ELA 07 in the hangar

[helipaddy]

Here's a few pics of our new two seat machine we collected yesterday in a blizzard, looking forward to getting it up in the air, We've to do a bit of tidying on it and get it inspected and get the paperwork done. Cant wait to get it flyin!
Paddy

[JonVos]

Great looking machine! Love the color. Did it come with blades?

[helipaddy]

Yep blades not on yet, we took them out of the box and cleaned them, I want to have a good look at the teeter bearings in the hub bar so I haven't put them on yet.

[GyroRon]

It matches your Dominator, that is a bonus!!!! :)

[Chopper Reid]

Great choice, you wont be disappointed !!

[All_In]

What a fun ride for two!!!
Good one!

[Riff Raf]

WOW
Great looking machine.
Hey do you need an ID number on your AC. where you are?
Also the prop. is nice, looks like a Q tip with a flair. Cool

[Gyro_Kai]

Very nice, indeed. I'm looking forward to your reports on how it flies compared to the DOM. You are now the only person I know who has a "European" style and an "American" style gyro in the hangar.

Kai.

[helipaddy]

Yep, Im looking forward to getting it up and running, the colour is almost exactly the same as the Dom. It should be interesting to compare flying qualities.

[matt]

Wow that looks great. Is it a new machine or did you buy it used?

[StanFoster]

Paddy- Now that is a sharp looking machine! I am sure you will get a lot of good use out of it. Enjoy. Are you making the trek to Mentone this year?



Stan

[helipaddy]

Its a used machine with 31 hrs on the clock and that is engine running time, built in 2004. We got it in the U.K. its been pretty much idle because they are not approved in the U.K.(approved everywhere else but the air is different in the U.K...)
Myself and Derek (the guy that was with me in Mentone last year) bought it.

Stan, Won't be there this year, but probably in 2010, we're going to do Oshkosh and Mentone for one of the guy's 40th birthday. Ill be there to watch you tearing up the sky in the Helicycle!

[Joe Pires]

Very nice ride Paddy. Can't wait to hear how it performs compared to what we are used to.

[scottessex]

Paddy, I think that you may have trouble getting it registered,
So to save you the trouble please ship it here, I'll take on the headache.

:) Nice machine.

[helipaddy]

Scott, there is already one of these flying in Ireland close to me (shaybrennan on the forum), so I think the paperwork should be ok.
But if it doesnt work out ill send it over!

[barnstorm2]

I am looking forward to some flying photos from this new platform!!

[troed@aon.at]

Wow, what a nice looking ship ! Flew th Ela a couple of times, has very nice handling and vibration free flying........

Pretty sure You´re going to have a lotta fun

Angelo

[Bowser]

Nice machine Paddy! can I have a go?

[helipaddy]

Of course you can! Might let you sit in the front!

[All_In]

I'm with Tim O Paddy, please post pictures!

[helipaddy]

Tim and John, it will take a bit of time to get things sorted though not much I hope as we've got some people on the job that have done it before in Ireland with the ELA, then we will get loads of photos. We have loads of different machines in the hangar and enjoy a bit of close formation flyin so we'll get loads of pics.

When you goin to go down to Ernies and get yerself an Ultrawhite?? you are missing the fun!


Paddy

[All_In]

In April Paddy, Hope to be back to make Benson Days also!!!
Can't wait.

[EI-GYRO]

These airline pilots are all the same. They always want to sit up front.

"Ryanair 123 state your height and position."

"I'm five foot three and i'm sittin at the front."

Oldies but goodies.

[helipaddy]

More photos, Iv e been busy lately but got a good it done on the machine this morning. Heres a few photos of running up the engine and checking the prerotator. Still have to replace a few hoses and bits and it will be ready for the permit inspection

[Gyro_Kai]

Looking great.

I can see the pre-rotator lever next to the accelerator, that is exactly the environement I my license in. The MT-03 really was a Chinese copy.

I'll be spending some time in Ireland this year on business, can I call you up one day?

Kai.

[helipaddy]

Anytime Kai, just let me know when you are in
Paddy

[C. Beaty]

A fine looking machine, Paddy, and the first good look at an ELA I’ve had.

Several features stand out:

While it resembles a Magni as all similar machines must, i.e., fiberglass tandem pod and Rotax 4-stroke, the dogleg in the keel probably places it well within the ±2” CLT range as nearly as I can tell from a photo.
If the ELA designers had begun with a Magni clone, they must have learned very quickly that without the stabilizing effect of Magni’s nose heavy rotor blades, CLT was essential for acceptable stability.

The rotorblade drag links also caught my attention. Perhaps easing the task of pattern adjustment of the rotor blades, more importantly, they increase the inplane stiffness of the rotor and keep the resonant frequency of the rotor/mast assembly higher than the periodic hits it receives from the airstream.

It seems entirely possible that the ELA designers know what they’re doing.

[helipaddy]

Hi Chuck
If you want any further closeup pics let me know.
Yep the drag links are easily adjustable. I hope not to have to go near them. The previous owner reckoned the blades were very smooth, so the less I touch the better.
The hub teeters on a pair of taper roller bearings which Ive replaced. I thought this was a bit odd. I have an old style hub bar and I think the bearings may be different in the newer one. the newer hub bar does not have the drag links if I remember correctly.

Ive flown an ELA before but it was quite a while ago. It will be interesting to compare control response and general stability with that of the Dominator.

[C. Beaty]

I have an old style hub bar and I think the bearings may be different in the newer one. the newer hub bar does not have the drag links if I remember correctly.\Perhaps the earlier rotor was by Xavier Averso, one with aluminum spar and fiberglass fairing. I think I recall him posting that by going to an extruded blade, inplane stiffness was great enough that the drag links could be eliminated.

[helipaddy]

Shay Brennan on the forum has a newer hub bar on his, the blades are still composite. maybe he'll post a pic. If Im around his machine soon I'll take a pic.

[Arco]

The Ela rotor head was changed around one year ago.

The rotor blade is the same all the time, carbon fiber plus an aluminum main spar.
The changes are, in the hub bar:
- Hub bar is thicker.
- Hub bar with conicity built in, the previous one was flat.
- No more drag links as the in the UH-1H helicopter rotor head.
- The lag adjustment is done with set screws at the center of the hub bar. Similar to the Bell 206 rotor head.

Sorry, Chuck, several times you highlighted the drag link as method to increase the in plane stiffness, but they are not longer there.

[C. Beaty]

Whatever the case, Juan, the resonant frequency of the rotor/mast combination must be kept above 1/rev if 2/rev shake is to be avoided; the rotor’s rotation produces a frequency doubling as seen by the pilot.

One of the experiments I’ve participated in used an aluminum plate sawn in the general shape of a SkyWheels hub and bolted through the normal line of attachment strap holes to stiffen the rotor in-plane. It worked very well but was not pretty.

Unidirectional graphite tape along the blade’s trailing edge will certainly stiffen the rotor in-plane.

The non-rotating free resonance of a rotor can be measured by suspending it from the ceiling by cords attached at the nodal points, ~1/4 rotor diameter in from the tips and exciting it with a variable speed saber saw. The one I measured was resonant at ~6 Hz. This frequency increases with centrifugal stiffening when rotating and is lowered by mass at the center and by a stiff mast.

[Arco]

Thanks for your always open technical background.
Following your thoughts, if the mast will be weak, the natural frequency will be lower?
What about to use spring loaded washer in the teeter bolt?
The small lateral play cushioned by the spring washers will be equivalent to a soft mast?

[Passin' Thru]

Thanks for your always open technical background.
Following your thoughts, if the mast will be weak, the natural frequency will be lower?
What about to use spring loaded washer in the teeter bolt?
The small lateral play cushioned by the spring washers will be equivalent to a soft mast?

Arco, do a search on "slider Head". You'll find some interesting reading. :yo:

[C. Beaty]

Juan, the in-plane modes that most affect teetering rotors are shown in the attachment.

The free mode resembles musical instruments: glockenspiel and xylophone. The restrained mode resembles a tuning fork.

The free mode is ~2x the frequency of the restrained mode.

As mass or spring restraint is added at the center, frequency is lowered until the tuning fork resonance is reached.

A stiff mast lowers the resonant frequency of the rotor. If the mast is weak, the resonant frequency will be higher.

Giving the rotor some freedom at the teeter bolt raises the resonant frequency and can solve the 2/rev shake problem if properly implemented. It requires teeter bearings with low friction to axial motion and some kind of spring centering device.

Post your mailing address and I’ll send you a CD video documentary that shows some of Arthur Young’s efforts to solve the 2/rev shake of the prototype Bell-47. It also contains some video of Cierva and early Autogiros.

[Arco]

Thanks very much for your help. I will send my personal data in a separate email.

And, if you needs something from the de la Cierva's land, just ask for that.

[helipaddy]

Putting on a rear brake kit today. Had to mind Amy for the day also. Front seat good for tying kids to when your trying to do some work, and good for a feeding chair too!
Here she is dribbling over the nice machining on the front brake!

[Gyro_Kai]

Too cute!

I do recommend proper training, however, before she takes the front seat :).

What kind of break did the ELA have before?

Kai.

[Arco]

From the factory the brake is only in the front seat.
The kit is to have also brake in the rear seat.