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July 2007. Review of the DynAero MCR 'Club'.

Confirmation of the performance came on the initial engine run up, why were the brakes slipping?  They weren't...  it was dragging itself across the concrete leaving black lines with the wheels locked up, despite having a good fuel load and 90kg of pilot on board.  The Rotax 912S is standard, but has tuned exhausts and ram air intake to add to the power, and the hydraulic CSU allows full power to be developed while static.  The DynAero propellor (specifically designed for the plane) delivers a lot more thrust than expected.

The specs are impressive: carbon fibre construction; 280kg payload; 145kn cruise; 160kn VNE (and quite easily reached too.)    Fuel is 70L a side and 80L in the central tank, a total of 220L making for a seriously fast little machine with long legs...  at 135kn cruise burning 21 L / hour the range is over 2000nm and slow down to 125kn and 15L / hour and it stays up even longer.

Returning to Parakai from a test flight, the Parakai Airfield's Tecnam Echo (itself faster than a C172) was overhauled as though it was stationary.  Put the nose down slightly and if you don't throttle off you've got to watch for the VNE at 160kn, pull it up slightly and it pays to keep an eye on the airspace ceiling...  the sustainable climb is 'only' around 1500 feet / minute, but at 145kn when you pull up the initial slingshot effect adds a thousand feet in a few seconds. 

Handling is crisp with short control columns and carbon fibre connecting rods rather than cables.  Combined with the stiff Carbon airframe this makes for a tight and precise handling aircraft.  Electric trim buttons on the stick provide trim in pitch and roll (elevator and aileron trim), though you don't have to use them much as it stays in balance through a wide range of power settings and flap.    The general handling is more like high performance glider or certified aircraft than a microlight...  it does not feel like a particularly light aircraft, perhaps because of the slippery shape and relatively high wing loading, there is good penetration and it doesn't blow around much.   

Rolling into a steep turn it holds attitude without further input and little need to touch the pedals. If all aircraft were like this there would be no need to learn to do steep turns... you just push the stick over and it goes around, students ask 'why do we have to practice this' (when there is nothing to learn, even on a 45 degree turn).

For those used to high wing aircraft with springy legs, the landings are surprisingly easy...  the big slotted flaps are draggy and suck it down much like a C172N with the 40 deg flaps, and last few feet are cushioned by a strong ground effect which makes the round out easier to judge, then the oleo suspension deadens the bounce so once down it sticks.  Without flaps you can come in hot for good penetration in strong cross wings, and again the oleo makes it stick.

Designer Michael Colomban has paid attention to every detail of aerodynamics, such as the engine bay baffes to allow smaller cooling intakes, and ram air feed for the carbs.  The bump on top of the cowl is placed to catch the maximum slipstream, and the two carbs are fed by a slot set back inside right at the point of maximum pressure in the centre of the (divergent) ram air duct.  Clearly Mr Colomban is on good terms with Mr Bernouli.

Starting at the spinner the air flows round a cowl that is so tight there are cowl flaps for taxiing, then past the canopy with the hinges recessed and incorporating the cabin vents, the air flows smoothly down to a tail that grows out of the fuselage with never a sharp corner to disrupt the airflow. No rivets, bolts, panel joins… you can drag a hand down it with no risk of catching your skin on anything the whole way down.  It is easy to see how it can be so fast with a standard 100HP Rotax 912S.   But not really so standard, what with the ram air and the spaghetti exhaust pipes tuned to ensure that all puffs arrive in sequence at the muffler, the Rotax delivers a lot more power than expected resulting in a sustained climb of around 1500 fpm.

Inside the cockpit is wider than a C172 with plenty of space for two people and their elbows.  The panel comes with the EFIS 'glass cockpit' as standard...  moving map colour GPS, DI, Altimeter, Vertical Speed, 'co-pilot mode' with a voice readout of speeds on approach and much more.    Behind the seats is space for two x Airline 'carry-on' sized bags.    

Due to the wide speed range of 44kn stall to 145kn cruise (and close to 160kn at 8000 ft if the turbo Rotax 914 if fitted), these aircraft normally have a variable pitch propellor, either electric or hydraulic. However, a fixed pitch prop 'DUC' prop can also achieve a similar effect by aerodynamic means and allows a good takeoff roll while still handling a fast cruise efficiently.   The demonstrator, ZK-WIK, has a carbon fibre prop with hydraulic CSU and its undercarriage is full oleo all round with telescopic fairings for drag reduction.  All very familiar to those who are used to high performance certified aircraft.

To allow a wing that is efficient at 145kn to handle a stall below 45kn, long double slotted flaps are fitted.

Right throughout it is obvious that this is a small aircraft designed and built to the highest standards, and this is the lasting impression.   There are other small aircraft with similar speed (though not many), but nothing else with this build quality and attention to detail.  In the same way that a Mercedes SLK or Porsche 911 are small because the designers wanted them that way, the DynAero is small to fit into the Microlight regs, but no corners have been cut. 

As the name suggests, the 'Club' was specifically designed for French Aero Clubs where it is widely used for training.   The Oleo suspension and strong Carbon Firbe structure allow it to absorb heavy 'ab initio' training on a continous basis.  In France it is a certified aircraft being too big for their Microlight class, however, in NZ it does fit and so will appeal to those who want a Microlight for medical or similar reasons but don't want any reduction in safety or quality.  As one person commented, "There is only one reason why anyone could not want this aircraft… because they couldn’t finance it."

The minimum fly-away spec includes radio, transponder, cabin heater, electric trim and many other things normally considered 'extras' as the DynAeros are built for the top end of the market. The demonstration aircraft, ZK-WIK also has the optional oleo suspension and 180L of tanks. These aircraft open up a high-specification end of the Sports Aircraft market, able to be flown on a Microlight Licence, and will attract people who previously flew Mooneys, Beechcraft, the fast Cessnas and twins, who now want a two seat aircraft with no loss of performance or quality.

With such a fast aircraft, why not retractable landing gear?  Clearly DynAero have the design and fabrication skills to build just what they want. Not surprisingly the answer is an engineering one...  the wind tunnel and test work showed that for an aircraft of this size, the weight/drag ratio of a retractable is not as good as that of carefully designed fixed gear.  The psychological thrill of "Select gear down... watch for three greens...", was beaten by engineering considerations.

All in all a very nice aircraft, and one that makes absolutely no apologies for being able to be flown on a Microlight licence...   it is a true 21^st Century aircraft, and a lot of handling improvements have been possible in the last 50 years (as with cars... a 2007 car is a lot different from a 1960s Morris Oxford).