My Cyprus, Genesis G1sa experience

[Gyro_Kai]

Hello,

have I feel like a little boy who cannot speak fast enough to say all that needs to be said in the available time. (all pictures clickable)
I had a week of holiday to take before a hot project go-live and my wife couldn’t get time off, so I pondered, where I could go. As I had a lot of contact with Nicolas K. lately (Aviomania) I thought I give it a try.
What followed then blew my mind. Nico took time off and showed me the beautiful and history ridden country.
Mosque


Church


Cyprus, although having a Greek and a Turkish part, is an autonomous state nowadays. However, due to the exposed position in the middle of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where Europe and Arabia meet, it has a very lively history being occupied, attacked, freed by just about anyone around, from ancient times up to recently, in 1974 by Turkey.


I went scuba-diving in reefs and wrecks, had fantastic meals, met Giorgos (Scandtours), who also invited me for a fantastic dinner (anyone short of 4 lbs? Want some?). The hospitality was breathtaking. I flew a glider with Nico for the first time in my life, but I can sense, you really want to know about other things. So let’s get down to the subject, you are waiting for...

[Gyro_Kai]

...
Aviomania is a great little production site, clean as a bell, tidy and well sorted. Several gyros were in the making or being serviced. What I really liked was the tremendous attention to detail. The brackets cut out of metal sheets (av-grade aluminium, of course) fall into two categories: structural and others. The parts supporting the structure and having an important functional role are (more expensively) water-cut, the rest laser cut. Even though the laser-cut-manufacturer claims no risk, this way it is guaranteed, that really no temperature effect can weaken the structure.

And then I met her:

The Grandmother.


This first model of the Genesis still has some original Bensen parts and a 503 for power. It is the test-platform for new equipment and the source of fun and recreation after a hard day’s work for Giorgos and Nico. They both took turns in flying.


and then it was me. The pre-rotator creates less RPM than I am used to, but in no time the blades spun up during the roll.
I was flying left and right, holding the attitude as I am used to.
Completely wrong!
The panel and windscreen is much lower and the wind much more direct in the face than in an MT03. I was flying at about 30-40 mph all the time!
This is how I flew at 28 mph, horizontal view.

This should have been the correct attitude looking forward.

...

[Gyro_Kai]

But boy, the stability was unbelievable. I let go of the stick and pumped the throttle from half to full several times.
And?
Nothing!
No yaw, no pitch change. Other gyros I know would have written “8”s into the sky with their nose. Simply amazing. You can fly curves and manoeuvres without the stick, simply by rudder and throttle. Nico must have found the perfect position for the empennage, eliminating all torque and P-factor.
The rudder is large and provides excellent authority in all situations.
There was a little bit of stick-shake, but that was due to me clipping an olive tree on my take-off roll (thanks Ernie for making them blades so sturdy).
Some views of the countryside and the runway (aka dirt road). The bushy tree on the car-side of the road will not be the same again, ever.





My first landing was a little bouncy with 37 instead of 55 mph dropping in (I think I’ll write 3 landings into my logbook).
The radio wasn’t the best, so I got the corrective advice afterwards. On my second flight everything was perfect and I loved every second. No worries at all, the machine simply followed my intentions by itself. Despite gusting strong winds there was never a moment of uncertainty.

....

[Gyro_Kai]

On the next day, after meeting the Greek agent Apostolis, his son and friends, we first went to the beach (on a side note: Europeans, especially girls, invest very little in swimming gear and forget half of it at home).
As Cyprus has virtually no criminals, we simply left the machine waiting in the parking lot.


In the afternoon we went flying again on the dried lake you have also seen in Nico’s and Giorgo’s videos.
Of course we used only professional equipment like this wind-sock


As you can see, using the stick is optional.


Some views from above and below

Me


Mandatory tail shot


just passing by

[Gyro_Kai]

Even with the blade all the way down to the back, it does not touch the rudder, like some others do.




So what can I say?
This is easily the best gyro I have ever set foot upon. All the fancy cabin and enclosure cannot win against a perfect technical design.

I congratulate Nico for this design. And also all those who have decided to build this gyro-kit: Rest assured, you chose a winner.

For all those, still considering… check this one before you decide.

Nico and Giorgo thank you for the greatest holiday!

If you made it this far, thanks for bearing with me,

Kai.

[Gyro_Kai]

There is a video here:

Aviomania Genesis G1sa gyroplane over Cyprus - YouTube

I am not a "natural" when it comes to piloting, I needed several hours to transition from MT to Calidus and my landings in a Xenon still leave a lot be desired. But this one flies itself.

At the end of video you see my 4th landing, which looked like my 3rd and 2nd pretty much.

Kai.

[StanFoster]

Kai- what a nce report on such a nice gyro! Beautiful pictures alsom. Nicolas has designed a superb gyro. I can't wait for the rest of Johns parts to arrive so I can have Johns flying this winter! Stan

[choppergabor]

Awesome video Kai

[dragonflyerthom]

Ok nice video. Question: is the HS braced on the vertical stab anywhere?

[C. Beaty]

This is the way all gyros would be if their designers possessed Nicolas’ competence.

CLT and horizontal stabilizer adjusted to balance propeller torque.

[willisbr]

Great story Kai! What a beautiful country. I wish I had the time and airfare to take on something similar. How far a trip for you? Thanks for taking the time to not only take pictures and video, but the great detailed writing. I'm evermore excited to continue my build and get rotors turning in the USA.

Nicolas, you had a video online a while back of the genesis flying over the beaches. Now it's gone. Any chance to get it back? Forget where it was but I remember looking it up and seeing it was a hotspot for tourism and techno clubs. Bucket list!

[Minnesota_Mike]

Thank You Kai for a great write up on your experience there...
(enjoyed the photos very much).

Every time I watch a video of the Genesis I get all giddy because it is such an excellent machine...I feel by far the nicest single place out there.

(It's gotta be a great thrill to fly the stunningly beautiful county side there..!)

M-M.

[GaryMac]

Great report, Kai. Thank you for taking the time to post it.

It is especially nice to hear a comparison between the Genesis and the MTO. I'm training in an MTO, and thought it was terrific as far as stability. It's nice to hear the Genesis is even better!!

[willisbr]

Thom I don't have the tail kit yet but I think the design calls for a "T" up from the keel. So there is aluminum square tube inside with brackets. There are no supports on the outside. A solid T going up.

[Resasi]

Nice to hear your impressions Kai.

Been watching this one from it's inception and Giorgos left his old gyro with Nicolas and it had a re-birth as a Genesis. It flew well and was impressively stable in the very early videos they put out.

I also have the feeling that it would be a robust gyro.

I have had the view for some time to having this machine out in Kenya after I have tried to sort out paperwork with the Kenya Aviation Authority ( KCAA). An ongoing process as they re-wrote the books a couple of years ago with some problems, and still with no legislation covering gyros. They do have gyros flying there, and know about them so a somewhat grey area.