Air Command 447 Commander Gyroplane for Sale

[barnstorm2]

Air Command 447 Commander Gyroplane for Sale

Classic 447 Commander Gyroplane, in good condition ready to fly.
Ultralight Class Gyroplane

Asking $6500.00
5 Gallon seat tank(stock tank installed), plus extra 8 gallon seat tank included
Extra 447 Rotax engine in like new condition with carb and pull starter
Extra wheels and tires
Matching Blade Tie down
GPS/Radio mount included
Case of premium Pennsoil, 2-stroke oil for high performance Air Cooled engines
2 extra new unused prop hubs
2 sets of serviceable extra prop blades

Features:
Wunderlich Pre-Rotator in good condition
Wunderlich Rotor RPM gauge
Wunderlich Rotor Brake
Hydraulic wheel brakes (needs new pads)
Westach Engine RPM
Westach CHT
Westach EGT (needs new probe)
Westach Airspeed indicator
Prop Spinner
Upgraded to Air Command ‘Brock style’ cyclic
Upgraded Air Command Horizontal Stab
Upgraded Air Command Redundant Mast
Can be upgraded to CLT for $1100 with CLT kit from AirCommand

With great reluctance and a heavy heart I am selling my single place Air Command 447 Commander. I have to put several grand into repairing my boat and other expenses force this sale. This is the gyroplane that I learned to fly in and has always been reliable and ready to fly.

The gyroplane is ready to fly but if you want the wheel brakes to work you will need to install pads. Wheel brakes are not important for experienced pilots but are a critical component for new or low-time pilots. Currently I am stopping it using the rotor and the 'Fred Flintstone' method. Also, the EGT gauge needs a new probe.

The gyro comes with lots of extras to keep you running for years to come (see list).

Gyroplane has always been stored in an enclosed hanger and maintained. Total hours are unknown but I have flown it about 80 hours and it starts easily every time.

Note to heavy pilots. When I weighed 190lbs and flew this gyroplane in 90F degree humid temps with a full fuel load I found the performance was very poor and unsuitable for an inexperienced pilot. In cooler temperatures it performs adequately or with a lighter pilot. Converting to CLT and Dragonwings would improve performance for heavier pilots.

This gyroplane is very nimble and a joy to fly. The gyro is easy to store in a garage and can be easily trailered to an airport and ready to fly in minutes. Fresh gas, preimum 2 stroke and gear oil have always been used. Before completion of purchase you will be asked to sign a release of liability. This gyroplane can be converted to the newest Air Command model with the CLT upgrade kit and can then also be converted to the 2 place Air Command Side by Side Elite. Training is required and buyer will be asked to confirm he or she will get training or is trained before flying the aircraft. I will be happy to demonstrate the aircraft but you may not pilot the craft until after the purchase is complete and you have received training.

Please contact me with any questions.

I will deliver the Gyroplane to you via trailer if you live within a 2 hour drive of Cincinnati Ohio (or a 1 hour flight time if you give me a ride back). Gyroplane can be viewed at my hangar at Clermont County Airport and seen fly if VFR conditions are available. Radio and GPS not included.

Tim O’Connor gyro@oldmotorcycle.com

[dapartlow]

CLT kit for $1100? I just paid $1550 for mine But if you got a deal thats great.

[cgmg]

Tim,

Sorry to hear you're going to have to part with your first love. We intend to someday move up to a two-place, and my wife insists the single-place goes before it arrives. Not sure I'm going to be able to do that.

I like that you make it clear the new owner needs training, and the flight issues at higher temps. Hope your baby ends up in a good home.

Again, my condolences.

[barnstorm2]

Thanks Mark! You know how I feel!

Dave, You must have the right price. I was using a quote I got over a year ago from Air Command.

I will take $500 off the price if the buyer can show me an invoice in their name from Air Command for the upgrade kit.

[GyroRon]

Originally Posted by barnstorm2

I will take $500 off the price if the buyer can show me an invoice in their name from Air Command for the upgrade kit.

Thank you Tim for stepping up and offering this.

[barnstorm2]

Originally Posted by GyroRon

Thank you Tim for stepping up and offering this.

Thanks.

I wish I had the time and money to do this myself before selling it but then if I had the time and money I would keep it! I love this little machine.

With my 2-place I am happy to just get it on the ground, with the 447 not only can I put it on the numbers with no-roll every time in a crosswind but I can put on which ever number I want! It's like a body part, I don't have to use my brain, my spinal cord knows what I want to gyro to do and it happens!

It's a slow climber in hot humid weather with a full tank but every other action it is nimble and responsive.

I hope it goes to a good home and gets a CLT upgrade so it can see service for many many more years to come.

[GyroRon]

while I agree that with the 447 Rotax and heavy Skywheels blades and horizontal stab, that this gyro even though it is a HTL machine is not a very dangerous machine and It would probably be okay if it were never converted to CLT. But if the blades are swapped out for lighter blades, or a larger engine installed, this machine could grow big ugly teeth and bite the pilot.

Also any and every HTL machine still flying, is setting a bad example to other builders and new pilots that don't know that there is a big difference between this machine as configured and one that looks just like it but has a Rotax 532....

For these reasons I would just assume all these little guys are converted, even the little 447 ones. Again I am glad you offered this discount and combined with your asking price and all the spare parts, this is a incredible buy for someone who is relatively light weight and wants a good machine at a bargin price. I bet it sells fast.

Last bit of my two cents here..... Don't sell the gyro, sell the Dam BOAT! As much as I miss me having a boat on a hot summer day, I am thankful I don't have it everytime I show up at the airport. Sell the boat and buy Lisa some gyro lessons and buy another single place and you and her can go on gyro adventures!!!

[barnstorm2]

Originally Posted by GyroRon

Last bit of my two cents here..... Don't sell the gyro, sell the Dam BOAT! As much as I miss me having a boat on a hot summer day, I am thankful I don't have it everytime I show up at the airport. Sell the boat and buy Lisa some gyro lessons and buy another single place and you and her can go on gyro adventures!!!

Well, I can see your points but until I can find a gyro that fits 12-15 people, has a bar, mess, head and you can drink while trimmed (anchored) then I am going to want to keep the boat .

[Gyro-nut]

Tim, I am intrigued by your machine. Would it be possible for you to swing by the chapter34 hanger sometime? I've gone up a few times and I'm hooked, just looking for that deal of a lifetime that will allow me financial to get back into the air.
However, I do weigh about 190... so maybe not the machine for me?!?
How difficult is it to convert to a CLT? I have absolutely zero experience in any kind of fabrication/building of aircraft.
Is this the same model as rotorheads? (shawn)

[barnstorm2]

Originally Posted by Gyro-nut

Tim, I am intrigued by your machine. Would it be possible for you to swing by the chapter34 hanger sometime? I've gone up a few times and I'm hooked, just looking for that deal of a lifetime that will allow me financial to get back into the air.
However, I do weigh about 190... so maybe not the machine for me?!?
How difficult is it to convert to a CLT? I have absolutely zero experience in any kind of fabrication/building of aircraft.
Is this the same model as rotorheads? (shawn)

I keep meaning to come by the 34 meetings but other things keep cropping up ( I am a member after all and I do miss everyone ). I will be at Mentone and will try to get to the August meeting if I can.

I have flown the gyro and learned to fly the gyro while weighing 190-200lbs. She flys GREAT (for an ultralight) in temps 80ish and lower. In the 70's its a blast, like you got a 503 upgrade or something. However, with a full fuel tank, 90+ temp and humid air she will climb rather slow. She does climb but slow.

The slow climb does not bother me now (other then I do get impatent) but when I was first learning I did get rather concerned a few times. My trainer(s) told me that in a way this was a good thing because I have developed the habbit and skills for getting out of a situation by chaning my attitude rather than reliying on power to save my ass. The trick is, If you need to climb fast you have to put the nose level or down, build up airspeed and let the airspeed climb you out. You have to resist the urge to pull back and try to power out and climb with the engine. A good habbit but one students might forget in a pinch? Personally, I never had any problems with it other than I would have to take more time to get to altitude then other gyros.

You can lighten the gyro by going CLT and THEN getting dragon wings. This will solve the weight problem nicely. However, as Ron posts above DO NOT upgrade to DW's untill the CLT kit is installed.

Alternitively, you can also fly without a full tank of fuel.

I don't know how hard it is to to the convertion.

Yes, it is virtually identical to Rotorheads and Chris's (CLS447). Have you seen his (Rotorheads) convertion thread? He made a great video.

Personally, I do not think the 447 with it's low horsepower is a big PPO canadate. I have flown it in very very windy conditions and felt fine. However, I did take training in HTL machines (Steve's Parsons) and NHTL machines with trainers that when to great lengths to make sure I know how to react to PIO conditions (Gary, Twinstarr).

My plans were to learn on the gyro the way it was then upgrade to CLT then to 2 place SxS. I jumped ahead and built a SxS and never got around to doing the CLT upgrade.

[barnstorm2]

I gotta move this gyro!

A couple people at Mentone said they would be calling me but nothing on my Voice mail yet.

If I hear nothing by Friday I am going to place it on EBay.

If you don't want the extra engine I will take $500 off
If you get the CLT kit I will take $500 off
Buy it before I put it on EBay I will take $500 off
That takes the price to $5500 with extra engine,& CLT or $5000 with out extra engine and CLT.

Don't wait!

[KenSandyEggo]

As an aside, why did McCutcheon Skywheels go out of business? It seems a lot of people speak highly of the blades and are flying them. Is it just an example of not selling enough product to make it profitable and worthwhile, or is there more to it? Nosy people want to know.

[gyroplanes]

Originally Posted by KenSandyEggo

As an aside, why did McCutcheon Skywheels go out of business? It seems a lot of people speak highly of the blades and are flying them. Is it just an example of not selling enough product to make it profitable and worthwhile, or is there more to it? Nosy people want to know.

When I visited McCutcheon's fiberglass shop just before their demise I got the impression they were far more interested in the government contracts they had for radar domes. Jim Mc was also testing a hospital bed he had designed.

Jim told me he got more of a thrill riding a crotch rocket bike than he did a gyro and moved on from gyros himself. He was looking for a buyer for the blade business and was asking a price that was based on an industry standard percentage of gross sales. I guess he found a buyer. The new owner ran an ad or two in PRA flying magazine, but I doubt they ever delivered any blades. I thought they were now based in your neighborhood, Ken?

I was lucky enough to see a set of blades being made. It wasn't at all difficult, just messy.

[gyromike]

Originally Posted by gyroplanes

The new owner ran an ad or two in PRA flying magazine, but I doubt they ever delivered any blades. I thought they were now based in your neighborhood, Ken?

They still have a website up and running, but the pricelist is from 2003.
http://www.skywheels.com/index.html

[barnstorm2]

SSSSold!

Great news the new owner has ordered the CLT kit and my (err, his) 447 will live the rest of it's life as a CLT Elite Commander!

He did not take the engine so the engine is still for sale.