Helicycle encouraging news

[StanFoster]

I am finding that the Helicycle guys are a close knit group just like this group. Most are extremely enthusiastic about flying this chopper and are a wealth of information and are all very impressed with this machine.

One guy in particular....Jim Little...was on the phone with me today. This guys testimony about his experiences are very encouraging. Jim started out with 0 helicopter time....and did the R-22 training as required. He said the Helicycle fit like a glove and it was much easier to fly than the R-22.

Jim wanted to fly clear to Homer Bells fly-in..725 miles each way...and was only half way through his 40 hour fly off. He flew his hours off ....then went on this cross country from Baton Rouge.

He commented that the Helicycle burns almost the same hovering...50 mph..or the 95 mph cruise....and just slightly more going 110 mph. He set out and cruised at 105 as 110 took just a little more constant pressure on the cyclic.. He said every fuel stop drew a lot of attention as this machine has a pretty cool sound to it...and that smell of JetA....:D

He ended up making it all the way to Homer Bells in Ohio..flew a bunch there...and made the trip back.....with nothing more that an ignitor plug that had to be wiped off.

Jim said the machine is a hot rod and reminds him of an Apache it is so fast. He has logged a bunch of hours on it already and says it just simply wants to fly fast.

The Solar T-62 engine that is supplied has a check at 750 hours...where the engine is simply removed in around ten minutes...and shipped for an inspection. Any thing out of the ordinary will be taken care of...otherwise its back in the chopper till 1500 hours where it will then be overhauled for around $5000.00 That isnt bad at all.....Those engines are really something else.

They say you dont even need a headset in the cabin because the turbine is so quiet. Plus since there are no reciprocating parts...the vibration felt in the frame is almost nill.....and also due to the fact that there is just a continuous steady flame front...instead of power pulses....and compression pulses that make a regular engine felt.

Anyway...he went on and on....and it sure was encouraging listening to him. He will be a wealth of information for me down the road. I am more enthusiastic about this than ever.....this enthusiasm is contagious...and I guess I caught the bug again....:D

Stan

[Kandace]

Stan, I'm so excited for you! :whoo: You are going to love helicopter flying.

I'm also just a tad jealous.

Kandace

[MikeSherman]

Stan,

In the past month, since stumbling upon the Helicycle, I have read everything available to me through the internet. Literally. Search "Helicycle" on Google and I've gone at least 20 pages deep!!

I've ordered and watched the videos from Eagle. Oh and I watched them again and again. I've downloaded the fun fly videos from the website and watched them over and over too.

When I read that Doug Schworchert was a local pilot to me, I dug up his email and coordinated a meeting at his hanger. I drooled over his machine for a few hours. If it wasn't Friday night and 30deg in the hanger, I would have rattled on for a few hours more. Doug was a wealth of info for me. He was very friendly and answered all my questions. Thanks Doug!

I've convinced myself I NEED one of these machines......

OK

The bio - I have no, none, zero (well ok one instruction flight in an R22 two years ago) full scale flight experience. I have been flying RC helis for 5 years now. I caught on pretty quick and got pretty good doing all the cool 3D stuff - inverted, upright, forwards, backwards, etc.

I never thought twice about getting my rotory PPL since it didn't make any sense. Great, spent $12k on the PPL - now I can go rent an R22 for $210/hr. Wooo-hooo, right?

Then came the Helicycle. Darn it! Now I'm all fired up. Went on Sporty's website and ordered all the FAA and Jepsen books related to Helicopter flight to prep for my instruction which I think I will start in the spring time.

The hardest thing for me do, is to wait until I get a least 6 full scale instruction flights before I take my place in line at Eagle.

Stan - knowing that the supply of turbines is limited, do you know how many more builds Eagle will be able to support?


I noticed Eagle just announced that they moved into a larger building. That's very promising.

Thanks!

...hanging on to the Helicycle dream...

-Mike

[Hognose]

Mike --

Doug's Helicycle was the first to fly (customer ship) and the first turbine. BJ was against the turbine until he took Doug's up, and he landed as a convert (Doug did his own conversion, cast his own gearbox housing, everything).

The supply of Solar T-62s should not a gating factor for many years, I think. BJ bought something like a train car load of them. They are used as an APU in the Chinook and were made in many scores of thousands.

Solar's engineers have, from time to time, complained about this use of the T-62 which they say is not designed for a main powerplant's duty cycle. You can find some of that grousing if you search rec.aviation.rotorcraft and rec.aviation.homebuilt in Usenet.

BJ's installation of a T-62 is the most modified T-62 I have seen. Doug can probably tell you the difference between what he did and what BJ did a lot better than I can.

cheers

-=K=-

[Timchick]

Mike,
Since you're already into RC helicopters you should check out the heli-chair:
http://www.heli-chair.com/

[MikeSherman]

Yea, I'm familiar with the heli-chair novelty idea.

I wouldn't hack into my radios to do it, though!

How do you think the difference in MR direction is handled? The RC MR spins clockwise while full scale spin counter-clockwise. That would create reversed torque pedals between the heli-chair and full scale. Hmmmm

Ah - I'd rather get real training. You can't substitute seat time! Just like we tell newbies at the RC field - the best upgrade to any heli is fuel. You need to burn fuel to get better - period.

-Mike

[gyro]

Stan, it's obvious that you have Kerosene sniffing, turbine spooling, blade thumping, tail spinning ITIS !

I have done all the research I can to try to help you and it appears that there is no cure at this time. However flights in a gyrocopter or plane can reduce the pain.

Avoid all contact with any type of helicopters.... IT WILL ONLY MAKE MATTERS WORSE!

[cleatus99]

Stan I'm Jealous Gyro & a Helicopter

I have My Piper Cheorkee 180 I fly (250hrs in last year)

I am currently working on both My Gyro & Helicopter Ratings.
Gyro Time is 5.8 Hrs & Heli R22 Time is now 9.6 (added .9 last night)

I already have Private Pilot Airplane SEL & Glider, A&P

I have long thought about the helicycle, but I would like a 2 Seater since my "best half" likes to fly with me. I am looking for a time building machine,
I have a crazy dream that someone will pay me to fly helicopters. it seems a R22 or H269 is the most likely canidates, I'm not sure what the maintenance requirments are for Rotorways or the helicycles. As I like to fly aircraft not rebuild them.


Also as far as the duty on APU/GPUs they are typically designed to be run at high demand and 100% RPM so they should be at home in a Heli... Not sure why the engineers wouldn't like it other than it is the main power source and they don't like that thought.

Tailwinds. Cleatus

[brett s]

Those Solar T-62's were about bulletproof in CH-47's as APU's - I never saw one die, just the assorted sensors & switches (for overspeed, overtemp, etc.) occasionally.

Had one eat a large quantity of synthetic hydraulic fluid one night when the starter/motor attached to the output shaft came apart, had a 30' trail behind the exhaust on the ground of unburned hydraulic fluid...fixed the hydraulics & fired it up.

Saw another one that a maintenance crew spent several hours trying to crank on a stand with no success - they kept trying to bypass all the protection circuits, sure that one was faulty. It'd spool up & light off but then shut down immediately - can't tell you how manby times they tried. Finally some genious decided to check the oil level - it was empty. Filled it up & it fired right up :)

[automan1223]

Guys, I am going to ask a stupid turbine question here.

What happens if you fly through a patch of rain and the turbine eats water, snow or sleet at altitude ?

Does the unit have a restart mode or are turbine immune from flame outs or does a magical hamster come out and save your bacon ?

You guys are right about the helicycle. I have customers bringing me info on the kit to get my take on it. I am not even a heli pilot but many do not realize the dif with gyros vs helicopters.

J

[Arnie Madsen]

Stan, I'm so excited for you! :whoo: You are going to love helicopter flying.

I'm also just a tad jealous.

Kandace

I've got you beat Kandace , I'm about 12 tads jealous .:)

Greetings from Canada
Arnie Madsen
Bell 47 G2

[brett s]

What happens if you fly through a patch of rain and the turbine eats water, snow or sleet at altitude ?


Same thing that happens on your piston engine - a large quantity could cause a flameout, just like you can kill a piston engine with too much.

Odds are pretty low of ever seeing that situation in a VFR helicopter like the Helicycle - some helicopter types can have that problem when flying in heavy snow because it can build up around the inlet & then dump a bunch in at once.

[LASsociety]

I thought about this when i was thinking about building a heli-cycle. I think it would take alot of water to flame it out. If I remember right the compressor intake is on the side , and if you were flying forward at all water drops would have to do more than 90 degrees to even get in there. Second of all I have some experience flying with APUs that have a door that opens right into the slipstream, and you can start it and it runs fine even in the rain, snow, etc and the aircraft I fly flies pretty fast so I know its being force fed water. The only time I have ever had one flame out from water was during de-icing on the ground last year. Despite the training and the "NO DEICE FLUID THIS AREA" painted on the side a new de-ice girl sprayed the nozzle directly in the APU inlet. It shut down leaving us in a dark airplane with passengers onboard. I'm sure they were not excited but it restarted with not problems (I'm sure its not good for the hot turbine to get a cold shot to it.) If you were nervous and capable about it you could modify the ignition to have a Continuous Ignition switch in the cockpit. If you are flying in turbulence or hovering in gusty winds, rain, etc You could turn on the continuous ignition to help ensure that a flameout doesn't happen. Or if one does it relights quickly. Our main engines have continuous if you want it but I'm not aware of any APUs that do.

[automan1223]

I checked with my FAA doc and he thinks from my descriptions that Stan might have PTS syndrome.

Powered Tail Syndrome :D

J






[QUOTE=gyro;204605]Stan, it's obvious that you have Kerosene sniffing, turbine spooling, blade thumping, tail spinning ITIS !

[Walker]

Now you guys know why I *need* to sell my gyro! I'm just itchin' to get into a Heli-Cycle. There's a guy here in my local area that has built two, so I would have build support close by.

Some one buy my RAF! It's as good an example of an RAF as it gets! Nothing but top notch workmanship. Ask anyone that's seen or flown it.

Walker

[Nick S]

How do you think the difference in MR direction is handled? The RC MR spins clockwise while full scale spin counter-clockwise. That would create reversed torque pedals between the heli-chair and full scale. Hmmmm


Mike,
The reverse in direction is not a big deal. I trained in a Bell 47 (counter clockwise) and now mostly fly my Rotorway which rotates clockwise. I have found that it is not a problem to go back and forth between the two. You will find that your feet will do what is needed to keep the nose straight.

Nick

[Friendly]

Stan,
what made you decide on the Helicycle as opposed to the Mosquito? Not that I am singling out the Mosquito. Just wondering about the difference in the two machines and what a person looks for in choosing a one man helo.

[akoschier]

To get a flameout due to water ingestion you have to be in very very heavy rainfall- in excess of you would be able to fly your helicycle in.
avk

[akoschier]

Continuous ignition will not work on the T62 since it needs a starting fuel nozzle activated (which is located next to the sparkplug) to light off in the very beginning. This comes normally on during the start and is shut of once the engine has reached 20K plus RPM.
avk

[akoschier]

Stan,

You will be getting a well thought out machine with a to date excellent safety record for an exceptional price.
Even if you decide to sell it after completing the kit you'l get your work paid for.
What I have observed is that finished machines seem to go for around 60K.
Guess Homer has the best numbers for this.
avk

[Nick S]

Stan:
I can not complain about my Rotorway. They do get a bad rap and if poorly built they are a nightmare. They do have their weaknesses the power plant is my greatest concern. That said, the rotor system is bullet proof and smooth. The belt drive tail rotor gets a lot of bad press, but if properly adjusted and monitored it is very reliable. When properly built you can have many FUN and cheep hours of helicopter flying.

I do not feel the new kits are worth the money and I am afraid that Rotorway has just priced themselves out of the market with the Talon.

I bought a poorly built, basket case Exec 90 at auction for a good price. I then spent five years rebuilding and remanufacturing the entire ship. All in all, it was worth every penny and all the time. My ship to date has proven to be reliable and requires very little unschedled maintenance. It is simply a blast to fly.

The helicycle if an awesome ship. As B.J's final design it is most likely the best experimental kit on the maket. I meet B.J at sun n fun when he was flying his prototype helicycle with the two cycle engine. He was a amazing person.:hail: I will always treasure the hanger flying we did. If the helicyle had two seats I would be building one. You will not be disapointed with your choice.

With many fixed wing hour, helicopter in my opinion are the best way to fly. It is truly a different was to travel. I fly mine in and out of the back yard, land at my office and use it to get to jobsites. I am not big on making grand entrances, but it is the only kind in a helicopter. You will also find that many people will think that you are nuts when you tell them that you build your chopper in the garage:twitch:

Happy building and flying

Nick

[Gyro-nut]

Stan,
I can hardly wait to see your name and photos added to their 'builders' tab :)

[Hognose]

Can happen. Some helicopters that are routinely operated in crummy weather have intake baffles that help prevent this.

It can happen to turbojets and turbofans, too. Here's a DC-9 mishap that's well known in the industry (it's in a lot of the air safety books):

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19770404-1

That link also has the CVR transcript. Here's ASF's writeup.

http://www.aopa.org/asf/asfarticles/sp9808.html

Here's a list of precipitation-induced airliner flameout accidents:

http://aviation-safety.net/database/dblist.php?Event=ACEP

There's also a very, very well known British 747 mishap that was due to ingestion not of normal precipitation, but of volcanic ash. They lost all four and only got a restart at about 8,000 feet. (They landed safely at, IIRC, Djakarta). All four engines were written off by FOD from the ash... they looked like gremlins threw sand in the fans.

Your engine needs fuel and oxygen. While some engines use water injection to increase effective compression, it's not that same as taking a big slug of it through the carbs or throttle bodies.

cheers

-=K=-

[All_In]

Great news guys!
While talking to Stan last week he told me that Blake was coming to ROTR's. He asked me to meet him and see what I thought.

I talked to Blake and told him I knew Stan well, and that I had slept with him at Benson Days.... No I didn't say that buddy, just kidding.

I did ask him if he knew about the new lexicon on the forum = "Two Weeks" now = Never going to happen.

He hung is head and said "yes, I'm the one that created it."

During the discussion I asked "so how is it looking for putting it on the truck this Friday?"
"He said I'm really trying and I think I'm going to make it this time."

So Stan might really have a turbine.

PS:
Oh, I should have said Blake told me in "Two weeks?"
Now what will we be able to tease Stan about? Any idea's please submit them to Gabor or I. Thank you for your continued support in disparaging Stan humor!!

[hillberg]

The solar T62-T32 is out of the M1A1-30 GPU a Gen set for the Airforce and ARMY its a heavier casting on the gearbox and was chosen for the Jet Exec, B.J. saw the RotorMouse at Oshkosh in 1995, His remarks were Too this and Too that....Before Doug had ideas Reid West wanted a turbine in a Helicycle when only a piston poper was installed, we had the engine mounted and the project was sold & the money went for an R-22 time passes B.J. cast a new gearbox with a 2:1 reduction and an altinator at the P.T.O. and the rest is another story see oshkosh 1995 for the video, as a fan once said "I dont know about you but Im getting a hard on..."

[JEFF TIPTON]

I quess when the turbine shows up, Stan could say "this really sucks!"