Another Newbie... Hello!

[iNuhBaD]

Hello everyone!

I'm currently living in Crystal Minnesota - A suburb of Minneapolis.

I've always dreamed of flying since I was a child. My father's college roommate was of a relatively wealthy family, and they owned a couple airplanes. As a child, he took me up for a couple flights in a small Cessna, and I was hooked! I had flown in airliners before, but that's just like riding a bus. There's NOTHING quite like flying smaller aircraft of your own!

I've since ridden in many airplanes (but never got a license) on 'Discovery' type flights, where I could take the controls, and get a better feel for what it's like to fly.

Then my brother and I went to a nearby airshow, and I got a ride in a small 'experimental' Helicopter after talking with the owner about it! A Rotorway Exec 162F! I was HOOKED on rotory flight. So much nicer than fixed wing, but yet helicopters are a bit too much for me. I toyed with the idea of becoming rich & building my own 162F, but reality hits home when you've graduated college, you're not rich, and you're paying off a mortgage. I can't afford such a thing.

I then last summer I saw a small Gyroplane flying over the lake I was boating on! There was a couple ultralights (hang glider type), and the one Gyro... I thought that looked like the ticket for me! After reading up on them more, the physics, the theory, and then seeing how they're actually quite safe aircraft if you operate them safely, preflight checks, etc!

I watched some Youtube vids and got hooked... I've been doing plenty of metalworking, because, as a hobby, I build rifles. I'm sure some of the knowledge/info can transfer over to Gyros, but before I go diving in, I know that with any big purchase - a LOT of research needs to be done ahead of time.

I'd like to try a 'Discovery' ride/flight on a Gyro before I go fully committing myself, but after much searching, I can't find anyone or any place that has such a thing. Most airports will let you pay $50 or $75 for a short 'intro flight' to see if it's something you're interested in... But I can't find ANY info on that sort of thing for Gyros.

Anybody have some knowledge / info they could send my way?

[Joe Pires]

Welcome to the forum. Get to one of the gatherings. Mentone Indiana doesnt seem too far from your part of the country. Look up PRA.org and find the details on this great gyro fly in.

[iNuhBaD]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I checked that website, and Mentone Indiana is about 527 miles away from Minneapolis, but it looks like there's an event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, only 273 miles away (5.5 hour drive versus 9 hours). Would that be a better one to visit? It's just closer for me...

Never been there though.

[Joe Pires]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I checked that website, and Mentone Indiana is about 527 miles away from Minneapolis, but it looks like there's an event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, only 273 miles away (5.5 hour drive versus 9 hours). Would that be a better one to visit? It's just closer for me...

Never been there though.
If you want to see Gyro's and talk to Gyro people then Mentone is lots better.

[Vance]

Hello Mathew and welcome,

Generally speaking Mentone is a rotorcraft event, Oshkosh is an airplane event.

Oshkosh will have a few gyroplanes and it is a lot of fun.

If you want to learn about rotorcraft and talk to people who have built and flown them Mentone is the best bet.

I try to go to both.

Thank you, Vance

[animal]

DOn't forget,he can always go to bensen days,if he wants to get an airline flight. if he has the money it would be well worth the trip to Fla.

[ultracruiser41]

Wrens fall fly-in at Wrens, GA in October!

[birdy]

Discovery typ flyn???
Had a few people out ere that recon discovery is pretty tame. ;)

[Jazzenjohn]

Birdy, I don't know how it is out your way, but where I'm at, in a factory with 3000 people in Michigan, I have yet to find a single person who has any idea what a gyro is. A ride on a gyro is probably the single biggest entrance into gyro flying. Getting people to even know what one is, is the biggest obsticle.
Having said that, I'm also not convinced whether it is a good thing to have gyros become popular again.

[iNuhBaD]

Wow! Thanks for all the great info!

I can probably make it out to the Oshkosh one, but the Mentone one will be a stretch. I'll see if I can convince my wife to let me go...

[SgurlEd]

Begging always works...Welcome to the Forum!
SgurlEd

[iNuhBaD]

Well... Unfortunately, things just took a turn on the negative side for me...

After having a long & serious talk with my Wife about building a Gyro... Well, let's just say she wasn't too receptive to the idea.

She believe they're not too safe, and since we're about to try concieving this fall, she wants me to be a little less 'Reckless' as I was in my college days. She wants to ensure that I'll still be alive to help raise our future children...

"Besides, isn't it enough that at 27 years old you've already got your expensive GUN hobby, a mortgage to pay off on our house (in the Twin Cities), and we already own a cabin on a lake in Northern MN with a Jet Ski and Fishing boat!?!?!?"

So... I guess she doesn't want me to try flying in the foreseeable future. She said, "Well, maybe when our kids are all grown up, and we're going to retire... Then you can build one."

Okaaaaaay. That'll be in the year 2050, and I'll be 70 years old before the government would let me collect what (if anything) is left of Social Security! :( In the meantime I've got to keep playing the stock market (now's a good time to buy in), and keep throwing 15% of my income into my retirement fund, and some mutual funds...

I may check in here once in a while to learn some more over time, but it seems I'm just going to have to stick with guns for a primary hobby. My wife has no idea what she's in for... ;-)

Guess I'm gonna order up some STEN Mark III, Russian PPS-43, Skorpion Pistol, AK parts kits, and perhaps a mill & lathe to keep me busy building a bunch of semi-automatic weapons over the next 42 years!

*SIGH* It would've been nice to fly though. Guess I'll have to stick with the occasional 'helicopter ride' at the airshow once in a while.

Those of you people with your own aircraft and training to fly/maintain them should feel blessed to live in a country where such is possible for civilians, and count your blessings that it's an activity within your financial grasp. This is not the case for everyone. :-(

Basically she said unless we win the lotto and become filthy stinking rich, she doesn't want me building/flying a Gyro until I retire. Hopefully in 42 years it'll still be legal/possible to build my own aircraft and fly it.

*SIGH* I'll go back to lurking the website for a while... It sucks when a dream gets crushed. :-(

Sincerely,

Dreaming of Flight.

[tadgyro]

Mathew
Don't think negative. Yours life is just at the beginning . Lucky You to have a wife to tell you what to do. With out here you be a bum , spending every $ on think you don't need.
Now get serious . Never give up yours dreams. You only need one gun for protection and the money you planing to spending on new guns, start saving and soon you be having money for prop after blades and next is motor and before you know you kids be out of you home and wife have new boyfriend and you have enough money to finish you dream
Just friendly advice
Teddy - tadgyro

[GyroDoug]

Mathew,

You must not really want to fly that bad if you are going to let a little thing like you wife not being supportive of your dreams stop you from achieving your goals. Now I am not suggesting you simply defy your wife and do what you want at any cost. I think that is absurd if you care about your wife and your family is important to you.

However, people (in general) are not into what they don't know about. The fact that your wife didn't embrace your ideas the first time she was exposed to them only tells you that the idea is not very high on her priority list and she is concerned that you can't afford another hobby. If it is important to you to fly, you need to help her to understand how important it is to you. If she loves you and your family is important to her also then she will also be motivated to help and support you in your dreams. If you show her that flying is important to you and that you are willing to keep a financial balance in your lives as you strive to accomplish your goals, she will eventually come around. It may require you to give up on some of the other things you currently do or sell some of your other toys but that is when you will figure out just how important flying really is to you.

There is always a way to make it happen if you want it bad enough. It may take you years to accomplish and it may take making some sacrifices in other areas. But that is what makes it so sweet when you finally accomplish a goal. If it were simple and easy and anyone could do it in short order, it wouldn't hold much satisfaction or sense of accomplishment.

With your metal working skills I am sure you could build a Gyro from Plans and that way you can do it relatively inexpensively and spread it out over time. You can get plans to build a GyroBee or a Dominator and do it at your own speed. You are young and hopefully have a lot of time to work towards your goals. But it all starts with a decision that you make and once you make the decision you start looking for ways to move towards that decision and you don't stop until you get there. The EAA is full of people who spent 10 to 20 years to build their dream aircraft. Most of that time wasn't in the workshop, it was spent overcoming obstacles that got in their way. But if you never quit, and you keep doing all you can, you will eventually get there.

You need to do everything you can to bring your wife to Mentone for the PRA National Convention. Tell her you feel like you both need to know more about Gyros before you can make a decision about them and make it a short family vacation and come down and fly in one and see what they're all about. After she see's what they can do and learns how safe they really can be, she will feel totally different about them. You will still have to convince her you can afford the sport, but you can do that if you want it bad enough. (Believe me, I speak from experience on this subject)

Best of luck!!!!

Gyro Doug

[iNuhBaD]

I guess you're right. I shouldn't give up so easily...

I'm sure it'll take a LOT of convincing, but I'm guessing that the best method of building one MIGHT just be to work on one slowly over time. My metalworking is pretty good, not superb, but good enough to have completed (successfully) every firearm related project I've ever undertaken.

I'll be moving into unknown territory (Aluminum) that I'm a little hesitant about, but it doesn't look too bad. I just know I'll never WELD anything aluminum (every time I've tried, I melted thru it) so I'd do a bolt-together build of some type. I can drill & bolt with the best of them!

I think you're right though, maybe a 'field trip' of some type will help convince my wife otherwise. ;)

[gyromike]

http://www.themaskedblogger.com/images/whipped_magazine_for_men.jpg

Sorry...I couldn't pass it up!

:):):)

[Udi]

My wife is not into flying - taking her to fly is not going to make her want to get involved. But she has her own hobbies and she understands that being in a relationship is a two-way street.

You are talking about giving up on your dreams. There is a difference between romanticizing something and being REALLY passionate about it. When I started out with gyros my wife had to tie me down (sort of speak) to a table because I was so excited - I could hardly sleep. When somebody is really pursuing their dream - a spouse would need to have a heart of stone to quench their fire. Remember I am talking about a REAL dream, not about a fading notion of something that may be fun to do. Are you romanticizing about flying or could this be your passion?

One way to find out is to go and fly with somebody. There is a lot of gyro activity in your part of the country - go and hang out. Definitely don't miss Mentone. Most people have to take a jet and rent a car to get to Mentone. For you it's an 8 hour drive. A small price to pay to find out if this is really your dream. At Mentone you can get rides and lessons in both open frame gyros and in enclosed gyros. If you return home from Mentone ambivalent - well, forget about gyros and tell your wife thanks for letting me try.

Udi

[Joe Pires]

My marriage is a two way street too...her way or the highway.

[helipaddy]

Build it an don't tell her till finished, Its easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission!

[GyroDoug]

Mathew,

Many (if not most) of us have had a significant other that didn't share our same level of enthusiasm for our dreams. With many people it takes years to win them over. For me it took years to be in a position to start financially but during that time I read everything I could read, I joined the PRA and I went to any gathering that was even remotely possible. As time proved how serious I was about it my wife finally acknowledged that she wanted to see me get my dream and gave her blessing to my efforts. It still took more time before I had the money to start but by the time that happened she was on my side and fully supportive. Even though she does not share my love of flying (she hates flying anything smaller than 100 passenger sized jets) she knows it is important to me and she wants me to be happy so she goes along with what I am doing. Along the way I also had to make sure that she got some of her dreams filled too. But it has been a great journey and it's getting more exciting all the time. Best of luck!!!

Gyro Doug

[Resasi]

Doug you said it. Compromise and accommodation are signs of a healthy marriage and too darn few of those around these days.

Having flown for a living I have now discovered gyros and am starting over all again. It has been an exciting experience while still being part of a passion that for me has never died.

Mathew if this is something you really desire to do, there will be a way. It may be slow and take time but be patient and go for it because it is an immensely rewarding sport/hobby/interest

[iNuhBaD]

Wow.... I'm always impressed with the quality of advice I often read on this website! Thanks for all the great replies!

Sorry I haven't checked in for a while!

It seems as though fate decided to pull the ground out from under my feet! My wife got the flu last friday, we went to the doctor on Sunday, they tested for Strep & Flu - it was the flu. They said it'd be gone by wednesday most likely. Well, wednesday rolls around, and her fever kept going up & down since Friday, no stabilization, and she's coughing & wheezing like crazy. My wife has bad asthma. This isn't good, she's been complaining of shortness of breath for days, and her lungs felt like they were on fire (inflamed/irritated).

I got a call Wednesday afternoon from my father in law that she was having an asthma attack, and I was stuck in rush-hour traffic on my way home. My sister in law got to my house 10 minutes before I did, so I told her to just smash a window to get in to my wife. She got in, the ambulance arrived, and they hooked her up to a nebulizer, an oxygen tube, and gave her a steroid shot on the way to the ER. I got to the ER about the same time as my sister in law, and when we got in there she was just finally getting stabilized.

Her pulse was racing at 145 to 150 beats per minute and didn't calm down for nearly 3 hours - even with IV meds, so they checked her with a CAT scan. Turns out she also has a terrible Pnemonia infection on top of a really bad relapsing FLU, and her refusing to drink any fluids I brought her (usually didn't stay down anyway) she was pretty dehydrated.

Paramedics said it was a close one, and I almost lost my wife! We've only been married ~4 months and this was certainly an eye opener! To see how fast your life as you know it can be devastated in only a matter of moments.

Earlier last week I tried talking with her more about Gyros, and she was a little more receptive to the idea, but for now I'll have to wait to talk with her since she can't talk hardly at all right now, and needs to be watched 24/7. So I gotta keep this short, and keep my eyes & ears open for problems.

And I've got to save up some serious cash to pay for what medical & ambulance bills our insurance might not have covered. :(

I'm so tired, only got a few hours sleep since wednesday morning, I'm living on Red Bull and Mountain Dew... And the accompanying heart burn.

Now she just needs total rest, and to beat this Flu & Pnemonia before she has another bad asthma attack and suffocates.

-inuhbad

When life throws you a curve ball sometimes you get hit.

Thanks for the good information! Any prayers are certainly appreciated too!

[GyroDoug]

Mathew,

Sorry to hear of the challenges you two are going through. Although I have noticed in my life that it is the tough times that seem to bring about the best changes in my life. Hopefully you will be able to find some good comes out of this. Rest assured that your Brothers here on the forum will put in a prayer for you. There is tremendous power in having people praying for you. I am confident that things will work out as they are meant to. Best of luck!!!

Gyro Doug

[animal]

Sorry to hear of this hope things get better for you and your new wife.

I know the Mtn dew , deal, I have learned a Mtn dew and a 3 muskateers bar will give ya a boast like you would not beleive. that was my combo I would use when on long drives.

[Resasi]

Mathew thoughts are certainly with you and your wife. A close call by the sounds.

Went to my sons wedding in Fla during the flu epidemic in 03. Felt bad on the way back to Kenya via London. Wife and I got to the flat in London and both had flu. I got pneumonia and since both of us were in bed ill she did not see how bad I was. Went into organ failure and lost both kidneys. Things sure can go bad in a heartbeat.
Couple of years on dialysis got a transplant, new outlook on life and found gyros.

Cherish the wife Mathew and happy for you that ended as it did. Gyros aren't going away so sort this problem out then try and fit them in. Good luck to both of you.