496 ultrasport

david holmes

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Messages
639
Location
Troy, Alabama
Aircraft
three gyrocopters
Total Flight Time
~5500
can anyone give me any info about this a/c? i.e. price, experience, satisfied owners, etc.
their web site is weak.
 
Hey, Counselor. What are you flying now? Getting any stick-time in?
 
Hey David,
Chuck Beaty is a big fan of this helicopter. Maybe he can chime in and give some particulars.
 
Ken and anyone else that might G.A.S.
I haven't flown since June 03

Bubba said I had a paradym shift.

You may remember that was when, on TO roll, Puff grabbed itself by the tailfeathers and rolled over causing about $6K in damage. I put it on jackstands and that's where it sits with new set of 30' Sportcopter blades still in the crate for 5 months.

I started to upgrade Phoenix about the same time and lost interest after getting a new Parham PRU to put on the EA-81, new 25' DW's, and a new 72" Prince prop (man is that thing pretty). -- all sitting here waiting for Tinkerbell to return and get this Peter Pan fired up again.

With about $35K in gyro stuff sitting here, FAA pulled my physical because of some of the drugs I'm taking for my cancer treatment.

Let me know if you'd like to hear about my running battle with prostate cancer otherwise I won't bore everyone. However, I think EVERY man should be interested.
 
I get regular tunnel checks, so you don't have to preach to me. Hopefully Sport Pilot will get passed soon so you can get fired up again.
 
I am helping a friend of mine build his . I will have him post some pics. Let me start to say the company is near closing theire operation. We have the old reduction drive and the Company . said this was better than the new one.

They sell the 496 for 2 on board but when you do the CG you have to put too much weight on the tail boom . Causing boom cracks. 2 person of 200 pound each will cause too much load to the tail boom.

The factory has a beefier boom plus they extend the braces from the mast to the BOOM farther down so it hold it further down. We have change the cables from the pedals for teleflex. Also we lost the tail rotor shaft . SO we have redesign the lubrication on the outter bearing.

I know they have a 496 with a 914 rotax. I like the machine but with a turbine engine to be able to lift 2 heavy guys

ChuckP
 
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In a rut

In a rut

Sorry to hear you are in rut counselor. Even more sorry to hear you ruined the paint on puff, but I am glad you are ok. I just figure you are like the engegizer bunny and keep coming back.

Cancer treatments will kill you, I am not a fan of any of them. All of my chemo customers are either dead or stopped taking them after they realized about what I was saying was true. Prostrate cancer, the less agressive forms of them can be helped with some low doses of radiation, (major diet and nutrition changes) yada yada. .....I think they are putting "seeds" in place to keep things going but I can tell you it aint fun or pretty. Still dealing with stone age meds here in 2004. (my opinion)

Sounds like you are in a rut, like someone pulled the plug on you and you need some firecrackers to help get you back in the saddle. Things just have not been the same without your photo ops, or opps..... ha , and since norms forum went down. ...... I remember what you said about flying every day to help your spirits..... A healthy mind is a healthy body.

Hope you will stick around and maybe get things rolling.

might you be interested in trading or selling the sport rotors ?

Jonathan
Oriental NC.
 
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