I had a chance to fly the Tango 2 yesterday, Jon C. was kind enough to make the offer and I accepted,
I don't want to get nitpicky, Yes Me being Me I would change a few things, but that's who I am, I cannot leave anything alone, That being said:
It flew very nicely as you would expect any 2 place gyro, it is heavier and slower reacting than what most of us single place flyers are used to. So once I got used to that I was able to just fly it, it seemed to be a very capable machine, The Yamaha engine was extremely smooth and had very good power, The climb was not spectacular, but we were full loaded with Jon, myself, and a full tank of fuel we were probably at around 530lb of load, Jon said that it really shines with just one person, as you would expect like any 2 place, I am sure that Lofty can tell us the same when He fly's without the backseat beefcake in his MTO.
The fit and finish was good, not Magni good, but the Tango won't set you back $100k either, plus it is a kit, so much of the detail can be executed by the builder, Example, Dominators are not known for their fit and finish either, I don't think Ernie has a belt sander to smooth anything...Then there are Jake gyro's......but back to the topic.
Then there is the issue of the linked nose wheel, not a Tango issue, just an issue I have with all Euro style gyros, but that is a personal preference.

The rotors are very smooth and have plenty of lift and the flare and decay on landing is very predictable and linear, no ballooning, or sudden loss of lift where you drop in, it can be landed very slowly with manipulation of the rotors, you do not have to land at 40 mph, just pick your spot and land on it.
Again We only flew for about an hour so it would take me more time to get totally used to the machine but my landings and takeoffs got better each time.
It has a nice prerotator and rotor brake, trim system works well and is easy to use.
All and all I think that it is a very good machine that has a whole lot of market potential and seems to be a really good value for what you get, You will not be disappointed. It fly's fine and did not display any nasty habits, or quirky handling, no pitching or other issues I did enjoy it very much, it is something to seriously consider if you are in the market and don't want to break the bank.
One more point, I did not get to fly the red one with the fuel injected engine, ( I did not have enough time) but Jon assured me that the extra 20 or so HP is noticeable especially 2 up.




I hear that the Tango 1 (mini mto) is almost ready to fly.
http://tangogyro.com/index.html

Question is if u were in the market would you own one??

Or do u want more time in one to decide that before u give an answer.

It seems positive either way. Wonder how the 4 cly. rx-1 would do?

I would like to have more time in it and compare it to an MTO, Magni, Apollo etc,
Jon has flown them all and says that it flys the same, or even better than some euro models.
If I was in the market I would say YES, especially if you want to save some serious coin, and do some of the work yourself, like paint is a huge cost, etc.
I just have to find a fix for the nose wheel..

Couldn't Pavel and his dad just make a castering front wheel as an option?....better yet follow Abid's lead and make the changes the customers prefer!

I have flown and trained in most of the imports and this seems a viable less expensive alternative.

I like it because they specifically use the Yamaha's.

I am convinced these motors are perfect for gyro's.

In spite of my short time in aviation and gyro's.

I do see a promising future for these engines regardless of the statement above.

Again a great alternative to Rotax.

Just getting used to it would help, But lots safer in case of an oops. but it would be easy to use springs or some sort of arrangement where you would not have to have differential braking, kind of like how the air command was.

I did not look to see how apollo changed theirs.

If it had 2" of travel on the nose wheel it would not set down so hard when you lower the nose. Again not an issue just to the tango,
Maybe just big squishy tires...

Thanks, Scott. I have been assured your check is in the mail. Just go stand by the mailbox.

As to a few of the points of points:

1. I was originally opposed to the nose gear on the Eurotubs. But they all have it, and I have found that after about 10 hours in any of the beasts, it becomes a non-issue...or, at least you get used to it to the point you don't think about it any longer. Frankly, I think I would prefer to be used to it and be pleasantly surprised when I find the rare exception.

2. The fuel-injected model is about 12% more powerful +/-, that'd be about 135HP (vs. 120HP) at 8K (which is where we run them). They are rated for 12K on the sled. Still, it is a noticeable difference on the Tango.

3. I am told the 4 cylinder (150HP @ 8K) weighs about the same as the 3. Odd that. However, it is physically quite a bit longer and you MUST run all the Yamaha engines with a clutch or bad things will happen. By the time you string all the required stuff for a 4 cylinder together, you might have to do a frame modification to get the prop in the drop-down niche on a Eurotub frame. I do agree that Yamaha is the engine to have for gyros these days. They have impressed me very much during my testing. I am still putting the 2.2 Soob back on the Bulldozer, but only because I already own it.

Jon, that is the same reason I am using the Honda engine, I already have it....and the prop, (other direction) .it weighs only 140lbs bare, but by the time you add the Cam100 belt redrive, intake, exhaust, starter, alternator, etc, etc,it swells up to 220lbs!!
I do think the Yamaha is a great engine, especialy how compact it is, built in alternator etc. and gearbox,

Thanks, I'll stand by the mailbox!

I think the coupled nose wheel is a non issue.
In my book a stick shift is the same as the automatic..... if you have learned on the stick the automatic will be weird for only a few hours.

I'm senile.. Now and then I will step on the clutch pedal of my pickup even though it has none.

I had a 69 ford pickup for years that was a stick and clutch.
Flashbacks I guess.

I used to have a 1973 Harley with the right foot shift, I also owned other bikes at the same time, switching back and forth was no problem after a while, your mind knew that that bike was different, initially it was slightly confusing, but once you got used to it, non issue.

That kind of stuff has never been an issue for me ...... I am not only two ppl sometimes but I'm also ambidextrous...

I write with both hands, throw with both hands too.

It was a real bitch shooting with a scope cuz it took awhile to figure out which eye was more dominant.

Now if only I could get the two hemisphere's of my brain to cooperate.

Now if only I could get the two hemisphere's of my brain to cooperate.


Wow isn't that the truth......

Pfffftttt.... have you only got 2 hemispheres?

I got way more than that.... (but they don't agree either)

When you've got NO brains at all ..... that makes it even on both sides and can cause being ambidextrous ......

Nice to see the competition heating up, with a real price competitive alternative for the homebuilder. I think this also speaks to the basic soundness of the ELA / MTO design, with all the various clones. I'm missing my gyro already and have not even delivered it yet. Flying her to North Palm Beach Sunday.
With about 230 hours in a gyro now, all in an MTO,except a couple of hours in Dave Seaces Dominator, I have to say that the linked nose wheel has never even been anywhere on my radar.
Never noticed a tendency to dart one way or the other, and I was never specifically taught anything to do or not do because of the linked nose wheel. So I have to think, is all this about linked nose wheels just much noise about nothing. I think when talking about linked nose wheels, one has to take into account how steeply raked the nose wheel is. The rake of the MTO and clones is very shallow which I think keeps the behavior in check.

On the very plus side of the linked nose wheel is you DO NOT end up in the ditch trimming Scott's pine trees .........
I had to realize steering is way more importanter then being paranoid about dropping the nose with fully deflected rudder.......

Each has its advantages and disadvantages, everything in aviation is a compromise, just like marriage, or something like that.....

Right now learning to fly the aircam - the hardest thing so far is taxiing with the amphib castering nose wheels, go figure.

A gyro on the ground should never be going fast enough to tip over

If a gyro is landed like a gyro should, then all will be well.... but if people are trained to land a gyro like a fixed wing (at speed) there will always be issues (aka: accidents)

I always use a linked nosewheel and I have never even scratched a gyro.... and where I would often take off and land (especially the takeoff) like on roads with camber... if you didn't have a linked nosewheel, you would run off the road for sure (ugly)


All you have to do is have the nosewheel and rudder working together (good adjustment and ratios) and fly the thing like a gyro, not a spam can



And I don't care who is teaching people to land any gyro at more than walking pace is teaching wrong... people should be taught to land with power AFTER they have mastered the power off landing/idling landing with no more than a one yard roll....

I was surprised at how slow the Tango was able to land, after seeing all the euro tubs land like airplanes at all the fly ins over the years, it really does land slow and you are right there is no reason to land a gyro like a fixed wing.
Also the Tango does not have the ground/air switch over thingy, you just engage the pre rotator with a foot pedal, but it works very well, you do not have to take it up to 200 rrpm every time either.