bl@hplabsb.UUCP (Bruce T. Lowerre) (04/12/84)
I could not find the address for Benson. However, information for the KB-2 can be obtained from Ken Brock Manufacturing 11852-P Western Ave. Stanton, Ca. 90680 714-898-4366 Information package is available for $7.00 and a parts catalog for $3.00. Of course if you want a REAL homebuilt helicopter, try Rotor Way Aircraft, Inc. 7411 W. Galveston Chandler, Arizona 85224 602-961-1001 800-824-7888, operator 169 Information package is available for $12.00 (for their Exec model) or $15.00 for both their Exec and Scorpion models.
avsdT:willett@avsdS.UUCP (04/12/84)
GYROCOPTERS There are two very popular gyrocopters available with a single seat. One is from Ken Brock and the other from Benson. The gyrocopter is not something new, although it is reputedly safe. The gyrocopter has been around for many years from Benson. I remember seeing ads for these gyrocopters in very, very old issues of the Popular Mechanics magazines and they can now be found in that same magazine as well as several other magazines such as Home Built Aircraft, Popular Science, and more. Ken Brock gyros can be found in the Home Built Aircraft magazine. As for power for these gyrocopters, they use a few different powerplants. I have seen some Bensons been equipped with Volks- wagon conversions, and some with two-cycle powerplants. The safety and flying speeds and stability are the biggest ben- fits of these craft. They can land at practically 0 mph, and can take off in less than one hundred feet. They are unstallable unspinable and engine failure procedures are simple since the craft is always in an autorotation condition. James Bond used a gyrocopter in one of the stunt scenes, where he unpacked a gyrocopter from three suitcases and chased the bad guys firing missiles and such James Bond movie gimmicks. What was really impressive was the maneuverability of the gyrocopter in tight situations, and the speed at which it was flown close to the ground performing these maneuvers. From the whirling fingers of Willett !harpo!decvax!decwrl!amd70!fortune!dsd!avsdS:avsdT:willett