Bensen B8 Gyroglider
- Period: 1960-1969
- Uses: Trainer
- First Flight: c. 1977
- Display Status: In Reserve Hangar.
A number of small gyroplanes have appeared in the recreational aircraft community since the 1970s. Gyroplanes require specialized pilot training and need to be flown cautiously as the flight parameter envelope is very narrow. (The gyroplane is a rotary-wing aircraft that derives its lift from a free-wheeling rotor. See Bensen B8MG Gyrocopter). The Gyroglider two-seater was designed as a flight trainer by the Bensen Aircraft Corporation to teach the fundamentals of gyroplane control. The Museum’s example was built and modified in Toronto by Mr. Alexander Dutkewych.
A small one-cylinder engine pre-rotated the Gyrogliders rotor before takeoff. Towed behind an automobile at about 45 km/h (28 mph), the machine carrying the instructor and a student-pilot would reach an altitude of approximately 30 meters (100 ft). Upon towrope release, the aircraft would descend to the ground in autorotation. Both pilots could communicate with an intercom.
Museum Example
- Registration #: formerly C-GSXV
- Manufacturer: Kit from Bensen Aircraft Corporation, United States
- Manufacture Date: c. 1977
- Serial #: None
- Acquisition Date: 2002
- Provenance: Donation
The Museum’s machine has the distinction of being the first and only gyroglider to have been inspected, approved and registered in Canada. It shares a set of interchangeable aluminum rotors with the Museum’s Bensen B8MG Gyrocopter. It was flown until the early 1980s but logged very few hours.
The machine in the photo is a depiction of the Gyroglider from a Bensen company brochure of the 1970s.
Specifications
- Rotor diameter:
- 6 m (20 ft)
- Length (less rotor):
- 3.5 m (11 ft 4 in)
- Height:
- 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
- Width:
- 1.7 m (5 ft 8 in)
- Weight, Empty:
- 57 kg (125 lb)
- Weight, Gross:
- 210 kg (465 lb)
- Take off Speed:
- 11.3 km/h (7 mph)
- Max Speed:
- 40 - 45 km/h (25 - 28 mph)
- Rate of Climb:
- N/A
- Service Ceiling:
- N/A
- Range:
- N/A
- Pre-rotator engine:
- One-cylinder, two-cycle engine (O & M Engines)
