GyroBee rudder offset

[Alan Coats]

During a recent discussion on rudder effectivenesson the GyroBee, someone said they had theirs offset "about 10 degrees" to the left, wth the pedals neutral.

I am getting close to hooking up the rudder pedals on mine, which has a Watson tail, and would like to hear any advice on rudder offset and trim tabs for this machine.

Thanks in advance,
Alan

[Glenn D]

Alan,

I'm in the middle of building a starbee gyro kit predrilled, and have a question I need to ask another builder, How much pedal deflection from center do you have port and starboard without the tail group, just the control horn, I estimate that I have about 20 % at the most. Estimated travel of the control cable might be an inch from center.

Thanks,

Glenn

[Brian Jackson]

Alan,
I spoke on the phone with Dale Young a few days ago. He emailed several photos of his rudder offset, which I assume he wouldn't mind if I relayed them here. He's an extremely talented builder from all indications, and he told me that the offset made a big difference in the amount of left rudder needed in normal flight to counter propwash. I'm just relaying the info.

Thanks,
Brian Jackson

[Alan Coats]

Thanks, Brian.

That looks like the vertical fin is offset. Mine has already been built with the vertical straight. Now I will need to offset the rudder, and would like to get a good first guess at how much. Is that a T-tail? It would be nice to see the horizontal.

Glenn,

Mine moves one inch each side of neutral, measured at the cable attachment point at the bottom of the pedal. I've heard mention of confusion about how the pedal brackets should bolt onto the pedal mounting bar. You might check that out. Brian might have a rendering of the assembly that would make it clearer.

Alan

[Brian Jackson]

Thanks, Brian.

That looks like the vertical fin is offset. Mine has already been built with the vertical straight. Now I will need to offset the rudder, and would like to get a good first guess at how much. Is that a T-tail? It would be nice to see the horizontal...
Alan,
It's a near-T tail... call it a "+" tail since the HS is in the propwash. Very nice design, so I'd suggest getting in touch with him. He's quite a friendly and knowledgable guy.

Brian Jackson

[scottessex]

You can mount the fin and rudder 10 deg offset, or just the rudder at 10 deg. Either or is acceptable.
You can fine tune it with a trim tab bolted to the end of the rudder.
My Soma has the fin and rudder at 10 deg offset, just like the one in the picture. and I still need a small amount of left pedal. Just FYI.
It is annoying having to fly while pushing hard with one foot, so I would mount the fin and rudder with an offset.

[Dale Young]

Alan , Would it be alot of trouble for you to re-set your rudder with offset? As Scott said, It's nice to not have to add any correction. I only have to add a tad on take-off, and none during flight.

[Alan Coats]

Thanks Scott,

That's what I was asking - how much rudder offset I should start with. I have a Watson tail, and it would be difficult (maybe not impossible) to angle the vertical any.

Dale,

I am just now getting ready to hook up the rudder cables and want to put in some rudder offset. Just thought that if I had some idea how much offset was required I could cut the cable close to the correct length.

Anybody have any suggestions how large I should make the trim tab and about what angle it should be?

Thanks,
Alan

[GyroRon]

If your not moving the fixed part of the rudder with this offsetting, no matter how you rig your cables you will still need to hold pressure on the pedals. By offsetting the rudder itself your pedals may end up centered but you will still need to hold them there while flying to keep the gyro pointed straight.

unless you move the fixed portion you will need a Trim Tab, if you want to have a true feet off the pedals flying gyro.

[Alan Coats]

Thanks,Ron.

See the last line of my last post.

Alan

[GyroRon]

Alan, try a piece of aluminum about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide and bolt it to the middle of the trailing edge of the rudder. Leave 3 inches of it past the end of the rudder and use 1 inch for to put the bolts through. Use fairly thin sheet aluminum no more than 1/16th thick would be fine. I've made a few out of aluminum kick panels for doors. You could make yours bigger than 6 inches long if you want but 6 should do.

As for angle, just leave it flat for now. You will bend it the direction you need and amount you need during the test flight stage. There is no way of knowing just how much angle you will need till she is flown.