speed in a slight descent.
She climbs out faster and uses less fuel and oil than with the O-290. I used to get a lot of carburetor ice so the fuel injection is nice. My plugs seem to be holding up much better with the different engine.
After about 50 hours on the IO-320 the alternator brackets broke and the alternator hit my propeller. Craig Catto carved a new propeller with a little more pitch. The alternator eventually died and I installed a 65 amp one from Plane Power. That alternator recently broke a wire internally so I am on my second one from Plane Power. It was covered under their warrantee.
The muffler we built our of very thin stainless steel broke several times before Smokey built one out of a little thicker stainless. The new muffler has around 200 hours with no cracks so far.
During her annual condition inspection in 2010 we found five cracks in the frame near the front.
In early 2011 the upper support bracket for the vertical stabilizer ripped out of the frame.
I recently replaced the battery.
I have had remarkable little trouble with her and she seems to attract attention wherever we fly.
My longest cross country was about 800 miles.
I love The Predator and she has given me good service.
I have spent more on Gas than I paid for her including the engine swap.
She needs the fabric replaced on the empennage and some paint touch up on the frame and body.
The upholstery on the both seats has some tears in it from stepping on the seat to get in.
I have flown with a person who claimed to weigh 260 pounds but was probably closer to 300.
I have had only one unplanned landing and that was because of an oil pressure gage that read incorrectly.
Thank you, Vance
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