I iS a PrIvaTe pILot nOw!

[barnstorm2]

One year, eight months, six days ago my effort began.

On a business trip to Atlanta GA I drove down to Macon to see Steve M.

I had a partially finished gyro kit in my garage which I had traded one of my motorcycles for. The motorcycle was a restored 1973 BMW R75/5 True Toaster that I painstakingly had restored, from the crank out, over a period of 3 years with NOS parts just out of their plastic for the first time.

About this time, I think, is when Ron Awad recommended I visit Norms forum to gather info on my gyro.

Though I had this partially completed partial kit, when I arrived at Macon I had yet still never in my life seen a completed gyro (much less one flying or having had a ride in one).

On February 23rd 2003 I got to see my first complete, flying gyroplane as I lifted off with Steve on my first training session.

Since then I have driven 11,380+ miles driving to trainers for lessons and to the PRA Chapter 34 hanger to make and fly my gyros. That does not count the traveling for Benson Days and Mentone where I also received training

This morning at 12:10pm (AZ time) I was informed by Ron Menzie that I had passed my FAA Checkride for Rotorcraft Private Pilot, Gyroplane.

It has been a long strange trip but I am so glad I made it I can't stop taking out my temporary license and staring at it.

[PW_Plack]

Tim,

Congrats! See? It is possible, you guys!

[Al_Hammer]

Tim,
Congratulations on getting your private! YEE HAA!

I took my first gyro instruction from Ron (15 hrs in his RAF) and fondly remember my trip to Arkansas and the feeling of elation I felt during the whole time I was there.

[Brian Jackson]

Well done bro! Congratulations Tim! Or is that Mr. O' now? :D

[pwendell]

Congratulations Tim! There's nothing quite like it.

So, when are you going to buy the J2? :)

[StanFoster]

Tim: congratulations.....its a good feeling isnt it?

Stan

[GyroRon]

Good job Timmy boy! That piece of paper feels so dam good doesn't it! I am very happy for you.

Okay now for the dumb but true saying I am sure you have already heard..... It ain;t a license to fly... it is a license to learn! remember that.

[KenSandyEggo]

Congratulations and best wishes for a lot of enjoyable and safe flights, Tim.

[Chuck_Ellsworth]

A very worthwile effort, enjoy and use common sense.

Chuck E.

[Screw]

Screw-In

Congrats Tim! Look me up the next time your Hotlanta, and we'll go buzz Scott Essex!

Screw-Out

[scott heger]

Tim, Great job! Nobody ever said it is easy to get a gyro ticket. Just take it easy and keep it simple for awhile. Have fun and stay relaxed and loose. Enjoy one of the best freedoms life has to offer, the freedom of flight ,you deserve it.


Scott Heger, Laguna Niguel,Ca N86SH

[CLS447]

Congratulations Tim, way to go! Now what are you gonna do?

[Mike Hook]

Great job Tim........

Glad to seee them Buckeyes getting their ppl.

Mike

[scottessex]

Congrats! I know it was alot of work and time. Good for you!

[Caribean_gyro]

congratulation , now fly safe and show the world how profecional you are.


chuckP

[barnstorm2]

Chuck P, Scott E, Mike H, Chris, Scott H, Screw, Chuck E, Ken, Ron, Stan, Brian, AL, Paul, THANKS!

Screw, No plans for Hotlanda that I know of but I might bring a gyro to Bdays! It would be good to fly with you.

Peter, I would LOVE to buy the J2 but I already had to mortgage the house to get my 2-place. My plan is to talk Ron into buying it then bug him for rides!

Brian; still Tim or TimO :)

AL, It was good to fly with Ron! I was a bit nervous though. I had a hard time adjusting to the new gyro. The nose seemed to sit too low so I had to make an extra effort to keep the nose down. The throttle position under the leg on RAFs is strange but the biggest thing I missed is the open cockpit. I had no idea how dependent I have become on using the wind on my face for airspeed changes and direction. I love the sparrowhawks!

Chris, What's next? Not sure. Some rest! Since Ron has informed us in another thread private pilots can no longer fly any Experimental aircraft a wrech has been thrown in my FW plans. I was hoping to be able to fly some experimental fixed wings for long distance travel. I guess I will have to look up just what falls under Sport Plane regs. I know that someday I want to get a heli sign off. Two of my friends are working on their heli tickets so when they are done I should be able to get some cheap time in. I would say the goal I have thought about the most would be Sport Pilot CFI Gyroplane. I don't want to be a full time gyro instructor (Mostly because I don't think I could make a living at it). But maybe I could do part-time instruction to get people started safely then they can get the rest of their training by traveling to the other trainers. I would have to get another 2-place though. I have seen the training machines take some abuse and I don't want that happening to my SxS!!

[Harry_S.]

Tim:

Good on you!! Fly safe and fly relaxed. Blue skies and kind winds, always.


Cheers :)

[GyroRon]

Tim I bet it would rather easy to get a Fixed wing Add on to your Certificate. What kind of Fixed wing were you thinking of?

[GyroRon]

and you CAN still fly any experimental with any rating. Just can't take a passenger with you without a proper category rating. A Vans RV-3 is single place, 200 mph cruise and you can find good used ones for under 20 grand! They can land in strips your gyro couldn't fly out of and they are also aerobatic stressed. Very easy to fly as well.

[ToddP]

Great Job Tim. You've obviously put in a ton of work...and miles. Way to Go!

[CLS447]

Tim, I would be able to get my Sport pilot flight check with you then, COOL !

[barnstorm2]

Ron,

I would want something that could take 2 people to say FL or the Carolinas for vacations from Cincinnati. Cessna 150/152ish.

Chris,
I still have ALOT of flying to do before I start doing that but it would be great!


BAD NEWS.

Just after returning from my first flight as full PP as I taxied back to the hangar blue smoke started billowing out of my exhaust.

Inspection found ALL FOUR SPARKPLUGS FOULED WITH OIL.

I thought this was impossible for a boxer engine. I checked the manafold to carb line but it had no oil in it. The engine still starts fine and runs and idles but sends out a 100 foot long dense cloud of blue smoke.

I talked to an A&P friend of mine and he said I most likely lost an oil retaining ring on the piston and the crankcase pressure is pushing oil from the valve covers through the valves and into the cylinders.

Time for a new engine...sigh

Anyone have an EJ-22 for sale near Cincinnati???

[Parke Hoover]

Congrats on your PP, I know from the short time I met you at Mentone that you are very serious about your flying and your equipment. Sorry to hear about your motor, but the plus side is you have all winter to prep a new one.

Parke H

[GyroRon]

Tim, check the junkyards. when I blew the engine in my old two seater, I found several area junkyard with low miles engines - under 100K miles - for only 4-6 hundred bucks. I lucked out and found a small repair shop slash junkyard that had a nice Subaru car that was smacked real hard but was intact. The odometer showed only 60 some thousand miles and although the car looks like it had sat there all mangled up for maybe a year or more, Once we popped the hood and hooked up a Battery, the engine started up instantly. Got the engine pulled and in my truck within a hour - it was sit warm - and only cost me 400$. Got Maxie Wildes to help me swap out the two engines on the gyro and all was well.

This is the only advantage to these auto engines IMHO. Cheap parts and if all else goes bad just get another one.....

[GyroRon]

I have a friend here who has a nice Piper Colt converted to a Taildragger. It is the same color and basically the same exact plane as my Pacer. It has no back seat though, and a slightly smaller engine. It is in great shape, it is a good looking bird and all Ad's are up to date. Cruise at 115 -120 mph and takeoff and land on short strips. He only wants 12 grand OBO for it.

It has a full gyro panel - older instruments but they work - and older radios - but they work! - and lights etc... It could be used for flight training to get a fixed wing rating, just pay for the gas and your instructor.

If your interested let me know. A cessna 150-152 is a Turd. Too slow and won't carry much weight, especially the 150.

[barnstorm2]

Ron,

I am hunting junkyards via phone on breaks at work today. I hope I have as good a luck as you did!

I would LOVE that colt and that is the right price range but not the right time. I need to recharge savings and get a bike paid off first. The only way I could do the Colt now is if he wanted partial trade for my 447 single place.

[barnstorm2]

Thanks Parke and Todd!

Hey, in the Army Helicopter Corps the tradition is to buy your instructor a bottle of fine wiskey when(if) you pass the check ride and get your ticket.

This is tripled in my case as I had 3 instructors; Steve, Gary and Terry. I don't know if Steve drinks or not. Anyone know? Gary does not, even though he served in the Navy as a submariner and a pro racecar driver. Hell I would drink after just having me as a student. And I don't know squat about what Terry might like.

Any ideas?

[automan1223]

Please listen to reason.

Do NOT fly junk. Rebuild any engine you will be trusting your life with.

Or at least have it rebuilt by a machine shop.

2.2s are still cost effective alternatives to rebuild.

Jonathan

[barnstorm2]

I can't find a local soob mechanic to work on my engine much less rebuild it :(

[automan1223]

Tim,

That (crap) aint gonna fly with me.......

Seriously you expect me to believe that you could travel 12 thousand miles to get training and 1.8 years of time, but you are balking at doing an engine right ? all that training and you want to hang some junk on the frame and go fly ?

Send it to me I will put one together for you. Or bring me the whole machine. Plus I know what you did to burn up the first engine......



email me privately if you want

automan@pinelink.org
252-249-1223
Jonathan

[GyroRon]

Rebuilding it would be best no doubt. But if it is low miles, has good compression why bother? I could swear I have heard many gyro experts say to take them straight out of the junkyard and fly them. That in most cases, the rebuilder will make matters worse.... That no one will put the engine together better than Subaru did when they built it. I think Maxie Wildes told me flat out that in his opinion going the junkyard route was perfectly fine and safe.

[barnstorm2]

Ron,

That makes sense to me.

I don't know of any of the soob owners I have flown with that have rebuilt their engines.

However,

Jonathan,

I now have 2 spare engines. The one burning oil. I would like to know what you think went wrong with it ( I sent you an email). And one with only 3K miles but it had a prop strike and I found some damage to one of the lifers so I don't trust it.

The one have been running on now has been trouble since the get go.

I would be happy to send you both of these if you think you could make one good rebuilt engine out of them.

I don't think rebuilding is infallable. I have seen several NEW Hirth engines have serious problems. However, I would be a fool to pass up a chance to get a fresh rebuilt engine if the price were right.

I can't find it now but awhile ago you posted a tread on jetting and you said that you had burned up one of your own engines with improper jetting or EGT monitoring or something simular. I wonder if my engine problem would be related.

[Friendly]

Tim , what kind of lifter problems were you having, I have a 2.2 and I am intrerested in any problems anyone has had with them

[barnstorm2]

Mark,

I had a HLA collapse on me. Aparently it is somewhat common. It is widely considered a great engine though.

[automan1223]

How many engines have you taken apart with low mileage ?

How many engines have you seen the insides of with say 25-30k on the "clock"

If you ever have, and I am sure you dont, then we would not be having the above discussion.

No ron, subaru has A LOT of things I go and correct even from the factory. I do not think maxie would agree with you now, if he even said that in the past.

I am too tired to keep having to explain all of this to you guys. Like aussie paul says. " I type a lot and he dont get any of it" I am wasting my time here.

Tired of trying to make sense with you guys who just want to go and roll the dice.

Friends do not let friends FLY JUNK !!!

Good luck

Sincerely

Jonathan Weis
Only a master tech for 15 years.
Only turning a wrench since age 9.

sigh .........

[CLS447]

Jon, I agree with you 100% . I would definately dissasemble & freshen up a used motor.

New bearings,gaskets,hone or bore, new rings, valve job, timing belt,Hi performance cams. It just makes sense no matter what anyone tells me.

[scottessex]

My experiences with Japanese engine......Always replace with dealer OEM parts, otherwise you are wasting money.

[GyroRon]

Screw it and go for broke and just put a nice low time Lycoming O-320 on it. 150-160 hp and with this engine you are not rolling the dice as Jonathan says.

[barnstorm2]

Took the words right out of my mouth Ron.

Jonathan, Don't get fired up and take Ron and my posts personal. We don't question your ability.

Rebuilt engines can be safer and can often discover unknown problems. But I am not a mechanic that owns my own multi-bay autoshop.

It is about the mitigation of risk.

Without a certified engine I am not going to fly over anything I can't land on. This does not mean I think I can survive an engine out. For the price of the $5000-$5500 rebuild you suggest, plus engine, plus shipping I would start shopping for a new certified engine. Many people make the same argument against auto conversions in favor of certified engines and they are right too and you and I are still using auto-conversions.

For the $7000-$9000 grand you are talking about I can get a pile of near new EJ-22's and toss them in the bucket at the first sign of trouble. If I had burned out a $7K engine that had been rebuilt because of improper jetting as you did I would be crushed. I don't have the shop, tools and $ to take that in stride and be ready with a new engine in a few weeks.

I have to be very careful testing and flying used engines or any used equipment engines are not the only thing keeping gyros in the air. Eventually, I would like to be flying only certified engines. If there was no mitigation between $ and safety you would be rebuilding and flying aircraft engines not auto-conversions yourself I bet. No engine is foolproof.

Just because I don't take immeadate action on every piece of advice does not mean I don't understand it, agree with it or wont if I have the oppurtunity. I have already implemented your excellent advice given in the past with my ignition system and my redrive oil tubes.

I would love to takeoff tomorrow on a nation or world wide x-country trip sporting my new Rotax or Lycoming on the back of my gyro. But that is just not in the cards for me yet. For now it is careful flying over farmland and in the pattern with plenty of idle power landings for practice and close inspection pre and post flight of my low miles auto-converted engine.

It is about the mitigation of risk.