B. J. Schramm

[Bill Clem]

Information from a friend of the family reports that helicopter innovator and designer B. J. Schramm was killed in a helicopter crash this afternoon. The information is sketchy at present and has not been verified. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who may have any information.

[KevinKing]

Cut and pasted from today's Aero-News Net:


Sport Aviation Loses An Amazing Presence

ANN has the sad job of noting the passing of a true legend in the rotorcraft community, not to mention one of the finest men we've ever known. Helicycle designer BJ Schramm was confirmed lost, by the Gem County Sheriff's office, in the crash of Helicycle N3275Q in Horse Shoe Bend, Idaho.

After being reported missing late Tuesday, a Wednesday search found the the single seat Helicycle, inverted, in the Payette River, with BJ, 65, still strapped into the aircraft. An aerial search first spotted the Helicycle early Wednesday while dive crews recovered it close to noon. Sources report that the Helicycle had been involved in a video project late Tuesday when the aircraft went missing.

BJ Schramm was an amazing man, the designer of the original Rotorway helicopter series and the more recent Helicycle. His accomplishments span decades of exciting research and development, and he was one of the few people to whom the word "legend" could be attached with no question of accuracy. BJ was a dear friend of ours and a man with an uncommonly strong faith in God. We're going to miss him tremendously... but we find great solace in his faith and our belief that he's ascended to heights we can barely imagine. BJ Schramm was one of the men who made sport aviation a truly exciting pursuit. We'll have more information as it becomes available.

** Report created 4/29/2004 Record 9 **
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 3275Q Make/Model: EXP Description: HELICYCLE
Date: 04/27/2004 Time: 2100
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: HORSESHOE BEND State: ID Country: US

DESCRIPTION
ACFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, ONE PERSON ON BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED, 6 MILES SW OF HORSESHOE BEND, ID

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
WEATHER: UNK
OTHER DATA
Activity: Pleasure Phase: Unknown Operation: General Aviation
Departed: MONTOUR STORE Dep Date: 04/27/2004 Dep. Time: 2005
Destination: MONTOUR STORE Flt Plan: NONE Wx Briefing: N
Last Radio Cont: NONE Last Clearance: NONE
FAA FSDO: BOISE, ID (NM11) Entry date: 04/29/2004

[Hognose]

I have nothing to add. Jim called me this morning when he was writing this story, to ask me if I had any input. I didn't get the call as I didn't have my phone on my person.

At SnF BJ was so busy that I didn't talk to him -- hell, I knew where the Helicycle project was at, and could always catch him later. Same thought I had last time I saw Ken Brock alive at Oshkosh, surrounded by fans. "I'll catch him next time." There wasn't a next time. Just damn.

Most of us are gyro oriented and don't know the helicopter guys all that well. But they are, like us, a member of a minority group in the whole world of sport aviation. In that group of helicopter designers and builders, there is no one whose contribution can stand up to BJ Schramme's. At Mentone Doug Schwokert (sp?) told me that "we all got started on Scorpions... " and described how he convinced BJ that maybe the turbine was worth trying after all (BJ had been set in his mind against it and for the 4-cycle Rotax. Flying Doug's Helicycle is what changed his mind).

BJ was the colossus astride the whole idea of a homebuilt helicopter; he was only 65 and his untimely death has deprived us of who knows what innovations.

Where is he now? I wonder if the angels there have wings... or rotors?

cheers

-=K=-

[Bill Clem]

The answer to that is easy, Kevin. "To soar may be wonderful, but to hover is divine."

[Jerry_Forest]

I met BJ many years ago at an inaugural meeting in Oshawa, Canada, of what was then the EAAC. He came to support the addition of Helicopters in the Amateur-Built category here in Canada. We had a great discussion on rotorcraft flying; even he had started with a Bensen!! He will be sorely missed. May he rest in peace.
Jerry Forest.

from his website:
There will be a funeral for BJ Schramm next Thursday, the 6th of May at 2:00pm at:
“Canyon Hill Church of the Nazarene”
903 North Michigan
Caldwell ID 83605

All friends and builders are welcome to attend.

[gyropilot]

NTSB Identification: SEA04LA074
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, April 27, 2004 in Montour, ID
Aircraft: Schramm Helicycle, registration: N3275Q
Injuries: 1 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On April 27, 2004, approximately 1500 mountain daylight time, a Schramm Helicycle experimental/homebuilt helicopter, N3275Q, was destroyed after impacting terrain near Montour, Idaho. The aircraft was registered to and operated by a private individual. The private pilot, sole occupant of the aircraft, was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The flight departed Montour at an undetermined time.

According to an FAA inspector, an alert notification (ALNOT) was issued for the aircraft approximately 1900 on April 27th. According to local law enforcement personnel, at 0819 on the morning of April 28th the aircraft was located by search and rescue personnel partially submerged in the Payette River about 1 mile northwest of Montour, Idaho. It was also reported by the inspector that prior to the accident a complaint had been reported to local authorities of two helicopters flying low over a school and residential areas in the Montour area. The inspector also reported that prior to the accident the pilot had landed at a local store in Montour and purchased some fuel for the aircraft. The store employee reported that the pilot complained about a problem with the fuel system, and that when the pilot started the engine he noticed a flame/torch during the starting sequence. Under the supervision of the inspector, the aircraft was recovered to a private facility for future examination.

According to the inspector, both main rotor blades were bent upward with minimal deformation and remained attached to the main rotor mast. The tail rotor drive shaft and both tail rotor blades were not located.

Original NTSB Preliminary Accident Report Form in PDF format (http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=SEA04LA074&rpt=p)

[thjakits]

Hi all,

any news on the cause for BJ's crash?
What will/has happen/ed with the Helicycle company? The last update I see is for 10/28/2003? Will the Helicycle stay in production, and what about the turbine?

thjakits

[MattPearson]

I've been pretty swamped since I got back from Homers so sorry for the
delay. Caution: Long.
Things I learned at Homers:
DISCLAIMER: This information is from a novice (not a pilot yet, 1 hour of
flight training, group 4 builder so I don't have anything yet except a dent
in my wallet, but curious as hell). Consider the source of the information.
Here are my notes in no particular order...
- The more I saw the Helicycle fly and the more I talked with builders and
Blake, the happier I am about my decision.
- There were a TON of yellow hats that were people wore with pride. It was
great to be able to tell who I could talk to.
- I met several fellow group 4 builders.
- I feel sorry for the Rotorway guys. The secondary shaft issue would be
really troubling me if I had one. There were two talks on the shaft
problem.
- There were two Rotorways that had problems. I don't know much about what
happened and I wasn't around when they did (had to take a work phone call)
so I won't comment other than to say see point number one above.
- Turbine engines sound and smell fantastic.
- Piston engines sound like they are straining so much when they are used
to lift a helicopter. Turbines sound like they are out for a stroll.
- The first time I've seen a Brantly. No offense to their owners but its a
helicopter only a mother could love.
- I noticed some pilots put on their belts first, then start their
turbines. Other start them, then climb in. Not sure which is better.
- Every one of the Helicycles lifted off absolutely level. Both skids come
up together.
- Saw Homer try to fly a helicycle "hands off". Didn't last too long. The
nose dipped pretty quick.
- Saw Homer stack cones with the skid of his helicycle. Impressive flying.
- There was a jetExec that flew in from Canada but I just saw the ship
after it landed.
- There was another Exec that came in as well that looked to have aux fuel
tanks on both sides of the fuselage. Option for the Helicycle?
- Mr. Tom sold me (well, I actually stole it from him for $2) a CD with all
his photos, documents, etc. on it. A fantastic resource. Thanks.
- I talked to someone about putting on aerodynamic covers over the landing
gear struts on the Helicycle. Apparently the word from Homer was, yes, that
will make a difference in forward speed but they have to be tested in all
sorts of flight profiles before they could be cleared. Sounds like a lot of
work to me.
- Anthony, a builder from Huston, brought his ship and had an extensive set
of modifications made to it. It wasn't completed yet but it was close.
Thanks for going to the trouble of bringing it to Homers. (See list of mods
below)
- He let me sit in it. Man, that got me going.
- It was interesting to notice that the visibility of the Helicycle cabin
is kind of limited. I just got off a 5 minute ride in a Bell 47 so the
contrast was quite noticeable.
- Dave, George, Homer, and Doug all did some great flying. I shot a lot of
videos that I've already played over and over. It will give me something to
watch while I'm waiting for my crates to arrive.
- Dave flew with a surplus military helmet. He made a comment that
neighbor of his is Military. Apparently they did a study of fatal crashes
and most were attributable to head injuries. He flies with a helmet all the
time. Good idea.
- He got his helmet off eBay for about $350.
- He also said he didn't want to fly with active noise reduction headsets.
He wants to hear what's going on.
- Dave's ship was gorgeous. I got someone to take my photo next to it so I
can show my friends what I'm going to build. Very nice job Dave.
- Everyone with Helicycles seemed to have battery problems and needed to
jump start them with booster batteries. It turns out the magnets for the
alternator were bonded to the anodizing and were falling off.
- I saw some helicopters with their GPS units mounted right on the cyclic.
Probably easier to see and would certainly be easier to operate in the air.
Anyone tried that? Is that a good idea?
- Looks like the fuel flow meter is the way to go.
- My $30 a night hotel room wasn't actually that bad. There seems to be a
general rule of hotel rooms that the lower the price point, the more TV
channels and power outlets you have. This place had probably 70 channels
and I counted 9 power outlets.
- I did notice the leading edge of the flying helicycles' rotor blades had
paint missing. I seem to remember reading on a rotorway site about not
painting a portion of the leading edge. Comments?

Notes from Blake's Talk. NOTICE: This is just what I wrote down in my
notes. Official statements must come from the factory. Questions should be
directed to them.

- BJ was killed in the accident. No cause yet. Didn't find part of the
tail rotor in the river. No conclusion yet. Will announce findings when
available.
- Future of the company. Have enthusiastic builders and investors and will
keep the company going. No talk of shutting it down.
- Blake said he has been with the company 3 years.
- Said BJ built the factory to build the helicopter not just built the
helicopter.
- BJ's death will slow things down a bit but they are still on track.
- Turbine development is going forward - not finished with the design.
- Have new turbine wheel "in hand".
- Future of the company will be based upon having a turbine as the power
plant. Felt it couldn't be sold with anything other than a turbine (crowd
applause).
- There was a q-Question about upping the horsepower rating. That and
other ideas of where to take the technology has yet to be worked out.
- Long term, they will hire an engineer but no immediate plans to hire one
at this time.
- There was a question about checkout pilots but I didn't get the answer in
my notes. I just remember a comment that there were a couple of them but
that's all I remember.
- There was a question about increasing the gross weight. Blake said that
was a big process and won't happen for a long time. A lot of key
components would have to be redesigned and that won't happen for a while.
- There was some rumor about vibration and Homer brought up the fact that
it was a simple matter of adjustment and the two that had the problem, BJ's
and Homers', had trim tabs. Now have the problem nailed down.
- There was a question about the dual sensor and Doug talked about it.
Currently there is a single sensor that goes to both the tach and the
governor. That's getting some feedback from the radio and causing a mirror
image on the line causing a jittering problem. (not sure what that means
other than the RPM changes I'm assuming). The dual sensor, which is made by
the governor company, eliminate this problem. Not everyone is having any
issues with this. The downside of using the dual sensor seems to be a
quicker rolloff.
- Blake mentioned these will be an option for the next build and they will
have dual sensors available during checkout that can be used should that be
identified as a problem.
- Another question was around how to tell if your engine was tested by the
factory. The comments from the crowd was that your engine will be tested
during the final checkout anyway. Blake said they test a sample of the
engines but didn't think they marked which ones they ran.
- A question was raised about a written manual vs VCD's. Blake said they
are going to stick with the videos to keep the cost down. The VCD's are
about the lowest common denominator for videos.
- I had a separate conversion with Blake centered around the fact that I
felt naked without a yellow hat, which he promptly fixed. We talked about
when I could expect to see the first shipment in group 4, which was about
the end of Q1 '05. Again, not an official statement, just what he told me.

[MattPearson]

The post was too long, so here is the rest.


There was a turbine talk that I didn't know about until after it happened.
I was off taking a work related phone call so I couldn't have made it
anyway. From what I heard afterwards, the guy was very positive about the
Solar engine and it's reliability.

Anthony's Mods:

Here is a list of modifications that he walked me through. Not a complete
list and I don't guarantee accuracy but you should get a feeling about what
he's done. Talk to him for more details.

- Very nice paint job on it. (He works at a body shop so it better be!)
- The exhaust pipe on the turbine was replaced with a exhaust stack
"turnout" from an 18 wheeler. Had a 6" by 18" turnout shoved into the
engine and had a machine shop make a collar so it would fit the hole and
tack welded it to the turnout. Looked nice and shinny all chromed up.
- He sanded the burner housing to make it shine. Looked great.
- He built a box to house his strobe controller, battery, and governor and
put it between the top rails of the frame.
- Putting the governor right on top of the battery should help shield it
from RFI.
- He put a ground plane under the cockpit and put his transponder and radio
antennas there.
- He used LED-based lights on the side. Very bright but somewhat
directional.
- His side lights were $12 motorcycle lights.
- He took out the chin window in the front since you can't see anything out
of it anyway and put two landing lights in its place. The rings around the
lights are green and red LED's that are separately switchable.
- The instrument panel was covered with leather. Looked great.
- He ran hardline instead of flexible hose on the fuel lines to prevent any
possible collapse of the hoses due to the high fuel demands.
- He had a fuel filter that was different but I didn't get any notes on
that.
- He had a "mast bulb" on the very end of the frame near the tail rotor.
The plastic lenses on it screwed in but also had a detent to lock it on.
- I wrote down something about the micro switches on the clutch but not
sure what they mean.
- I'm sure there are more but that's what I have down.
My last comment, if you've actually read this far, is that I would like to
thank all the helicycle owners for bringing their ships and letting us see
them and watch them fly. I would like to especially thank Homer and his
wife for allowing us to take over their property for the flyin. What a lot
of fun. Now I just have to start cleaning up the shop!
Bruce Thompson
Group 4
Golden, CO