How to get the Gyro Out of the Garage?

[Rotor-Head]

My garage door is about 4 inches shorter than the top of my rotorhead, therefore making it a challenge to get my gyro out. I usually lean it on its side and roll it our on 1 main wheel and the front (or back) wheel.

I also thought of removing one of the bolts from the rotorhead (pictured) to clear my garage. I don't really like the idea of playinhg with these bolts a lot. Is it bad to be removing and inserting this bolt for every flight?

I suppose a foldable mast is best, but I don't want to add any more weight to my 447.

hmmm.

[KenSandyEggo]

McCulloch chain-saw.

[EI-GYRO]

a curved ramp down one side of your garage, apex at the door, might make it easier ?.

[Brian Jackson]

a curved ramp down one side of your garage, apex at the door, might make it easier ?.
You mean like sort-of a "camel hump" for one main wheel to aid in tilting the airframe to one side? If the apex was at the door opening wouldn't that interfere with the door when closing it? Oh, wait... if the camel hump ramp was light and moveable then it just slides back in the garage when the gyro's out. That's a cool idea.

[EI-GYRO]

yes, exactly, or hinge it at the apex, so it can fold across or back on itself, allowing
the door to close.
Should save on backache, if nothing else.

[barnstorm2]

I have/had the same problem. My solution is very expensive, a rented hangar. The 2 place can't even fit if I lean it.

[scottessex]

just cut out the top of the garage door opening, and install a "doggie door" for your mast to pass through. :)

[Udi]

If the garage is going to be a permanent home for your gyro you can replace the door with a taller door. But try to find a way to leave your gyro at the airfield. Some people will let you stick the gyro at the back of their hangars, or you may get permission to erect a small portable shed somewhere.

Udi

[Brian Jackson]

just cut out the top of the garage door opening, and install a "doggie door" for your mast to pass through. :)
That would work, but not if the main garage door was a roll-up type. For side-to-side swing-out doors that would be a great solution. I'm thinking about relpacing our roll-up door with those and using your cut-out suggestion.

[Rotor-Head]

Back to my BOLT question... is it bad wear and tear on the head bolt to remove and replace often???

[Brian Jackson]

I seem to recall that there is a life limit on NyLock nuts for around a dozen or so removals before the nut should be replaced. But since you're using a castle nut with a cotter pin, I don't know if that rule of thumb applies. I'm interested to hear other's thoughts on this as well.

[Udi]

I don't think there is any problem removing this bolt frequently, IF you are being very careful with the bushings and keep it clean. This bolt is holding the weight of the gyro in shear and the threads carry no load (finger tight). Keep in mind that this is one of the four bolts that hold the entire weight of the gyro with no redundancy, so treat it with utmost respect.

Just my opinion.

Udi

[Ron Marlett]

I am ultimatly going to have to resolve these same situations once I get started on my Gyrobee. The ramp idea sounds interesting but using one would raise the gyro overall height before it would lower it. For a gyro configuration with say a 6' gear width and a 7'4" overall height, you would have to tip the gyro using a ramp a bit past 45 degrees before a overall height less than 7' was achieved. The gyro overall height would grow to around 7' 10" along the way. If the vertical CG was over about 2' 6" above the ground when setting level, it would tip over. That also puts all the weight of the aircraft on the sidewall of the main wheel/tire.

Kind of Along this same line, I was thinking of perhaps using my engine hoist/crane(You can get them on sale for as low as $120) and a harness assembly connected to engine/airframe that would allow the gyro to hang sideways from a point above it's CG. Hook up, lift/tilt and bring the Gyrobee in and out of the garage hanging on its side using the rollers on the hoist to move the 250 pounds all under perfect control. This would of course drain any remaining fuel out of the carb floatbowls but would not cause any sideload wear on the mains from rolling the gyro tipped over at an angle.

Does your garage have room for a side door wide enough for your landing gear span? This is another option for me. You could add a 7' single or double conventional hinged door on the side of your garage that goes full height. That would probably be much cheaper than a new taller main door. You can still stack the normal garage junk in front of it when not needed:)

As for the bolt in the head, I guess It depends on the torque spec for the bolt/application. Each time you torque the bolt you are stretching it. In high torque applications like automotive head bolts, this puts a tremendous stress on the bolt(studs are better as it removes the twisting force:). Since you are bolting together an aluminum structure I wouldn't guess the torque to be too great but if you go that route, you might want to think about a replacement schedule for that bolt and insure that specific castle nut and retaining clip are preflight checklist items. I don't think I would want to be doing that all the time but that is just my personal preference.

Ron

[Rotor-Head]

yeah. My last thought is the bolt and since I keep my trailer in the garage as well, I would have no room for a hoist.

Sounds like I will keep leaning it on it's main and nose wheel until I can find a place to hangar it. I may just keep it on the tailer in the driveway if I know I will be flying it daily.

[KenSandyEggo]

A pain in the butt Shawn, but would letting the air out of the tires help you make it through the door? Seems less of a pain than unbolting IF it gives you the clearance. 4 inches is quite a bit to lower the gyro. Maybe smaller wheels and tires, or an offset axle, or both?

[Rotor-Head]

A pain in the butt Shawn, but would letting the air out of the tires help you make it through the door?
The tires don't give me enough to clear the top.

[RICK MARTIN]

I built mine in a standard size 2 car garage and it was a pain in the butt to get it in and out. I had to remove three of the four cheek plate head/mast bolts and loosen the fourth one, then tilt the whole head and the plates back (which of course also required taking off the control rods at the top). Even then, the bungees would have to be a little slack and I would have to stand on the keel at the mast to lower the machine just enough (and that was with 5" wheels). Now I have 6" wheels and would have to put the smaller ones back on to get it in the garage. The reason I don't loosen the tail boom and tilt it back it because I've run my cables through the tail boom. If I was building another garage that had to hold my bee I'd go at least 10 feet high on the door opening, understanding that the interior ceiling would probably be another 2 feet above that. Boy, am I glad I found a hangar.
__________________

[Doug Riley]

Do you 'Bee guys not use the (fairly) easily removable tail tube? You can buy a lot of clearance this way. The bolts involved are shear-loaded and do not need to be torqued.

Still, nothing beats having the machine at the airport, blades on and ready to rip.

[cgmg]

Shawn,

Early on after I soloed, I didn't have a hangar either, and had the same problem you do. What I did was leave the gyro on the trailer, with the blades in the box, and used a bunch of bungee cords to hold a good tarp over the gyro.

I could remove, or install, the tarp in about 5 minutes, and it worked pretty well. If a storm was coming, I would take the time to move the gyro in. Did that for a couple of months, and never got the gyro wet.

That was a lot easier than the garage routine 3-4 times a week.

[Rotor-Head]

Shawn,

Early on after I soloed, I didn't have a hangar either, and had the same problem you do. What I did was leave the gyro on the trailer, with the blades in the box, and used a bunch of bungee cords to hold a good tarp over the gyro.

I could remove, or install, the tarp in about 5 minutes, and it worked pretty well. If a storm was coming, I would take the time to move the gyro in. Did that for a couple of months, and never got the gyro wet.

That was a lot easier than the garage routine 3-4 times a week.
I think that that is my best and easiest bet. I will probably do that as long as I know I will be flying regularly...

[Brian Jackson]

Another thing I was considering in my case was jack-hammering out 2 strips in the conc. floor with shallow, U-shaped depressions centered under the door opening. Their depths would allow the wheels to track lower and the mast to clear by a few inches. A third groove in the middle, though less shallow, would allow the fairlead block to clear as well. An awning would be needed as well to keep rain from pooling in them. It's quick and dirty, but would help in my own circumstance since I don't wish to disconnect the tailboom just to pull the machine in and out. If it worked OK, we could always use nice pea-gravel to pretty the notches up a bit.

[Timchick]

If you've seen the rotors over russia video there's a shot of them pulling the gyro out of a barn and just above the doors is a small swinging door for the mast to slide through.

[robertstodaro]

Aircraft grade JAP nuts and Castle nuts and safe pins on the cheek plates and push rods is how I did it.

No wear and 10 min tops to convert.

Leaving it outside under a tarp invites moisture and corrosion.

If you can get it to the back yard an "A" frame shed is a good choice.

Joining a local EAA chapter will let you rub elbows with homebuilder with skills and hangars.

A hangar is good, Free hangar space is better.

[Jerseywing]

Just a quick note about Nylon insert nuts...
They have two torque specs for them, Running torque and final torque.
To properly fasten them you're supposed to check the torque required to turn the nut before seating, this is the running torque and there is a minimum new spec for this
You ADD this to the final torque required for final torque.
So if running torque is 10Ft lbs and final is 35 Ft lbs you should torque to 45 ft lbs
There are specs for what the minimum running torque is, when you go below that it's time to replace the nut. I don't remember if it is a % of initial running torque or a fixed number (been a while since I did the QA stuff) :confused:
There's also breakaway torque, which is what is required to get the nut moving in the first place, it is usually higher than running torque.
I better stop before my ears start smoking :o
Castellated nuts with safety pins are easier - no questions if they're gonna move
FWIW
Mike

[EI-GYRO]

If you can leave it covered on the trailer in your yard, that's the best.
So long as it stays dry, it can stay there all year.
Thats what I do, and I can be on the road in 10 minutes.
And my shed remains clear to work in.
The easier it is to set up, the more often you'll fly.