Calidus vs Ela Eclipse 10 What is your opinion?

Thanks guys good advice, Im a licensed A&P so I have maintenance covered and any gyro I buy I will have to have parts shipped because Im not near any dealers.
 
Having flown in both, I can only say that they are "WORLD´S" apart.

For one: ELA ECLIPSE is sleek, clean and flies like an arrow.
Calidus, on the other hand has you fighting pitch for yaw and roll, not steady at all and by far, less flight friendly in every sense of the word.

(I know Calidus owners will disagree for obvious reasons, but) I had the choice of purchasing one or the other and went for ELA Eclipse "eyes closed".

What made me decide? Other than the difference in performance, I challenge you to get Autogyro to respond to any arising issues and you are in for a treat! ...in other words, You are On-Your-Own-Pal ...and God forbid you have a major issue...you then will be fried toast!

I know of a few who have been grounded for months now and I can only say its a sad sight to pass them by in route to taking off and seeing their faces of frustration as they look my way, probably figuring out when they´ll hear back from "the Factory".

To me, other than performance, that is the most important part: A reliable factory and a committed dealer follow up service.

The guys from ELA Spain have been fantastic since day 1! They are an email away and usually follow through with a phone call. Their tech staff and management team have proven to be wonderful, from the secretary all the way up to Emilio the CEO. I mean, these guys have gone above and beyond the call of duty any time I have needed something, not to mention their great attitude. Although in the middle of Spain, they manage to get you what you need in no time. I wouldn´t look elsewhere, just based on my personal experience... and if in doubt, check out the smile on my copilot´s face!
 

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Minelaza: mi enhorabuena por el 'Eclipse'. Una pregunta: ¿el rotor que lleva es el habitual de ELA, de 'composite' o es el Averso Stella de aluminio extruido?

Saludos -- Javier
 
Here are some pics of a ELA that took a hard landing....pilot walked away with a damaged hand.
I was told that the manufacturer reduced the mast wall thickness to around 1.6mm in order to realize certain weight targets....not sure i would be comfortable with the thought of the rotor coming down onto me with just a hard landing?
 

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Here are some pics of a ELA that took a hard landing....pilot walked away with a damaged hand.
I was told that the manufacturer reduced the mast wall thickness to around 1.6mm in order to realize certain weight targets....not sure i would be comfortable with the thought of the rotor coming down onto me with just a hard landing?
That pilot also suffered an ongoing TBI ( the rotor bonked him on the head also)...as the practice of wearing headsets - instead of helmets is widespread in polycarbonate canopy "enclosed" ( & some open )gyros!

Vance is a strong advocate of wearing good helmets even inside the enclosed cab gyros...at least the ones with clear perspex-type shells! ( Eclipse,calidus AR1C) ...as he recognizes the hazards & knows the devastation of TBI's!

There is quite a lot more to the story of this accident.
However the mast wall thickness IS a significant problem here!
 
I would have never thought the mast could collapse like that on a hard landing were the landing gear is still in tact. I don't think that would be possible on the Sport Copter Vortex M912, but they have suspension in the landing gear too. Would be nice to have a tandem Sport Copter someday.
 
Teaser looks interesting. Wonder if that can fly around the rocky mountains?
 
Here are some pics of a ELA that took a hard landing....pilot walked away with a damaged hand.
I was told that the manufacturer reduced the mast wall thickness to around 1.6mm in order to realize certain weight targets....not sure i would be comfortable with the thought of the rotor coming down onto me with just a hard landing?

That's surprising, and alarming too... More photographs and details of that hard landing (must have been really hard...) will be welcome.
Concerning the mast thickness, I very much doubt that the manufacturer may have opted for such a radical 'solution' in order to lighten an structure. The opinion of Arco (who is usually present in the forum, flies an 'Eclipse', and is a highly qualified engineer) will be welcome...
 
Hi,
the main change is the type of the material, but dimensions are almost the same.
In Eclipse use 4130 2 inches by 2 by 2 inches and thickness 0.063 and the 07 use inox Aisi 304 50 x 50 x 2 mm.
Eclipse has been tested according to BCAR T and DLUV with MTOW of 550 kg, so in my opinion plenty of safety.
Note: hard landings rules ask for 9 G forward, and 4.5 G down.....and the engine structure is able to hold the engine with a 15 G force in forward direction.

The seat belts have been tested for 9g forward for a pilot of 110 kg.
 
Eclipse has been tested according to BCAR T.........

Maybe but it has not been tested by the UK CAA who manage BCAR Section T. As such there are no Eclipse or any other ELA gyros flying in the UK ie it has not passed BCAR Section T.
 
Yes, the Spanish authorities uses the BCAR T plus another local rules, that are more restrictive than BCART, for instance in the hard landing chapter
 
I have found ELA customer support excellent. No problems with English either.
 
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