Tag: Cavalon Sentinel Fleet

Successful handover of Cavalon Sentinel to West Africa.

SUCCESSFUL HANDOVER OF THE FIRST SENTINEL BATCH

Written by Tatiana Vidnevskaia on 06/06/2024. Posted in NEWS.

Aerial surveillance in West Africa

In May AutoGyro handed over two specialised Rotax 916 iS powered Cavalon Sentinel gyroplanes to the government representatives of a West African country. These are the first of an order for twelve AutoGyro Sentinels, a fleet which will soon be performing aerial surveillance tasks and ensuring safety from the air. All seven Cavalon Sentinels and five Calidus Sentinels will be equipped with the powerful Rotax 916 iS engines and with a customised package of police systems, including state-of-the-art avionics and autopilot. Some of the gyroplanes will also carry a specialised 4K and infrared camera with live downlink to mission control.

The joint acceptance team were very pleased with the execution and outcome of the acceptance trials and handover process at AutoGyro headquarters in Hildesheim, Germany: AutoGyro-CEO Gerald Speich states: “The flight characteristic of these new gyroplanes met and exceeded the expectations of our new customers. These Cavalon Sentinels are the first aircraft in daily law enforcement use equipped with the latest Rotax 916 iS engine.”

After the two days of acceptance trials the customer formally received the two aircraft from AutoGyro and released them to shipping. Flight crew training commences on July 1. AutoGyro will also support the customer for several weeks on site in order to build up the associated infrastructure for the new gyroplane fleet. Maintenance courses for the future service team will also take place in June 2024 at AutoGyro facilities in Hildesheim as part of a full turn-key package.

“By working closely together with this international authorities, we have been able to realise an aircraft precisely equipped to meet their surveillance task requirements. With AutoGyro Sentinels, they have opted for a solution that is not only characterised by easy and cost-effective operation and maintenance, but also by maximised safety, cabin comfort and sustainability,” Gerald Speich continued.

The successful completion of this major order’s first handover marks AutoGyro’s growing establishment in the market for professional use of gyroplane. Proven Made-in-Germany quality, the deep expertise, as well as individual customisation have led to several new projects and customers within the police and law enforcement sectors.

Key Features

The Cavalon Sentinel is AutoGyro’s premium side-by-side seat model, powered by the new state-of-the-art and fuel-efficient Rotax 916 iS engine.
AutoGyro Sentinel aircraft have an operational range of four hours, or approximately 600 kilometers, with a maximum speed up to 225 km/h / 120 Kt / 140 mph.
They can carry special customer-defined equipment including a high-res day-, night- and infrared camera system with real-time data downlink to mission control. This system provides a best-in-class solution in day and night conditions.
Equipped with a UK Civil Aviation Authority approved autopilot and customised avionics the AutoGyro Sentinel even has the capability to operate in IFR conditions.
The State-of-the-Art avionics can manage three independent radios simultaneously.

A gyroplane is not a helicopter or a traditional winged aircraft, it provides a vehicle platform complimentary to both. They are inherently safe aircraft, with a very broad speed range. They can be flown very slow, even to zero kilometers per hour, making them an excellent observation platform perfect for border or highway patrols or wildfire spotting. Gyroplanes have a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to helicopters and generally offer a cost-efficient and environment-friendly alternative for commercial aerial tasks.

AERIAL SURVEILLANCE JANDARMA REFERENCE

CAVALON SENTINEL

CALIDUS SENTINEL

Further major orders for AutoGyro

Written by Huug Jansen on 21/02/2024. Posted in NEWS.

Gyroplane fleets ensure security from the air

At the start of this year AutoGyro GmbH won two major contracts for professional gyroplanes. A total of 18 „Sentinels“, most camera-equipped, were ordered by international police forces and law enforcement agencies to perform aerial surveillance tasks. Following the successful initial deployment in 2023, the Turkish Jandarma Havacilik has decided to expand its fleet by six more specialised Rotax 916 iS powered Cavalon Sentinels. In addition, another key authority has ordered seven Cavalon 916 iS Sentinels as well as five Calidus 916 iS Sentinels accompanied by a package for flight crew training and the associated infrastructure.

Effective performing of aerial monitoring tasks – Why Turkish Jandarma relies on AutoGyro gyroplanes

As a camera-carrying platform for day and night aerial surveillance, the AutoGyro Cavalon Sentinel has successfully proven to be highly cost-effective, practical and sustainable for tasks such as traffic monitoring, aerial search and border patrol.

The Director of Gendarmerie Aviation at Jandarma Havacilik Turkey, Major General Ali DOĞAN, explains what was decisive for the initial choice of gyroplanes: „We needed a cost-effective aerial vehicle capable of performing helicopter tasks and transmitting images from the air (…) because flight and maintenance costs of our helicopters are quite high.” After extensive testing and successful deployment in 2023, the gyroplanes proved to be the right solution for their tasks. New mission cases have been added and the gyro fleet is now being expanded.The new six Cavalon Sentinels will be delivered in summer 2024.

Milestone for the professional use of gyroplanes

Gerald Speich, CEO of AutoGyro, explains the significance of both the major order to the new customer and the follow-up order to the Turkish Jandarma: „These multi-million euro orders are not only an important milestone for AutoGyro as a company, but also strengthen our footprint within the global professional market. Gyroplanes have become an attractive addition or alternative vehicle in many areas of aerial surveillance. Airborne security is being rethought in many countries – not only in terms of cost-effectiveness, but also from an environmental perspective, arenas that our aircraft excel in.“

Aleksandra Witkowska, Co-CEO, commented „These professional market successes that have led to these new orders are the result of exceptional teamwork and also of AutoGyro’s standing as the only manufacturer in the gyroplane sector to comply with all major national safety and airworthiness regulations. These new orders have enabled us to look forward to the future with huge confidence”.

The AutoGyro Sentinel model as platform for aerial surveillance

The professionally used Sentinel models are characterized not only by easy and cost-effective operation and maintenance, but also by maximised safety, cabin comfort and sustainability. With operating costs of less than 200 EUR per hour and a low consumption of only 25 litres super unleaded fuel per hour (57,5 kg CO2/h emissions), a gyroplane can carry out many tasks of other aerial vehicles whilst achieving the same or better levels of task accomplishment at vastly reduced costs. Thanks to a flight duration of up to four hours at a maximum speed up to 225 km/h, the gyroplanes can reach the operational areas fast, and can remain there on task for a considerable time at very slow speeds, enabling excellent observation results. The Sentinel can carry a range of task specific equipment, including special customer-defined equipment such as an integrated 4K and/or Infrared camera with a live downlink to ground personnel. Equipped with a UK Civil Aviation authority approved autopilot and customized avionics the AutoGyro Sentinel has the capability to operate even in IFR conditions. This equipment also reduces pilot fatigue workload in normal flight conditions.

AutoGyro made-in-Germany gyroplanes have many applications such as monitoring of pipelines, energy distribution networks, borders or traffic infrastructure, coasts, wildlife, disaster relief, and aerial mapping.

The leading gyroplane manufacturer AutoGyro will supply 18 professional use Sentinels for various surveillance missions – such as traffic monitoring for the Turkish Jandarma.

Jandarma Reference

AutoGyro Cavalon Sentinel

Turkey Jandarma Report – Cavalon Sentinel Fleet Aerial Surveillance use case

Written by Tatiana Vidnevskaia on 23/10/2023. Posted in NEWS.

Learn first-hand from Turkish Jandarma Havacilik about the economic advantages and their experience when using AutoGyro gyroplanes instead of helicopters for aerial surveillance tasks. Equipped with cameras and autopilot, our AutoGyro Cavalon Sentinels are successfully used for traffic monitoring and other missions – in a very cost-effective, practical and green way.

On the occasion of its 55th anniversary, the Gendarmerie Aviation Department provides impressive insights, including the procurement process, experience and expansion plans for their fleet and use cases.

Read the excerpts or the complete interviews with the Jandarma responsibles in the special issue of „Defence Turkey“ | Volume 17 | Issue 125, 2023 | Aerial Photos: Cem DOĞUT.

COST-EFFECTIVE SEARCH & MONITORING

“Flight and maintenance costs of our helicopters are quite high. We needed a cost-effective aerial vehicle capable of performing helicopter tasks and transmitting images from the air.

The time for aerial search can be 10x longer than the time for the rescue phase using the helicopter. So we split the search and rescue mission into 2 parts.
The aerial search includes for example:

Searching for accident victims, drug cultivation areas, illegal immigration, tracking and locating criminals
Providing aerial security for VIPs
Ensuring security of natural gas & oil pipelines.”

Major General Ali DOĞAN
Director of Gendarmerie Aviation┃Jandarma Havacilik Turkey

OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS AND EXPANDED USE

“As a result of the efforts of our R&D Department, we decided that AutoGyro gyroplanes could fulfill this role. We quickly integrated this system into our inventory, not only incorporating the electro-optical capabilities that a few of our helicopters possess but also enabling the transmission of these images to our personnel on the ground.

Subsequently, by coordinating with our units, we explored other potential areas of utilization: We expanded the inventory of AutoGyro gyroplanes by adding tasks such as: public safety, search & rescue, reconnaissance, surveillance, border security, wildfire monitoring and illicit crop monitoring.

With many more projects, we remain committed to enhancing our operational effectiveness with our approach.”

Senior Colonel Arif HAKERLER
Chief of the Gendarmerie Aviation Division┃Jandarma Havacilik Turkey

REDUCED FLIGHT AND MAINTENANCE COSTS

“The maintenance and sustainment activities for our AutoGyro gyroplanes are carried out by our own technicians. The use of regular gasoline significantly reduces flight costs, making operational expenses incredibly economical. While the hourly flight cost for a helicopter is approximately US$ 3.000, for a AutoGyro gyroplane, this cost reduces to around US$ 35.”

Gendarmerie Pilot Colonel Ruhi YÜKSEL
The Commander of the Support Group at the
Gendarmerie Aviation Department┃Jandarma Havacilik Turkey