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The Delightful Dyn Aero MCR01.  September 2007

The Dyn Aero MCR01 Club is an outstanding example of the degree to which microlight aircraft have developed in the past ten years. Ten years ago, microlighting was considered by many to be a poor person’s alternative to "real" flying.

This is definitely no longer the case. While microlights generally remain the least expensive form of powered aircraft to operate, the levels of technology and sophistication in their construction mean that the best of them now cost—if not an arm and a leg—at least one or two fingers and toes, and perhaps even a forearm and a shin.

So why would a buyer want to spend the same—or perhaps even more—on a new microlight as on a good second-hand certified aircraft?

Fly the Dyn Aero MCR01 Club and you will have the answer! Like so many new aerial creations available today, this brilliant little ’plane is a microlight by technical and legal definition only. With a faster cruise speed than a Piper Arrow or Cessna 182, and a greater maximum range than many small business jets, at the same time as it is a "microlight", it is also very much a "real" ’plane and thus has a lot to offer "real" pilots.

The MCR01 Club is one of a family of variants derived from the original metal MC100 Ban Bi designed by Michael Colomban (the same man who designed the miniscule twin-engined Cri-Cri). Its MCR designation comes from a combination of the MC of Michael Colomban, and CR of Christophe Robin, who is CEO of Dyn Aero, and son of Pierre Robin, the well-known founder of Avions Pierre Robin.

The original composite version of the Ban-Bi was the MCR01 Sportster, or VLA, which cruises faster than 150 knots. The Club was designed for French aero clubs and incorporates slotted flaps and ailerons for benign conventional handling. A version known as the ULC (designed to fit the European ultralight class) is almost identical to the Club, but for its wings which have 1.5 metres of additional flaps to bring the ULC’s stall speed down to 35 knots. Then there is a model known as the 4S, which is a four-seat "experimental" aircraft. Capable of carrying the same useful load as a C172, it cruises at 135 knots and needs less runway than the Cessna (there are two 4Ss coming to New Zealand this year). The "Pick Up" is a logically named two-seat version of the 4S—with lots of empty load space. The Glider Tug, for which certification is currently pending, is also based on the 4S, but is powered by a 180 hp Lycoming.

The MCR01 aircraft are built almost entirely of high tech. carbonfibre composite material. Their basic structure is all-composite, as are the control pushrods, the control "joystick" and even the rudder/brake pedals. Composites’ ability to be formed into intricate shapes has allowed designers to maximise aerodynamic efficiency of not only flying surfaces, but also, every other external component, as well as the ways various components interact with each other in the airflow.

In addition to the obvious overall smoothness of line, two aspects of the Club readily highlight composites’ ability to be shaped at will. The intricate shape of the engine cowl would be incredibly difficult and expensive to fabricate in metal but is straightforward to produce in composite. On the top of the cowl, a cleverly shaped divergent duct feeds the intake for the carburettors and adds up to an inch of additional manifold pressure at speeds between 100–150 knots. Also noticeable is the way composites’ versatility of manufacture allows the MCR01 series’ 1.12 metre-wide cockpit (wider than a Piper Archer or a Cessna 172) to be streamlined so efficiently in such a small airframe.

Just like the Falcomposite Furio also featured in this issue of Pacific Wings, the MCR01 highlights the way that aircraft design compromises are increasingly less pronounced as a result of recent technological improvements. Its wing is a good example of how Dyn Aero has made the most of composites’ ability to be shaped, while incorporating the material’s strength in the wing’s dainty but strong high-lift devices. Beautifully made double-slotted flaps confer the MCR01 with an airliner-like ratio between cruise and stall speeds of 3.5:1. Airliner manufacturers typically aim for a ratio of around 4:1 (the ULC version of the MRC01 achieves around 4:1), while many (certified) general aviation aircraft like the well respected Cessna 172 or Piper Archer average less than 3:1.

While with a clean wing the Club performs a rather creditable Concorde impersonation—zipping along at 145-odd knots at 75% power—its highly efficient wing and flaps make it incredibly easy to fly at slow speed where it remains stable and highly controllable right down to the stall.

I visited Parakai Airfield to sample the demonstrator aircraft ZK-WIK— myself.

At first sight, the aircraft looks like a tiny machine; one is able to look down on the top of its T-tail. Nevertheless, once the canopy is opened its cavernous interior invites a disbelieving double-take to check that it is part of the same petite airframe (Doctor Who fans will identify with a "Tardis" analogy).

A carbonfibre control stick topped by a comfortable rubber grip and electric trim switches rises from a cutout in the front of each fixed seat. While the seats are fixed fore-and-aft, they are adjustable for height and the rudder pedals are adjustable through a wide range of fore-and-aft movement to accommodate pilots of any height from double-amputee to Andre the Giant. The seats are firm but comfortably padded and all the controls fall naturally to hand once seated with the lap and two shoulder straps fastened.

At the time of my flight, WIK had a very basic instrument fit with only an airspeed indicator, altimeter, turn-and-slip gauge, tachometer and manifold pressure gauge in addition to engine monitoring instruments, fuel gauge radio and transponder. This was a temporary fit for the machine, which was awaiting a new EFIS to fit the large rectangular space in the panel. The instrumentation and switches were all on the pilot’s side of the cockpit and a blank carbon fibre panel confronted the passenger.

When seated in the aircraft on the ground, the first impression is that the view over the nose—while perfectly adequate—is slightly restricted, as the nose sits quite high. This impression is less pronounced once one begins taxiing.

The already welcome width of the cockpit is accentuated by the sense of space and openness engendered by the large unobstructed canopy, which provides ample headroom. The sense of space and openness is exaggerated even further once in flight. There is both cool and heated air available to maintain comfort levels in the generous cockpit once airborne.

ZK-WIK is fitted with an optional Dyn Aero-branded hydraulic constant speed prop that results in a relatively short ground roll. While not as short as some, it is far shorter than one might expect of an aircraft with the Club’s high-speed capability. Its small wheels and tight spats—which contribute to its aerodynamic efficiency—are not ideal for overly rough or muddy ground, but it is certainly not limited to asphalt or concrete runways and WIK is perfectly happy operating from Parakai’s unsealed strip and grass manoeuvring areas.

The aircraft has an immediately noticeable "firm" and solid feeling, both on the ground and in the air thanks to its stiff, solid composite structure.

After lift off, the MCR01 is very much in its element and even at close to its maximum take-off weight, climbs quickly; its climb rate of 2,000 ft/min is approximately double that of typical GA light aircraft like the piston engined Pipers and Cessnas and is almost 200 ft/min better than even the PAC CT/4E Airtrainer.

Once airborne, the aircraft behaves impeccably. With no slack or free play in the controls, they require only fingertip pressure so that the efficient electric trim is almost superfluous.

Changes in power require little vertical trim compensation and only minimal pressure on the rudder to control yaw. What is noticeable with significant power changes in the Dyn Aero is its acceleration. In most light GA aircraft, the only immediately apparent effects of an increase in power are an increase in noise and a need to re-trim! In the Dyn Aero, one feels the push in the back as the effective little constant speed prop hauls the lightweight airframe rapidly forwards.

As with other Rotax-powered aircraft, the engine spins much faster than typical GA pilots would be used to from their Lycomings or Continentals, but the Dyn Aero is geared to spin the prop appropriately.

Manoeuvrability is exceptional and it is a delight to almost "will" the aircraft through steep turns that require very little in the way of backpressure on the stick. The "solid" feeling that was evident on the ground is even more keenly felt in the air as the highly loaded wing cuts comfortably through turbulence with little discomfort.

Once power is reduced, the aircraft slows reasonably quickly; stalls—though reasonably abrupt with a tendency to drop a wing—are relatively uneventful and easily and immediately corrected.

Circuits in the Dyn Aero are a breeze where its excellent visibility in all directions is a real safety bonus. The precision and predictability of its controls, ample power and highly effective flaps all combine to make the circuit a comfortable place to become acquainted with the aircraft and the optional oleo suspension on WIK helps to flatter even the most ham-fisted pilot upon landing.

I have read another review of the Dyn Aero that highlighted one trait I noticed during my brief time with it, and that is the sensitive response of the nose-wheel steering on the ground. It is perhaps not surprising in view of the plane’s tiny "footprint" and thus, its unavoidably short wheelbase. I certainly wouldn’t describe it as any kind of "negative" and it is a trait that one gets used to very quickly, because like everything else about the aircraft, it is completely predictable—it is just something that anyone new to the aircraft needs to be aware of.

So just where does the Dyn Aero MCR01 Club fit into things? Who will buy it, and why? It is certainly no "poor person’s" cheap alternative to a certified aircraft. Although the smallest and simplest Dyn Aero aircraft can be had for less than NZ$100,000, with all the bells-and-whistles options such as the constant speed prop, long range tanks and EFIS system, a fully equipped Club will cost around NZ$190,000. This is still not a great deal of money for anyone looking for the kind of performance and features the Dyn Aero offers. The most basic new Cessna 172, or Piper Warrior for example, starts at around a third more. While these aircraft each have two more seats and significantly more load space than the Dyn Aero, even their most ardent fans would not describe them as "performance" machines.

For anyone needing only two seats, but wanting comfort, speed, economy of operation, superb handling, exceptional visibility and sheer flying pleasure, the Dyn Aero would be hard to beat. There are plenty of pilots who—for a number of reasons—no longer retain a full PPL medical, but still want to fly. For such people, aircraft like the MCR01 are a godsend.

Every time the word "microlight" is mentioned I see people—even some pilots—recoiling in horror at the thought of leaving the ground in some death-defying contraption made of wrapping paper and sticks. For the suicidally inclined, such aircraft still exist, but in ever decreasing numbers. Where it was once a case of owning a microlight until money was available for a "real" plane, the proliferation of aircraft like the Dyn Aero MCR01 has reversed the situation completely. There are now owners of certified aircraft looking to divest themselves of their "real" aeroplanes in order to enjoy the real flying offered by "microlights" like the Dyn Aero MCR01 Club.

By Rob Neill,  Editor 'Pacific Wings'

Review appeared in 'Pacific Wings', P18, Sept 07