CSIR Sara II

As part of the support to South African aircraft manufacturing industry the ARU developed a single-seat autogyro as a research vehicle.^[1] Design of the autogyro was started in 1965 and construction followed in April 1967, by 1972 the autogyro, registered ZS-UGL, was ready for tethered tests mounted on a lorry-platform, it made its first free flight on 30 November 1972 at Swartkop Air Force Base.^[1] Following the test flights the autogyro was modified.^[1]

The autogyro had a box-like fuselage structure made from light-alloy and was fitted with twin fins and rudders with a fixed incidence tail-plane mounted between them.^[1] It was fitted with a two-bladed teetering rotor, the rotor could be spun up using a shaft drive through a clutch from the engine.^[1] The engine located at the rear was a 180 hp (134 kW) Continental O-360-A air-cooled engine driving a two-bladed constant-speed pusher propeller.^[1] The crew sat side by side in the enclosed fuselage with dual controls, entrance is through a forward-opening glazed door on each side.^[1] The landing gear was a fixed tricycle type with a self-centering and steerable nosewheel.^[1]

Data from ^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in) fuselage
• Width: 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)
• Max takeoff weight: 840 kg (1,852 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 136 L (36 US gal; 30 imp gal)
• Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-360-A 4-cyl. air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine, 130 kW (180 hp)
• Main rotor diameter: 2 × 11.13 m (36 ft 6 in)
• Main rotor area: 97.2 m² (1,046 sq ft) NACA 8-H-12 section teetering rotor
• Propellers: 2-bladed Hartzell constant-speed propeller, 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) diameter

Performance

• Maximum speed: 154 km/h (96 mph, 83 kn)
• Cruise speed: 122 km/h (76 mph, 66 kn) *Min flying speed: 48 km/h (30 mph)
• Never exceed speed: 193 km/h (120 mph, 104 kn)
• Service ceiling: 4,267 m (13,999 ft)
• Rate of climb: 4.066 m/s (800.4 ft/min)

Related lists

• List of rotorcraft