Gyro guarantees

[Tinkerbell]

We are in process of buying a Calidus. I previously owned an Ela, but wanted an enclosed gyro. Liking the tandem configuration, the Calidus was an obvious choice for me. The whole process has been going on for months and we actually visited the factory in Hildesheim. We have asked for a factory guarantee, something that I don't think is strange when one buys a product worth thousands of Euro's. I am not happy with the few vague sentences on an email we received. I want to know if anyone has a guarantee from Autogyro? If yes, has anyone had a claim against the guarantee and how was it handled by the factory? I am so appalled with their pre-sale service that I am hesitant to take their word for after sales service. Communication is non-existant. Please tell me I have nothing to worry about!

[Steve McGowan]

It's your money,, if it's not in writing,, your getting taken...

Or as Jim Baker said...... SEND ME YOUR MONEY...

" I WILL PRAY FOR YOU".

[scandtours]

Can you clarify what kind of guarantee you ask/demand?
Some car manufactures give a kind of guarantee on new cars like, the first or two years free service including parts, or before a certain amount of kilometrers/miles which come first.
Don’t expect such guarantee for a gyro.
Maybe you mean delivery guarantee within the time agreed?
If you have a Rotax engine the quarantee is valid according to Rotax specifications.

[MAK]

I think what Tinkerbell means is if a blade cracks, or the fuselage shows cracks, or a rudder cable break, until which point are these items guaranteed (obviously if not abused by owner and not Rotax items that falls under their guarantee). Are these items covered for the first year, first ten hours, etc? Has anybody ever had a comeback to Auto-gyro regarding any defects and did they resolve it?

[z_smurf]

I believe AuroGyro do give guarantee for some parts, but not for parts that break beause of a) wear, or b) bad usage.

When the blade-cracks showed up a few years ago, before they knew the reason for it, we go a pair of blades replaced for free (old model). When another pair showed cracks (on another machine) it was not for free, because there were some scratches on them from the hangar doors.

Our club only have the newer bladed (labeles Rotorsystem II) on all machines now, and no cracks on them what ever you do and no matter how bad you fly them.

The prerotator is weak on all autogyros, and too much throttle when prerotate will break it, no matter if you run ELA, Magni or MT:s. Autogyro charges for theese spare-parts (even if breaking down after only 20 h usage) , and they are quite expensive. Just go a proper flight-school and learn to prerotate the smooth way, and they will not break down for you the first 500h or so.

The frame "should never crack". Then they added inspection of it at 400h interval. Our began cracking at 800h, and because it was used in schooling, with thousands of landings, we had to pay some share for a new frame. Luckilly, not expensive. The reason that we had to pay were that we did not have documentation of the measured distance between mast and toe, which should be measured everh 100h. This is to document if any too hard landing has occured.

The prop blades (the standard non-pitchable blades) quickly wear if you run on grass airfield. I think no blades exceed 600h. We've got one pair for free (on a machine where blades started to get pinches because of material moving inside it. Blades had ran for about 400 hours). Other pair of blades we had to pay for, because they had ran many hours and were very worn.

Other things that needs replacing are the rubber hoses for fuel and oil. Theese parts can be ordered by autogyro, or by rotax. They lasts a year or a few years, then the rubber start to harden, and cracks appear. Not expensive, just consider as normal maintenance, just as you replace fuel-filters etc.

I think the factory are very helpful, and helps you to replace parts that are not listed as "wear-parts". A good idea is to communicate via your reseller instead of trying getting support direct from the factory.

Ps. I am referring to MTO-Sport machines. I dont know about calidus, but the guarantee and support might be similar. Pd

//Andreas

[Texasautogyro]

I had a prop on an MTO Delaminate. This showed up as a bubble on the surface at about 400 hrs. I sent the blade back and they replaced the whole thing N/C.

[Heron]

Guarantee that the whole kit will be delivered on time?
Will it fly as good as the others? (demos or other brands)
Are the materials under factory specs?
Are parts made with the intended materials and quality controled?
If the makers are not talking enough, how are you going to buy their product?
Heron

[Snowgum]

My instructor is the Auto-Gyro dealer for Canada, and he absolutely swears by them. He spent a lot of time at their factory, talking to them, training and watching their safety testing. I trust him, and I love their products. Hang in there, it will all be worth it!!