Adding to the above post, our little group later switched to a dual carb set-up, and w/ those additional six or so horses that provided, made balancing on the mains easier, since we weren't at just about full throttle as was the case of the single carb 503 was. Once the nose wheel was up off the ground and stabilized, one could then simply add throttle to lift off nicely.
With those extra ponies, and letting the nose wheel drop down towards the ground by slightly pushing forward on the stick while adding full throttle, made it easy to fly. The rudder pedals are connected to the nose wheel steering on those gyros. Not so in the Sport Copter models.
If while balancing on the mains in the Vancraft, and having a crosswind, and countering that crosswind w/ the rudder pedals, one allows the nose wheel to contact the ground, then it becomes an expensive event. That is one of the reasons Jim Vanek went w/ differential braking (and castering nose wheel) in his Sport Copter. A landing that didn't go right-event w/ a very pregnant Kelly Vanek @ the controls was the main factor.
Now, w/ a castering nose wheel in a gyro, one can take off while the nose wheel is the last to leave the tarmac, land crooked, or even let the nose wheel touch just prior to the mains, w/out any bad repercussions!
I found out by accident, in my Sport Copter gyroplane that has the castering nose wheel, that I can easily take off when the nose wheel is still tracking on the ground w/ no ill effect. I used to have a Rotax 503, twin carbed, engine on it. Now I have four stroke Yamaha power, more than doubling the HP of that 503.
When attending the El Mirage & ROTR fly-ins, due to the altitude at those much higher elevations than around here near sea level, I could not lift off by balancing on the mains & adding full throttle, unless it was in the cool morning air. Climbing out was slow and quite lengthy, too.
I weighed around 215# then.
As I was attempting to balance on the mains, there wasn't enough horsepower for the altitude & the gross weight of the gyro!
As the nose wheel rose up when the rotor blades became ready to fly, I then pushed forward on the stick (lowering the rotor disc into the oncoming airflow). A little bit more forward stick added airspeed, but it still wasn't enough. By putting the nose wheel back on the ground to allow the gyro to accelerate w/ the stick in the usual flying position, soon I felt the mains feel "funny" as they started to lift off. I then relaxed my pushing forward on the stick slightly to let the nose wheel do likewise.
The nose wheel brake in the Vancraft gyroplanes was a weak point. Taxiing around under power, and w/out having the rotors spinning up near flight speed to give that braking effect, that short piece of rubber v-belt became overheated from use, warping the little aluminum pulley mounted on the front wheel. Then the v-belt becomes glazed from the overheating and doesn't work well to stop any ground roll. It never had sufficient power to adequately stop the engine's thrust @ idle. The pulley, when warped, is useless, becoming ineffective.
I found that since that brake was weak, I to flip the ignition off, then on, several times to stop the fast roll caused by the Rotax running along @ about 2,200 rpms to keep the gearbox from shaking & rattling.
Also, even though Sport Copter is Jim Vanek's company, & that he & his father, Chuck Vanek, worked the Vancraft gyroplane business together, there is no factory support for Vancraft parts if one needs to replace any bent airframe tubing, nor tails that might be destroyed in a take off or landing accident.
1. The Sport Copter fairing/enclosure is identical to the Vancraft one except they cut out the part that said "Vancraft Rotor Lightning" at the rear top. So, it is still available to be purchased.
2. The windscreen is just a sheet of lexan screwed into the fairing, so replacing it if scratched or yellowed w/ age is easy.
3. Any accidents to the welded airframe tubing could be repaired, if not too severely bent, by any good welder.
4. The mast and keel are regular aluminum round 6061 T-6 tubing.
5. The rotor head is not the same kind as the Sport Copter one. It has the nut end of the spindle accessible from below to allow the hand-crank prerotator to turn the rotors up to about 80 rrpms, sufficient to start slowly taxiing to build up to flight speed prior to lift off.
6. The tail feathers can be replaced w/ any kind of constructed material, such as aluminum, or fiberglass over foam, if needed.
7. Same as for the rotor blades, which Vancraft made w/ wood covered by fiberglass.
I did go onto that eBay listing and asked the seller re: the condition of those rotor blades. Hopefully you get a published response in time prior to the auction's end, sometime tomorrow.
8. The VW power is questionable. Just about all folks don't use them anymore for flight. Heavy, lack of longevity, and power output were problems in pusher gyros, due to insufficient airflow over the heads for proper cooling, @ high rpms.
VWs works fine for Sonex airplanes, since airplanes don't create as much drag as a gyroplane does. The prices of a built up VW engine are up there, but still not as high as Rotax's 900 series engine lineup.
Someone who knows VW engines well might be suited for keeping that engine on the gyro, since parts are still widely available. Better performing, more reliable engines are now available, such as Rotax or other four strokes.
A consideration could be removing the VW engine from the gyro, and derive some $$ from it's sale to someone who loves them and appreciates the components present in it's current state, further lowering the $$ involved in purchasing this machine.
The draggy-ness of a gyro's rotor blade disc are a handicap from a fuel consumption and cruising speed standpoint. But the extreme maneuverability at all flight regimes are great advantages, especially w/ it's low landing speeds. All aircraft have their advantages and disadvantages over other kinds of flying machines. It depends what mode one wishes.
If someone wanted to purchase this gyroplane up for auction @ this listing, if it were me, I'd make contact w/ the seller, and express my interest, but wouldn't pay the asking price, since I view the engine as a handicap that needs to be replaced for reliability reasons.
The seller has the option available to Make An Offer. I'd try $3,500. The engine as well as the rotor blades condition are two big factors. If the buy sells it for that amount, and the rotor blades turn out to be in excellent condition, there is nothing wrong w/ paying a little bit more to him/her upon arrival and inspection.
The rotor blades may have been smacked on the ground during a ground loop incident. That would be evident by a crack or sharp wood showing through the fiberglass. Being a wooden core, moisture may have gotten in, and done it's damage through the years. The listing shows a Michigan location. Ludington (Could be the source of Luddites, and it's associated lack of welcome to progress?)
The humidity of the mid-west might have caused problems concerning rust as well as the wooden-core rotor blades. If stored in a dry location, such as a heated or air conditioned shop or garage may have preserved it well. From the photos, the gyro appears to have been well-kept.
I would recommend this not be a machine someone learns how to fly a gyro w/, because of no replacement parts or advice is available if it suffers damage during the learning process. Although the second seat is below & behind the pilot, it works fine for taking someone along on a flight! Comfortable, although somewhat unconventional...