Single Place Enclosed

Checking into it

Checking into it

So I guess the million dollar question is how much does a Mosquito cabin cost?

Tim,

I am looking into it and will post when I have information. But it is a good lead.
 
I think both the eagle and the vortec would need more tail aera to have doors, all of my fully enclosed machines have had and needed two or three vertical fins and rudders to fly well power off.

Norm
 
So I guess the million dollar question is how much does a Mosquito cabin cost?

I don't have any details so I can't answer that question directly, but I heard that cabin cost was part of the problem. The Mosquito company was pretty proud of their cabin and it cost a lot more than one would hope to have to spend to upgrade a single place to an enclosed model. I also believe it was pretty small, and made for a tight fit that wouldn't accommodate many larger pilots.

It great to complain that no manufacturer is making something like that available, but Ernie had that prototype model for sale for quite a while with no one putting up money to buy it from him. I suspect that kind of experience, makes one a little hesitant to bet the farm and invest a lot of money to bring a model like that to market.

I believe enclosing a machine adds quite a bit to the cost and complexity of a machine, compared to a simple open frame model. If you have all of that extra cost anyway it is probably an attractive option to simply stretch the cabin and make it a two place machine that has more capability and can still be used as a single place with cargo carrying capability. Of course that drives the cost up and that's when we start complaining because they are out of our budget. I suspect if you really want to have an enclosed machine on a smaller budget, the cheapest way to go would be to find a used RAF or SparrowHawk and fly that with just one person aboard and have some extra cargo capacity.

You can have newer, and better machines but they are going to cost more. I believe I know someone with a WindRyder that might be convinced to sell if you really want to stay with a small single seat enclosed machine and not have to pay modern machine prices. There are actually lots of options in my opinion.

Doug
 
The Eagle ended up in Indiana I think. Brent Drake is training the man who ended up buying with it. The cost of the cabin was the ultimate demise of the machine. As Mosquito only has one mold they would have had to stop production of their aircraft to produce cabins for dad. They needed a minimum. Order to do so. That was too much up front investment with no guarantee on that investment so the one machine was all there was or ever will be of the Eagle.
 
Alan,
It flew very well. It was very fast and maneuverable. Dad said it was very snappy.
 
Alan,
It flew very well. It was very fast and maneuverable. Dad said it was very snappy.

I would imagine putting a body on most gyro's... would smooth handling a bunch.

The only issue I could see with a body on a Dominator... would be potential 'weather-vaning'... which an experienced pilot should not have much trouble handling.

Shame it would not work out... a line of closed-cab style Dominators (both singles and tandems) would have been cool!
 
some of the challenges of adding a full cabin are weight, some way of keeping the windshield from fogging up and for me at least making a good clear windshield, the lightest cabin that I have been able to build was 26 pounds and with a heater system it was 33 pounds, every time I mold a windshield I get optical distorsion problems and a single curve type just don't look as good to me but cabins are not hard to build or install so don't let that stop you from building a dominator or some other gyro.

Norm
 
Careful!

Careful!

For exactly the reasons you mentioned, I built and fly an enclosed single seater, a DF-02-> pictures. It flies very nicely and it's no problem to fly it during winter time.

But I strongly disadvise to just pick up whatever cabin you find.
Simply speaking, enclosed gyros must have less active area in front of the center of gravity than behind. Otherwise you tend to be in very big troubles very soon (slips that get worse by itself).

Unless you are able to do these calculations, you are better off with a proven design like the DF-02 or the CloudDancer 1.
 
Falcon Body.

Falcon Body.

this was my Falcon Gyro with Body.


Call Anthony at : 919-340-0038 about the Falcon and Bodys

Tell him Animal sent ya.
 

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For exactly the reasons you mentioned, I built and fly an enclosed single seater, a DF-02-> pictures. It flies very nicely and it's no problem to fly it during winter time.

But I strongly disadvise to just pick up whatever cabin you find.
Simply speaking, enclosed gyros must have less active area in front of the center of gravity than behind. Otherwise you tend to be in very big troubles very soon (slips that get worse by itself).

Unless you are able to do these calculations, you are better off with a proven design like the DF-02 or the CloudDancer 1.

Your DF-02 looks great. Does it get warm inside during the summer months?
 
Your DF-02 looks great. Does it get warm inside during the summer months?
On the tarmac only if you have to wait.
As soon as you are flying, a baseball cap against the sun and open vents do a decent job.
Heat is a minor problem in my place, anyway. Except in office buildings, nobody has AC and nobody misses it.

@Scott: Beg, steal or borrow ..
It's, like always, a question of figures.
If you mention the right amount, you can even buy a second hand Pope ;)
 
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