Gyrobee Website Updates [Archive]

gyropilot

05-04-2004, 07:09 AM

The southern California boys have been busy. Just added Glen Patterson to the COMPLETIONS pageWow! 21 completions and counting. Come to think of it, wouldn't you guess there's probably double the completions you have a record of on your web site? I'm thinking about the quiet low-profile type builders and the unconnected to the Internet. Seems like we hear about them once and awhile.

John L.

Ralph

06-29-2004, 06:55 AM

Rick Martin (Tampa area) has completed his 'Bee and has been crow-hopping it at Bo Seignious' strip in Lake Placid (Florida). A few pictures are posted that can be accessed via the COMPLETIONS page (http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/complete.htm).

John,

I think the 22 machines on the COMPLETIONS page are probably just a small sample of the number that are actually flying. Unfortunately, I can't think of any easy way to make it more complete. If any of you guys know of others that are flying, encourage the pilots to contact me. If that doesn't work, take some pictures and a few notes and we will get them on the list anyway!

Of all the stuff on the site, I think the COMPLETIONS page provides the best motivation for guys to start a Bee and certainly provides encouragement when you hit the low or slow spots in the building process.

Ralph

barnstorm2

06-29-2004, 07:50 AM

Great Site! Go Bees!!

Rodney's Bee is in the same hangar as my 2-place. I am re-impressed every time I see it.

Ralph

07-26-2004, 10:52 AM

There were three Gyrobees at Mentone (not counting our new StarBee kit that was all boxed up) and you can see them at the Bees of Mentone 2004 page (http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/bomen04.htm).

The server was having real problems today and I'm still not sure I can keep it running. As a result, I haven't had a chance yet to correct the typos yet on the new page (Mentone and Rod Endsley, for example). Should the server die, it may take a week or so to get the site up and running on a new machine. Spent the morning getting back-up files made - just in case!

Ralph

Ralph

07-29-2004, 09:12 AM

Added a new page to emphasize the fact that the Gyrobee is not a "high thrust-line" machine"

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/gbclt.htm

Ralph

gyropilot

07-29-2004, 01:18 PM

Ralph,

That's an excellent write-up (and recommendations) on the GyroBee thrustline issue.

Thanks for taking the time!

John L.

ToddP

07-29-2004, 02:34 PM

Ralph,

Great explanation on the Bee. Very well written for the non-engineer types like myself.

Ralph

08-05-2004, 01:13 PM

Today I took the big step and transferred the web site to a new server running new software. The basic web pages appear to be running very well, which is cause for a big celebration!

The one thing that is not working yet is the file transfer function - the stuff that lets you download from the site. I suspect the reason will be fairly obvious by tomorrow - I have never used this server software so each day is a new adventure :=) - but, until it is running, you cannot download the documentation and other material. That aspect of the site should be working by late tomorrow and, either way, I will keep everyone posted.

The bottom line is that the new system should be able to handle more visitors, provide faster response, and have few down intervals. We shall see!

Ralph

nsheryka

08-05-2004, 04:03 PM

Ralph,

Just wondering, what kind of a machine are you running your server on? I am a geek who works in the computer store at my university, so i have to know these things.

Thanks

Ralph

08-05-2004, 05:40 PM

KDOG

08-08-2004, 03:41 PM

I'm getting the "connection was refused..." dialog box when I click on any of the links...

nsheryka

08-09-2004, 05:06 PM

Nick,

The original server is a 75 MHz Pentium under W95 running Microsoft's Personal Web Server. It has been running 24/7 for 7 years and is starting to get tempermental.

The Replacement is a 400 MHz machine under W2000 running the Xitami web server software.It was running fine all day but has apparantly crashed a short time ago. I won't get a chance to study the logs until morning, but it is always interesting to see what it was doing when it went belly up! I suspect that the default value for the number of connections is low and I have about 75 students hitting the site for an exam tomorrow.

Ralph

Wow.. i would say you definatly got your money out of that first machine!

Good luck with the new one. If you ever upgrade in the future you may want to think about getting a Mac, just from personal experiance i have found them to be much more stable, plus Mac OS X has a web server built right into it.

Ralph

08-11-2004, 05:45 PM

Finally had to bow to the inevitable and get a new machine (2.5 GHz Celeron) for the server. New software is up and runnning and the web-page side seems pretty stable. Still have to move a few updated pages to the new machine, but everything is looking very promising. Any and all of you should hit the site hard and let's see how the software holds up!

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/rb1.htm

The file download functions are not running yet but I am zeroing in on that problem. I will let you know when the download junctions are working properly.

Ralph

PatONeal

08-11-2004, 06:16 PM

Ralph,

Glad to see you so active on the forum. Just left your web page and found that the trike page would not open. If you don't mind, I was wondering why you and Don decided to park the trike and start a new Bee?

Would you mind giving us want to be Gyrobee builders the details of what you ordered from StarBee? 3/16 x 2 x 2? StarBee Tail?

Will you be making additional modifications or building it just the way the kit comes?

I want to add my voice to the many others that have thanked you throught the years for the contributions you have made toward keeping the dream within reach. I look foward to the new build. Keep us informed.

Pat O'Neal

Brian Jackson

08-11-2004, 06:36 PM

The site seems to be rockin' & rollin' now. Very fast loads including the picture pages. Even the Free Porn links worked!

gyroman

08-12-2004, 05:10 AM

You had some new POSTS for 2004 in there that are not there anymore. Including the Bee's at Mentone this year.

Ralph

08-12-2004, 05:29 AM

Pat,

The decision to park the trike could not have been simpler! It is not my intent to bad-mouth trikes - they are lots of fun - but they are also a heck of a lot harder to learn to fly then we expected. I ground-looped ours on landing early in the season and trashed the wing - about $3500 (and guys complain about the cost of blades!). We were spending all our time waiting for the wind to drop so we could fly the thing and yet it still had the potential to bite us in the a** despite the fact that this was the only machine for which we had ever taken dual instruction!

In the end, we decided that the $$$$ I owed our informal corporation would be better spent putting a Gyrobee back in the air. For the cost of a replacement trike wing we picked up the rolling airframe kit, tail, and Wunderlich prerotator from StarBee. The kit included the single mast with the 3/16 wall and the stock Gyrobee gear. The spring-loaded gear option that Dana offers is well-done, but I honestly think the stock gear is the better option for most pilots.

We will be using a 24-foot set of Dragon Wings and we will build it essentially stock. The entire airframe has been anodized with a clear satin finish that is spectacular. We have begun assembly and, so far, with about 3.5 hours into it, the airframe is up on its gear! It will not be long before it is ready to move to the hangar to receive the 503 engine that is now on the trike.

Ralph

PatONeal

08-12-2004, 05:36 AM

Ralph,

Thanks for the update and Happy Birthday.

Pat O'Neal

gyroman

08-12-2004, 05:59 AM

Ralph,

Are you gonna keep a page of updates on your website like you did with the Honeybee build? I thoroughly enjoyed reading the pages. I still have all the pictures and have been a great help when I was fabricating most of my airframe components for my honeybee/gyrobee.

I have my airframe almost completely painted (what a pain) if I had to do it again I may have chosen a different route. The paint seems to chip rather easily even though I followed the proven methods.

Currently I'm trying to get my workshop finished so I can keep the airframe completely assembled instead of storing it all over the house.

Ralph

08-12-2004, 07:25 AM

Pat,

Thanks for the Bday wishes, but at my age you are not as happy to see them arrive!

Toby,

Yes, a number of things are missing and I will be trying to get as much as possible transferred to the new server over the next few days. Even at that, some pages may have to be reconstructed. It is really amazing how complex the web of pages becomes!

Yes, I will be doing regular updates on the new Gyrobee construction. The anodizing was a stroke of genius - superb finish and NO work! Believe me, I know all about the painting as that is the route we took on the prototype.

Ralph

Dean_Dolph

08-12-2004, 01:04 PM

Ralph, did Starbee provide the anodizing or did you have it done?

Ralph

08-12-2004, 02:04 PM

Dean,

The StarBee parts come with a natural aluminum finish, including factory dye labels for the alloys. We had the stuff anodized (~60 pieces) locally at a cost of $170. We handed everything over still wrapped in paper (each piece from StarBee is wrapped and labeled) and everything came back with each piece in clear plastic.

Ralph

Ralph

08-18-2004, 05:26 AM

Dale Young down in Kentucky finished his Gyrobee back in August of 2002 and now has about 52 hours on the sirframe. I have inserted him in the Completions list and you can see his machine at:

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/young.htm

Ralph

Ralph

08-19-2004, 06:41 AM

OK guys, thanks for your patience. The download functions appear to be working properly. I would appreciate some off-site confirmations - a quick and easy one is the GYROBEE LOGO link at the bottom of the Gyrobee Main page:

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/gbee.htm

If all is well, clicking on the logo link will cause the logo image to be displayed on your screen.

As with the general server functions, the new software (Xitami for those that are interested) and server appear to result in faster downloads with the ability to handle many more simultaneous links compared with the old system.

Ralph

PatONeal

08-19-2004, 08:42 AM

Ralph,

The logo worked like it should for me.

Pat O'Neal

Alan Coats

08-19-2004, 09:28 AM

Ralph,

All the links I tried worked fine.

Yours is a great site, loaded with good info. Thanks for all the work you have done to share your experience.

Alan

Ralph

08-24-2004, 07:32 AM

OK, the basic web page access and file download functions seem to be working. I suspect there may continue to be teething problems (especially when about 900 students hit my course sites in another week) but so far, so good.

I have been working on updates to one of the most ignored pages on the site - a summary of basic instrument options for the Gyrobee:

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/instrument.htm

The page will be useful for those of you working on construction projects and covers very basic instrument requirements (analog and digital). It will also trace the development of a new Digipod system for the new Gyrobee.

Ralph

Alan Coats

08-24-2004, 11:40 AM

Thanks, Ralph. I was just at the point that I needed instrument information. The information on your site answered my questions.

Alan

Dean_Dolph

08-24-2004, 11:41 AM

Hey, Ralph, didn't you have a 'Bee Completions' page on the previous server?

Ralph

08-24-2004, 01:39 PM

Dean,

Its on this one as well - go to the Gyrobee page, then to Builders Corner, and then to Completions. OR:

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/complete.htm

Ralph

Ralph

09-07-2004, 06:29 AM

Just put together a "first pass" at a short page on the 2004 KIMO gathering:

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/kimo_04.htm

Still have work to do labeling photos, etc, but it is a start. Many thanks to those of you who came and I think we have some good ideas for next year.

Ralph

Ralph

01-13-2005, 08:16 AM

Was just surfing the net and ran across a Gyrobee in Ireland that was constructed by Herbie Graham:

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/graham.htm

I know virtually nothing else about the machine, but he certainly did a neat job in the construction.

If any of you know of any Gyrobees, here in the U.S. or abroad, that are not included on the completions page, please let me know.

Also, in reading my Kitplanes Magazine, it occurred to me that no one has ever sent in a Gyrobee for their COMPLETIONS feature. All you need is a photo and a brief blurb. The end result would be more publicity for gyros and the Gyrobee, which tends to get left out of the aircraft buying-guide issues. There are enough flying 'Bees out there to populate the pages for some time!

Ralph

barnstorm2

01-13-2005, 09:16 AM

Also, in reading my Kitplanes Magazine, it occurred to me that no one has ever sent in a Gyrobee for their COMPLETIONS feature. All you need is a photo and a brief blurb. The end result would be more publicity for gyros and the Gyrobee, which tends to get left out of the aircraft buying-guide issues. There are enough flying 'Bees out there to populate the pages for some time! Ralph

Ralph,

Great idea, all gyro builders should be doing this!

Ralph

05-24-2005, 07:13 AM

Rick Martin has been putting plenty of time in flying his Bee and I have added some new pictures that he took while flying at Wauchula - one of his in-flight pictures says it all!

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/martin.htm

Also added a link to John Baran's very nice construction page down there in Auckland, New Zealand:

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/gyro/progress.htm

If anyone knows of other new Completions, please let me know.

Sorry for not contributing a lot to posts recently, but life has gotten more complicated. There I was, a comfortable dead-man-walking, with only a year left to retirement, and now I'm the new chairman of my department. Work is certainly the curse of the flying class, but at least I can afford to buy gas!

I will be at Mentone and KIMO this year and will try to be responsive on Gyrobee matters, but I am busier than a one-armed paper hangar. Just an advanced apology if replies are delayed.

Ralph