Not a mechanic

[sbrown]

I am new to gyros. My wife is concerned I will kill myself if I get too involved in this hobby, but I'm araid I'm addicted. I have researched options and concluded that the "Little Wing" tractor is the most stable, safest design. My problem is that I'm not a mechanic and concerned I will not be able to build it myself. What options do I have if I want to own one of these?

Steve

[Jerry Carter]

"Options" is the name of the game here. You can choose from machines ranging from a simple, open frame design with a two-stroke engine to an enclosed cabin with a fuel-injected automobile engine. I've found that you don't have to be a mechanic to start out, but you do have to train yourself in the necessary skills to keep your aircraft flying. You can't just take it in to your FBO and ask them to fix something. If you really doubt your mechanical skills, I would suggest finding a buddy who would want to be a partner and who is perhaps more mechanically inclined.

Your wife is only half right. You're more likely to kill yourself doing this if you get half-way involved. In other words, the key to safety is to be VERY involved. Learn all you can, and, above all else, get the proper training.

[chuter]

As far as the LittleWing is concerned; unfortunately, it is one of the most builder-intensive gyros. I believe you can buy a pre-welded fuselage, but I think there would still be other parts to weld. You'd have to check with Ron Herron. ;)

[landman]

If your wife really loves you she will agree and encourage you to follow this advice.

Get your private pilots license in a Cessna 150.

Take 40 hours instruction in a, like kind, two place tandem gyro.

Buy your kit with a new certified engine.

Get an A and P mechanic to help you put it together and do the regular maintainence.

Only fly out of regular airports with 3000+ paved runways, in no wind conditions, and be sure your radio, transponder and strobes are all in good working order.

Martin

[Brent_Brown]

OK this is why out there and not going to be a low end gyro but, my plans is to find a kit all ready out there that you can buy. That comes in sub kits. say like a kit fox.
make a conversion kit for it and sell only that part of it. You can get firewall forward kits from them too. sell the wings if you had to buy them. Ron did this with a PA 11 I think. I want it to be a side by side and flown from the center solo. No RAF handwheels to get it to fly solo. It would look like this, I think this is a piper colt.

[chuter]

I'm with you Brent; I've thought of converting something like a KitFox too. I haven't really looked into it that much, but there's got to be some possibilities there. :confused:

[Victor Duarte]

Brent i hink you will find all kind of welded fuselage, with the folding wings , like kitfox, avid, rans courrier (very interesting this one > tandem but rear pilot) , and i think you can by it ready for gyro.

personnally, i'm going for this

thanks

[scottessex]

Or you could just buy John Stevens Gyro, or buy a pre-built pre-flown ultra white dominator, get training and fly, fly, fly.
I don't believe that building an aircraft is a good way to "learn" mechanical skills.
You should make all your mistakes on ground based vehicles.
http://www.rotorflightdynamicsinc.com/ultrawhite.html

[Brian Jackson]

I am new to gyros. My wife is concerned I will kill myself if I get too involved in this hobby, but I'm araid I'm addicted. I have researched options and concluded that the "Little Wing" tractor is the most stable, safest design. My problem is that I'm not a mechanic and concerned I will not be able to build it myself. What options do I have if I want to own one of these?

Steve
Hi Steve, and welcome aboard!
I'm not a mechanic either, but I'm building a gyro, as are many, many others. There are several designs that do not require special machining skills or a plethora of tools. In fact I chose the GyroBee design because of this, and also because of its flawless safety record over the many years they've been flying. Eventually I'd like to build a 2-place gyro, but I'm starting with the basics and learning over time.

One of the benefits of a forum like this, Steve, is that us newbies are privy to the wealth of knowledge and experience of other builders whom frequent this site. Though my own gyro project requires little more than a hack saw, file and a drill press, there's a million little "tips-n-tricks" you'll pick up and put to use if you ask questions & pay attention.

You might consider joining a PRA chapter and attending some of the fly-ins. Talk with other builders and gradually you'll get a feel for the scope of different designs. Years ago I purchased a set of plans for the Barnett J4B with the intention of scratch-building... until I had a chance to review them and realized the nearly insurmountable labor and fabrication involved :eek: . Great ship, but I knew my limitations.

The existing PRA site www.pra.org (http://www.pra.org) has a nice page that lists many of the available gyro designs. The Dominator line is very popular, and as I understand it, doesn't require a truckload of tools to build. LittleWings are very sweet machines, and you certainly can't go wrong with one of them. But do consider that welding is a fine art and easy to screw up if you're not confident in your abilities and proficient in your skill level. But ya never know... you might be a master welder and not even know it yet! That's the beauty of building aircraft; you'll find talents you never knew you had :)

Hope to see you around the forum. And don't be shy about asking lots of questions. Chances are others will learn and benefit from the responses you'll receive.

Respectfully,
Brian Jackson

[Dean_Dolph]

Steve, have you ever flown in a gyro? If not that should be your first task.

It is not unusual to find newly constructed gyros with zero time for sale that I suspect were built before the owner ever left the ground in one. These are intriguing machines but not everyone enjoys flying in one. I don't recommend investing time and money until you find out if you enjoy the ride.

People follow different time lines when getting training but I also wouldn't start training until you have a machine close to flying.

[sbrown]

Thank you for all the good advice. This appears to be a very active forum. Several have recommended flight school--a good idea I think. Several have also recommended starting with a less complicated craft (push designs). Which raises another question for me. The reason I posted my thread here was because I have read that tractor designs are more stable and therfore, other variables being equal, are more safe. Is this true?

Steve :confused:

[Brian Jackson]

Steve,
Undoubtedly through perusing this forum you've read about "CLT" which stands for CenterLine Thrust. Tractor designs typically had this arrangement by default because, unlike pusher designs, there's not a tailboom tube in the way of the prop. Older pushers were "HTL" (High Thrust Line) for this reason, but that arrangement has fallen out of favor because of its inherent flaw which could, and did, lead to PPOs (Powered Push-Overs).

Also you will read & hear much discussion on the absolute necessity of a horizontal stabilizer.

Between these two widely-adopted safety designs, today's popular pusher designs enjoy the safety and stability once afforded only to tractors. Good engineering, better understanding of aerodynamics and improved technology, coupled with years of excellent research by the gyro community, have resulted in some engineering practices that, if adhered to by designers, produce incredibly stable machines, be they tractor or pusher configurations.

Hope this helps.

Respectfully,
Brian Jackson