I just acquired a Bensen B-8M gyrocopter but it doesn't have a rotor. It was among the contents of unpaid and abandoned self storage units I bought this past weekend at a blind auction at a self storage center. A friend who is a pilot looked at it yesterday and said it is in pristine condition and he is going to come back later this week and try to start it after he tries to find some information on the engine. With the help of the internet he was able to identify the motor as a McCulloch 4318 and it has a varnished wood propeller, which he also said is in pristine condition. It also has a vinyl covered seat with a headrest and a 4 point safety harness, 2 fuel tanks, a small instrument panel with some aircraft type instruments, and it is painted a real nice looking red, white, and blue, with the frame blue and a red and white star burst tail. I located a source for the main rotorblades at Vortech, Inc., which is going to cost around $1200 plus shipping. So my question is what would the value of this thing be with main rotors and ready to fly? That is of course if the motor runs and if it runs good. I'm still waiting on my friend to determine that. He also said I should have a licensed mechanic inspect the airframe and motor and make any repairs necessary to assure that it is safe to fly. But assuming all that will be done and that it will be safe to fly, what is this thing worth?
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