The M-24 Orion is the Magni gyrocopter with side by side seating and an enclosed cabin. It has a steel airframe with a carbon fibre cabin and engine-enclosing pod. Transparent, top hinged doors on either side give access to the two seats, which are slightly staggered to make the most of the cabin width. The 2-bladed rotor, mounted on a mast above the pod, is of composite construction.
A 85 kW (114 hp) Rotax 914ULS flat four engine is mounted at cabin-top height and drives a 3-bladed pusher propeller. Below it, the slender flat-sided boom carries the fibreglass empennage, which consists of a swept horizontal stabilizer with end-plate fins and a larger, central, fin and rudder. The Orion has a tricycle undercarriage with the faired mainwheels, fitted with brakes, on spring cantilever legs. The nosewheel is unfaired.
The Orion’s immediate precursor is the XM-23 Orion, which first flew on 1 February 2007, but both share many components with the tandem, open cockpit M-16 and M-22.
General characteristics
Capacity: 2
Length: 4.33 m (14 ft 2 in) overall
Height: 2.80 m (9 ft 2 in)
Empty weight: 285 kg (628 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 450 kg (992 lb) European ultralight limit (USA:550 kg)
Fuel capacity: 82 L (18.0 Imp gal; 21.7 US gal)
Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 914ULS flat four, 85 kW (114 hp)
Main rotor diameter: 8.23 m (27 ft 0 in)
Main rotor area: 53.20 m2 (572.6 sq ft)
Propellers: 3-bladed Arplast, ground adjustable pitch, 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) diameter
Performance
Maximum speed: 194 km/h (121 mph; 105 kn)
Cruising speed: 145 km/h (90 mph; 78 kn)
Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,123 ft) service
Rate of climb: 5.0 m/s (980 ft/min) at sea level