Kenny J. Bites the Big One

[KenSandyEggo]

I hijacked a thread with this, so I copied it here to relate what happened and post some pics. This pretty much tells what happened. It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning and I went up to practice some engine outs:

Basically I was practicing engine-outs in the roto practice canyon and on my way down on the third one, some hikers were waving at me. I waved back for a few seconds and failed to notice I was slightly pulling back on the stick. When I went to power up and pull out of the descent, she just kept right on going and I did a perfect landing in some light scrub. I glanced at the airspeed indicator just before touchdown and it was reading around 30 m.p.h. I got too far behind the power curve. I walked this long road too see that it was O.K. and it looked fine for a take-off. What I didn't notice was that water laying in a low spot to the left of the road had seeped into the road making a soft-spot on the left side. On my take-off run, my left wheel hit the soft-spot and veered me sharply to the left, throwing me into a veritable swamp. She stopped on a dime, but the ground was so wet and soft, she just leaned to the left and went softly over. Here's a pic where you can see the wetness on the side of my "runway." In the photo, I was coming down toward the camera.

What's weird is that I had to leave her on her side overnight before I could get her out. When she was picked up the next day, someone had uprighted her by pulling on the blade that is bent. Both blades were straight when I left her except they looked a little like "Krinkle Fries." I can only guess that some off-roaders or hikers thought that someone may be under her and pulled her up to see. I have tons of pics to post. This one was taken from my "recovery vehicle." You can't see it in the photo, but where my gyro is sitting, the grass is about 5 inches tall and the water below it is about 4 inches deep. I was over my shoes in water when I got out. No damage to me except a very slight scrape on my left side of my noggin from the edge of the door-frame. You never saw anyone exit a gyro so fast. My whole left side was in a wet puddle and I thought it was fuel.

[KenSandyEggo]

Here's the driver of my recovery vehicle getting ready to go get my gyro. Second one is arriving at the scene. You can see my gyro above and a little right of his foot and my "runway." I was taking off right to left. Third one is him arriving at the scene. I think you can just see part of my gyro at the top of the photo. Next one is called "In the Mud." Self-explanatory. The prop really didn't hit anything solid, but the tips got frayed from spinning through the water and mud. I could have cut off an inch or 2 as you can do with the IVO, but I didn't want a shorter prop, so I popped for new blades.

You can see that the horizontal spar of the tail is slightly bent, so I ordered 2 new spars (vertical and horizontal) and the glass guys are goint to replace them and rebuild the tail.

[KenSandyEggo]

Here are some pics of the recovery. The heli lifted it out, but couldn't haul her all the way to the airport about 5 miles away, because he can't carry a sling-load over a populated area. I contracted with a flat-bed tow-truck to haul it the rest of the way to the hangar after the heli placed her on the truck.

The first one is the driver waiting for his load, which is coming shortly from the other side of that hill. In the 2nd one, you can see her coming over the horizon. In the 3rd, there she is. In the fourth, almost there. Last one is her being placed on the truck.

Every cloud has some sort of a silver lining, even here. I tried getting a towing company to come out to get her. Most knew the canyon, knew it was muddy and didn't have 4-wheel-drive trucks. I found the one in the photos, but he didn't have a way to lift the gyro onto the flat-bed. I have a neighbor that flies for the gas & electric company under contract and he has 2 Jet-Rangers. He hauls execs to LA and wherever, does line patrol and helps with the install of those wire balls. So I phoned Jim at Clark Helicopters and told him of my dillema. He said he could take one of the airport rats with him (the photographer) the next day and put her on a truck at the nearby water filtration plant. So that's what they did.

Jim's usual minimum fee for a sling-load is $1500 and the truck cost $175 total. I asked Jim how much, and guess what he said? "Nothing. I'm just helping out a hangar neighbor." I almost wet my pants. I figured at least $1,000. My wife felt sorry for me and paid for the truck. Is that a great neighbor (and wife) or what!!?? My supervisor at work told me that I had the best excuse she ever heard for being late..."I tipped my gyro over in Sycamore Canyon."

It's just about bedtime, so I'll post some hangar photos of the damage close-up tomorrow. Then I'll post some after photos. She's all put together except for the tail which I'm hounding the guys to finish along with the wheel pants, and waiting for my new rotor-head and blades.

[Ron Marlett]

Glad your OK! Laying on your side in a vehicle and feeling something wet is sure a motivator to get out:)

Ron

[GyroRon]

good gosh almighty! what a sight...... Glad you are ok Ken!

[Chopper Reid]

Sorry to hear you bit the dust and bent that beautiful gyro Ken.
You got to be blessed mate having hanger buddies and a wife like that !!!!

[StanFoster]

Ken: Glad to hear you are ok. I am sure you will have an even better machine when shes fixed up. Your stories are always so interesting, but this one I didnt care to hear about. I hate seeing anyone tear up something they love flying.

Looking forward to pictures of the new machine and your beautiful flying photos.

Stan

[david holmes]

Ken,
When did you and that Greek Goddess get married? I would have come to the wedding. I need an excuse to stay at the Del again.

[WindRyder06]

Ken,
Sorry to hear about this!! Best thing is you are OK!!

Chris

[ben]

ken sorry about your hawk, glad your ok

[barnstorm2]

Amazing pictures! Good to hear you are alright and the gyro is on the mend too.

[KenSandyEggo]

Thanks again for everyone's well-wishes. We got married last October. In fact, just to break the monotony of crash photos, here are some wedding pics. The 2 guys walking Demetra down are her sons. We made Stefanos our "best man." He stood up on a chair while everyone was eating, all on his own, and made a toast, wishing us the best and telling everyone how much he loved us. Just then some dust must have gotten into my eyes because they got kind of teary.

[rgraffeo]

Ken,
Sorry to hear of your bad luck.
I'm glad you weren't hurt, the gyro can be fixed.

[rehler]

Ken,

Congratulations on you wedding!

Viewing your wedding photos is much more enjoyable than those of your bent gyro. But using a helicopter to extract your gyro is really neat!!!

Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.

[chuter]

Ken,
Sorry to hear about and see your crash. Glad you weren't hurt. I bet your wallet pocket is getting pretty worn out. Really cool the guy hauled it out for free!

[Screw]

Screw-In

OMG....I'm so glad your alright, and the ship fixable. Keep us posted.

Screw-Out

[Jerseywing]

Glad you're OK, You'll be up soon.

Newsflash

Sources close to the investigation revealed today "The cause of the mishap was cigar ashes falling into a Swanson TV dinner which distracted the pilot"

Would you care to comment on these dramatic findings Mr. J??? :D

[Friendly]

Ken , when you pratice the engine outs, you are not suppose to practice the actual crash. What are you Cajun??? Glad you're ok. the rest is replaceable.

[Terry_Smith]

Ken,

First of all: Congratulations on getting married - I had no idea. The pictures you posted of the wedding look great. And secondly: DAMN! I can just imagine how you felt with your little mishap. I'm sorry it happened, but VERY glad you weren't hurt, except in the wallet. Dawn and I hope you have a speedy recovery and are back in the air soon. Take care.

Terry

[Heron]

Aren't you a handsome little devil as a groom?
:D
Heron wishing you the best of luck.

[scott heger]

Ken, very sorry to read about your mishap, but really glad to see your were not hurt!!!! Looks like you fell victim to the aviation three strike rule. Pilot error,pilot distraction, wrong place/terrain at the wrong time. Hope that the financial blow is not too hard. Looks like the Sport Rotors did pretty well, all considering; RAFS probably would have been in pieces. Call me when you get a chance. Hopefully you can come up to Corona, and lets get you some helio time until yours is fixed.

Scott Heger, Laguna Niguel, Ca N86SH N79LR

[KenSandyEggo]

Actually it was a chicken pot pie. I dumped it and the hot gravy ran down my leg right through the openings of my sandals. Not being a tourist, I wasn't wearing any black socks or other color with the sandals. I tried to hang my feet outside the door opening to cool them off, and by the time they cooled, I was on the ground. Now everyone knows the truth.

[scott heger]

Ken , sounds like you got that explanation from the same lawyers Robert Blake used. The bill for rebuilding my flooded gyro has cost over 8K so far, and I didn't even crash it, so sometimes stuff (or a word close to it) happens. \

Scott Heger, Laguna Niguel, Ca N86SH

[KenSandyEggo]

Let's see....complete rotor system is what.....7K? The guys are doing the glass repairs and paint for $1500 with me paying for the paint. My vertical card compass fell off into the water somewhere for about $175 for the non-TSOed one. I wrecked one nav light for about $100, a tail-light for about the same or a little less and 2 landing bulbs at $10 each. I spent about $100 or so for new rod-end bearings in the control system and I replaced the upper control rods that had just the slightest of bends and I had them anodized to match for about $75. I think that's about it. Someone else add it up. I can't look.

Oh heck. Everyone is thinking the worst, so let me post a photo of how she looks now, except I installed the strobe on the top of the cabin and those wires on the seat are tucked away. Oh yes, the small roof window cracked on the edge, and the glass guys are going to see if they can repair it and paint the border a hair wider to cover the blemish. If not, I found a place that will duplicate mine in a tint for $200. As you can see, she's just waiting for the tail and rotor system. Everything else is working. I have some vinyl pinstripe patterns coming, "experimental" and my N-numbers, but it'll just cost me lunch. Oops. I forgot about the 3 new prop blades for around $500.

[StanFoster]

Kenny: Its going to be a sweet machine.

Stan

[Screw]

Screw-In

Well, here's your chance to change "N" numbers Ken :D Just kidding. I'm sorry, that was bad.

Screw-Out

[ventana7]

Ken,

So sorry to hear about your accident.

I have not had much forum access lately so I did not see your post until today. I'm glad I got to see the rebuild pics at the same time as the accident pics-- it sort of minimizes the pain.

I look forward to flying with you when I get out your way later in the summer.

Rob

[Victor Duarte]

Ken,
sorry to hear about your incident, like everyone, i'm glad you are ok.
I must say i admire the flegmatic way you take your bad fortune, i feel you have a really strong mind.
cheers

[animal]

Oh heck. Everyone is thinking the worst, so let me post a photo of how she looks now,

it's yellow! very very yellow, but looks good, glad you are ok and did not get hurt.

[GyroRon]

Ken, I like the yellow look. Don't put too much stick on crap on it. Just something simple!!!

Sorry you rolled her over. It happens.....

[rehler]

YELLOW AND RED ... my eyes hurt!

You simply refuse to age gracefully.

Ken Too

[paulp]

Ken,

Very glad you didn't damage any human parts. Everything else can be replaced.

I also would like the name and phone # of the place that said that they could replace your canopy for $200.00. I need one. :)

Best Regards

[Friendly]

ken, I added it all up and you came out very well money wise. It is still much cheaper than a funeral. And the new paint scheme looks great!!

[KenSandyEggo]

"Don't put too much stick on crap on it. Just something simple!!!"

Ron, do you have a photo of yourself you can send me?..........bwaaaahaaaaahaaaa.
Devil made me do it.

[Al_Hammer]

you bad, Ken

[KenSandyEggo]

Too-shay, Al.

[Brian Jackson]

We like to pick on Ron. "Yellow" is certainly not an adjective I'd use to describe him :D But for the new rebuild, Ken, it's very sharp indeed! From the photo it's somewhere between Canary Yellow and Ultra-Yellow. My wife will attest I have a passion for yellow, but some shades of it turn me off. For example "Road Sign" and/or "Earth Mover" yellow are too orange and remind me of 12-hour cheddar cheese after a poker party. The new VW Beetle yellow is too pale and reminds me of Banana Taffee.

Your's is spot-on to my eye. I love the shade, look and feel of the whole refinish. Have you considered Royal Blue or Hunter Green as complimentary colors for the detailing? Red and Yellow always reminded me of French Fries and ketchup :D

Would love to see you fly it in person someday soon! BTW, are your head scrapes healing OK? We're all so fixated on you getting your machine going again I'd neglected to ask the most important question of all.

Be well,
Brian Jackson

[mceagle]

Sorry to hear about that Ken. Get repaired soon.

[Gyrobound]

Ken, glad to hear that you are ok. One thing that I noticed and maybe I missed something. How were you going to make that curve in the road/runway? Just wondering if you had speed to avoid it and be in the air by then which means you were going fairly fast just before the accident. Once again, glad you are all right and the ship is back on the mend.
Scott

[Doug Riley]

I did the same thing some years ago, except in deep, wet snow*. My rescue was a lot lower-tech, though. The apple farmer who owns the field dragged my gyro back behind his elderly Wagoneer.

Best wishes, Ken for a quick and affordable rebuild.

*For you Southern Californians, "snow" is that cold, crunchy stuff you buy on a paper cone at the burger stand, only around here it falls out of the sky for free and almost nobody bothers to eat it.

[Gyrobound]

Doug, that's because it falls in WHITE and they don't want you to eat the YELLOW.
Scott

[KenSandyEggo]

I figured I'd be off before the curve, so I was tooling along fairly well and was anticipating lifting off any second, but when she spun into the bog, she stopped on a dime and just leaned over. You can see in the pics that I didn't travel very far after getting thrown off the road. The scrape was nothing more than a dime-sized red area that didn't even bleed. I pretty much have to stick to red and black to match the interior. If I added green, it would look like Santa updated his means of transportation. Thanks again everyone for the well wishes. Isn't someone going to burn me a new one for being so careless?

[Cobra Doc]

Isn't someone going to burn me a new one for being so careless?
Ken; If I remember correctly, that happens next month! ;)

[Gary_in_Orygun]

Wow Ken, I finally got on the forum today and my heart sank when I read your news. I hate to see other's join the tip-over fraternity, especially my mentor. When you talked about getting out of the machine in a hurry, I remember how fast I got out of mine (once I regained consciousness). All those stories about RAF's bursting into flames were going through my head.

I have to admit that I'm impressed by your choice of colors. There is nothing like yellow to help in the see-and-be-seen aerial game. My choice of yellow was influenced by the Piper Cub, a low-and-slow aircraft that always impressed me.

AND...way to go on getting married!

[KenSandyEggo]

Here are 2 before and after pics. After I hosed her off at the wash rack, I didn't feel as bad. The door frame above the pilot's door cracked through and there were some penetrating cracks in front of the door opening between the door and landing light. As you can see, after repair, one can't even tell there was any damage. The guys did a most excellent job. That was the only damage on the cabin. The left wheel-pant cracked some and of course the tail got a little bent when it hit the ground with a few cracks in the glass. I'm hoping my guys get the tail back to me soon. I think I can hammer out the crinkles in the blades and at least do some runway hops until my new ones come. Just joking. Don't anyone have a heart attack. See, I wasn't kidding about the mud. You can see where it squeezed under the small window and buckled it a little. It may be fixable, but if not, there goes another $200.

[GyroRon]

Gosh, it is too bad you can't just buy a sparrowhawk cabin and adapt it to your machine.... then you would have the worlds most expensive Sparrowhawk! :)

[KenSandyEggo]

I could and asked about it, but it would take an extension to the keel. Jim Mayfield had his done when he was still with Groen. Too much trouble. Plus there's no room for all my "steam" gauges. You know me and gauges. I like looky-loos to be baffled and amazed when they look in and see all those gauges. Makes me seem like I'm smart or something when they go "Wow."

[scottessex]

Jeeze man! I am glad you are OK! I just came across the thread.
I feel for you Ken, Rollovers are no fun! Hope you are up and flying soon.

[scott heger]

Isn't * yellow* the color in a helmet that a student pilot wears to warn all the other pilots?.... I could not help myself, I really think the new paint color looks much better. I agree you will be much easier to spot in the traffic pattern. Hope you get it finished, and are up and flying soon. When are you looking to get it completed?


Scott Heger, Laguna Niguel, Ca N86SH

[KenSandyEggo]

If my tail parts were done and others delivered, I'd be done in short order. It all depends on my glass/paint guys and Jim Vanek.

[Jason@Falcon]

Ken!

Glad to hear that you are ok. Looks like you are well on your way to flying again. Take care of yourself and be careful!

I think you've scared Cody... ;)

[mcbirdman]

Wow Ken, Glad to hear you are ok. Looks like you are well onto your way to air time again. You asked :" Isn't someone going to burn me a new one for being so careless?

Well Ken, you did care - so I don't think anyone can fault you for that and you owned up directly to it. What more can be said except to wish you well? I like yellow alot too. It is a strong color for contrast out there flying. Still trying to figure out why it only requires an undercoat of white to be bright on the things you are trying to paint. If you get it on anything else it comes through even brighter - like it or not !

[KenSandyEggo]

http://toddscanopies.com/

I'm pretty sure that this is the guy that said he could make a top canopy for the RAF/Sparrowhawk conversion for $200, but check first. I lost the e-mail. You have to send the old canopy in if possible, or give him drawings and dimensions. He seems to be pretty talented with working off different stuff. If anyone is thinking of ordering, hold off a day. I'll call my glass guys tomorrow a.m. and see if my window can be made to look presentable. If not, I'll order also, everyone won't have to send in a sample and maybe we'll get a better price.

[Doug Riley]

Looky-loo. That's a new one on me... maybe a West Coast thing.

Related to "wuffo," I suppose?

[KenSandyEggo]

Wuffo??? Never heard that one. Lookie-Loos are otherwise known as tire-kickers in the auto sales industry and sometimes mooches, as when you have an aircraft for sale and they show up as a potential buyer, when in actuality all they're there for is to mooch a ride with no intent or means of buying. I learned my lesson. When I had one of those, I would ask for a deposit on my plane, then we'd go for a ride and if they didn't like it, I'd give them their deposit back. None of them ever came up with one. But, when a potential buyer comes from 3 states over, you can be pretty sure he's serious. The local guys are usually full of it, especially if they don't currently own an aircraft. That's my 3 cents take on it anyway.

[Doug Riley]

Ah, not the same subspecies after all. A wuffo comes up to you at a flyin and peppers you with one question after another, each of which starts with "Wuz this fo?"

[Hognose]

I was wonderin', "Wuffo Ken be paintin' his machine yaller?" I guess now I know. I'm with Ken Rehler and many others on this: it was much better looking at your wedding pictures!

Maybe we can start a thread, "101 uses for a Crinkle-Cut rotor blade." ?

cheers

-=K=-

[asmuzsr]

Just looked at the accident thread, I don't usually. Glad your ok, just next time practice closer to the runway.

[KenSandyEggo]

......or a dry road.

[asmuzsr]

Or asphalt or concerte, or something.

[Doug Riley]

Hognose, there was an accident basically identical to Ken's reported in the early 70's in the PRA mag. Muddy field, caught a wheel, etc. The pilot in that case made lamps out of his trashed blades.

Of course, it WAS the 70's, i.e. pre-Martha Stewart. Our taste in lamps may have improved since then.

[Gary_in_Orygun]

I pulled the fiberglass off my crinkled RAF aluminum blade spars, pulled out the steel bars (tip weights), and sold the spars for scrape. I can't remember what I got for them now...maybe <$40. bummer... but for a while I kept the blades around to remind me not to do that again.

[KenSandyEggo]

There's an aluminum recycling joint a couple miles from the airport. Guess I should be happy to get lunch money for them. What about the rotorhead and hub-bar? That should be worth a dinner.

[Mike Hook]

Ken cut the rotor head and hub bar up if you scrap them or they will end up on e-bay.

Mike

[quadrirotor]

Do you think this is a scrap yard?

[KenSandyEggo]

That's Ron's back-yard, isn't it?

[Harry_S.]

You bad Ken. You beat me to it. :D


.

[david holmes]

That's Ron's back-yard, isn't it?

aka Lamont

[GyroRon]

I will pay double the scrap yard price for the rotorhead. Please don't junk it!!!

[KenSandyEggo]

Here are some more photos of her coming together and a little trim-work. Got the rudder pedal plate back in today. Package from AAI with my part for the tail got sent back by the P.O. I should have given them my home address. There's no forwarding from my old store anymore. I get stuff UPS there O.K., but forgot about the forwarding for only a year at the P.O. Once that's in, the guy said he's ready to reassemble the tail and shoot the paint on it and the wheel-pants. Rotor-head and blades are just about ready, so it won't be long. The odd photo is a Gulfstream that came in for fuel and was taxiing by.

[animal]

Here are some more photos of her coming together and a little trim-work.

Looks Good Ken.

[asmuzsr]

I like those colors Ken. Really stands out.

[lanichol]

Here are some more photos of her coming together and a little trim-work.

Ken,

Any modifications to the pre-rotator? Curious since you had everything apart.

Larry

[KenSandyEggo]

My hydraulic activating system is still intact. I do have a different slave with a longer throw in the hangar, but haven't gotten it installed yet. I get a new upper-prerotator with the Sportcopter head, so I'll wait until that's up and running and then I'll see how everything works and maybe play with the new one.

[lanichol]

Ken,

Any progress on your ship?

[KenSandyEggo]

Yes, Larry. I have everything done that I can do up to now. I'm waiting for a replacement nav-light from Spruce and a vertical card compass when it comes in. They're on back-order. I took the new replacement spar support for the tail to my glass/paint guy yesterday, and he said he should have the tail painted and back in my hangar in 2 days. There were 2 witnesses, so I'm holding him to it. My blades are done and the head is being final-finished at Sportcopter. They suggested I send in my final payment, so that should mean they're about ready to ship. My glass guy also said that he could repair the small crack in the edge of my sky-light window, but I haven't seen it yet. I may have to order a slightly longer prerotator inner-cable from Dick, as the S-C setup may require it. I'll wait until I have the head so I can measure precisely if mine is slightly too short. I understand the outer-cable inserts a little differently at the head. So, we're getting close. The biggest delay has been the glass/paint crew. I need to have everything else pretty much done in order to mount the new cheek-plates, blades and head.

[lanichol]

Thanks.

Keep us informed and include lots of pictures.

I have noticed that when you land somewhere besides at an airport it seems to cost you money. <grin> Probably should check your fuel tank for foreign material...it might get in the fuel pump.

[lanichol]

Basically I was practicing engine-outs in the roto practice canyon and on my way down on the third one, some hikers were waving at me. I waved back for a few seconds and failed to notice I was slightly pulling back on the stick.

Geology is all about analogies, so I tend to extrapolate.

I had the pleasure a few years ago to take a 7 day trip down the Grand Canyon with 30 other geologist. Great trip! Great guides..boat always under control except for one incident. We took a side trip/hike to some geologic wonder. We came back to the raft and as we were kicking off a boat load of cute gals in the buff pulled up. Nobody was watching the water ahead and we nearly collided with a huge bolder in the river. That got me thinking of another pilot.

Ken, what were the hikers wearing? :eek:

[KenSandyEggo]

What hikers? Oh....that's right....hikers. Yep, that was it. It was the fault of the hikers.

Paint-guy said he left my tail and small window in the hangar on Saturday. Manana finally came. (How do you put that little squiggle over the first "n?") I'll take a look-see Tuesday morning.

[Gary_in_Orygun]

Ken, did the control stick whap you in the thigh when your machine went over and the rotors hit the ground? I still remember the bruises I got when that happened to me. (My stick has a hand-rest on it that really dug in to my leg.)

[KenSandyEggo]

No, Gary. I got a slight tap to my left forehead from the top of the door frame. Didn't even draw blood, just a little red spot. I didn't get much thrashing about because I was in a virtual swamp and the blades hit water and mud mostly.

[Gary_in_Orygun]

Ken,

I'll have to remember that tipping over in soft mud is preferable to hard dirt. No wait, I think I'll just forget the whole thing. Actually, I took some pictures of my bruises and scrapes so I remember never to do that again.

I too got a bump on the left side of my head when it hit the upper door latch. My lights went out for enough seconds that when I woke up the dust had settled. Some kids watching me go over said all they could see was dust as the blades scraped the dry mud on the side of the runway.

Good luck on your sale and new purchase.

[KenSandyEggo]

Thanks, Gary. Here are some pics of the finished tail and my repaired window. It had a crack at the left edge. He repaired it well, just had to widen the stripe to cover where it got dinged. The tail looks great....most do. ;)

[KenSandyEggo]

P.S. I don't know why, but when I post photos, you can enlarge them twice. Click on the photo to enlarge it, and then move the cursor back on the enlarged photo and an icon appears in the lower, right corner that lets you increase the size again. This feature is not present on some of the other photos I see posted. The ones above go full page with the second click.

[KenSandyEggo]

Here are some pics with the tail back on and a doo-dad on the end and my N-number installed. Just need the cheek-plates, rotor-head and blades. C'moooooon, Jim!

[asmuzsr]

Ken From the looks of the hangar it's time to call the dump truck again!
Like that color though, needs a little Stearman red to set it off.

[KenSandyEggo]

If you look closely, Tony, you'll see that the N-number is outlined in red.

I know. Keeping a neat hangar is not one of my strong points. :o

Oh, yes. I also started riveting the small window on, but only had about 4 rivets of the right length.

[asmuzsr]

Oh that's not enough. Change the black to red, lets make it GLOWWWWWWWWWWW. LOL

[gyromike]

P.S. I don't know why, but when I post photos, you can enlarge them twice. Click on the photo to enlarge it, and then move the cursor back on the enlarged photo and an icon appears in the lower, right corner that lets you increase the size again. This feature is not present on some of the other photos I see posted. The ones above go full page with the second click.

Ken,

That's the automatic resizing function in your internet browser causing you to have to click twice to view the full size picture.
If a picture is larger than the screen it displays it small enough to fit in the screen unless you click the icon again.

You can enable, or disable, this feature by clicking 'Tools', then 'Options', the click the 'Advanced' tab.
Scroll down and you'll see the box like the picture below.

[KenSandyEggo]

I like it, Mike. You can really get a close-up look if you want. If you unclick it, do the pics automatically appear full-screen on the first click?

[Red Sky]

Ken,

I, too, like the larger images. If you uncheck the auto resizing, the pics will appear in their native file size. If that is larger than your browser will accomdate, you'll have to scroll up, down and left or right as necessary to see the whole image. That probably won't happen, the forum restricts the file size that can be uploaded.

[KenSandyEggo]

I'll leave it the way it is. I'd probably screw something else up.

[KenSandyEggo]

Here are some pics from today. I got the rudder pedals hooked up and took her for a spin around the tarmac. She started right up. Everything worked well. I then added some horizontal pinstriping to the tail to get away from the "tall" look. Seems to help some. The photos don't work well on the striping. The 2 stripes closest to the horizontal stab are actually a combo of 4 stripes...1 thick, 2 thinner and 1 thinnest. The stripe at the top and bottom is a single, solid stripe. Don't know why the camera fudged up the stripes. Blades and rotor-head are on their way. My glass/paint guy can be paid after he delivers the 2 wheel-pants. I thought he'd be rushing them over so he can get his money.

[animal]

Man that looks good, I like the colors.

[KenSandyEggo]

It can be yours for a mere pittance.

[StanFoster]

Ken: Thats going to be one nice gyro.......

[Timchick]

Ken,
Did you paint it yellow so it would be easier to spot on the ground from the air?

[rehler]

Ken, how do you keep your hangar space so clean and tidy?

[birdy]

Just outa interest Ken, wot dose that tail setup weigh, including the two 'keels'.

[rehler]

Birdy,

Sorry, I don't remember the weight and I can't find the spreadsheet I used to determine the balance back in 1999, which had the weight on it. It's probably not as heavy as it may look. The two boom tubes are 1.75" daimeter x .065" wall and have a 1" x 1" x .125" angle support under each. The skins on the rudders and the HS area .020" aluminum, as I recall, rudders each 22" x 26" and HS 22" x 51.5". The internal large diameter spar tubes are 2.5" diameter x .035" wall. The skid tubes are .625" diameter x .065 wall.

The first two photos are of the original tail construction. The last two are the revised tail (same feathers but new boom near the landing gear.

http://www.rvk-architects.com/ken/gyro/images/tail%20frame%20rear.jpg

http://www.rvk-architects.com/ken/gyro/images/tail%20frame%20side.jpg

http://www.rvk-architects.com/ken/gyro/images/912gyrorear.jpg

http://www.rvk-architects.com/ken/gyro/images/912gyroside2.jpg

[birdy]

Sorry Ken, I ment the other Ken.[I'v already spied your machine through this computer thingy, thanx.]

[KenSandyEggo]

Other Ken, I work real hard at keeping a sterile workplace. It makes finding everything easier and when I drop my sandwich, I don't have to worry about germs getting on it and can just pick it up and resume eating. I'm about due for another visit by Jose and his dump-truck.

Birdy, I have no idea, but I'd guess about 20-25 pounds. Maybe Mr. Eiland could answer better.

Very funny, Tim.

My rotors and head are being packed to be shipped. Jim sent me proof, showing his new shipping and receiving clerk Wanda Felswhip getting ready to put my stuff in the crate.

[GraemeMonro]

Now that brings tears to my eyes.

[animal]

You Guys truly worrie me with some of these pics. lmao

[KenSandyEggo]

She'd make a great right-door gunner/grenade-lobber if I ever sign up again for duty in Karjakistan. I bet she could lob a grenade at those nasty rebels (or government forces. Depends on who I sign up with next time) a mile and a half away.

[KenSandyEggo]

AHA!! I finally found something to use around my doors after driving myself nuts trying to glue rubber molding on...both when I built it and now. I swear, it was the most distasteful job for me. I pulled off the molding from Aircraft Spruce that I tried to glue on with Gorilla Glue. That crap foamed up and leaked out from under the rubber, and if it gets on your paint, it's touch-up time.

Made a visit to the local aircraft supply store (Pep Boys) and found some side molding for cars and trucks. It's black rubber and it's flat. I give up on trying to get something around the sill. I cleaned up the surface around the door, and just butted the molding against the edge of the door opening as I went around. It has severe self-stick tape on it and it really holds. Took me about 5 minutes to install on the first door and it looks better than it ever did before. Here are some pics of the door and one of these wild floor mats I found.

[Brian Jackson]

Ken,
That is totally sweet. About the moulding, when you say it's "flat", are you describing sort of a "half-round" cross section, with the adhesive on the flat?

Beautiful job on the paint by the way. Haven't checked this thread in a while but I'm glad I did.

Cheers,
Brian Jackson

[KenSandyEggo]

Yes, Brian. It's a half-round piece of rubber with the tape on the flat section. Most of them had a piece of metalic-looking plastic and couldn't be curved, but the plain one can.

[KenSandyEggo]

Just happened to stop at the airport today and I get a call on my cell-phone from Sportcopter that the truck-driver was there and was looking for me. So much for the trucking company letting me know ahead of time when the delivery was coming. I found the driver 2 aisles over and he drove to my hangar and we unloaded. Here are some pics of the head and new cheek-plates.

[Timchick]

We're anxiously awaiting some photos of your completed gyro. And also some flying pictures.

[KenSandyEggo]

Me also!!!

[Harry_S.]

Me too!!! ;)


.

[KenSandyEggo]

Attached the new cheek-plates and rotor-head today. Here are a few pics along with one of my wheel-pants that mysteriously (finally) appeared in my hangar. Spent over $30 on new bolts and nuts for the cheek-plates to rotor-head and to attach the cheek-plates to the mast. :eek: This puppy is starting to look awesome!

[Harry_S.]

Ken...where's the cheek plate stiffeners? :(

You're not leaving them out...are you?? :eek:


.

[KenSandyEggo]

Why not, Harry? They just add unneeded weight, don't they? Seer-E-Us-Lee, I am going to put a 2" by 4" aluminum tube from top to bottom again between the cheek-plates. This worked much better in keeping the twisting of the cheek-plates from the prerotator down to practically nothing. All the kit ones cracked a long time ago anyway.

[KenSandyEggo]

Here's another update w/4 pics. Got the stiffening tube painted and installed between the cheek-plates and attached the cooling system expansion reservoir. Put the inner cable into the outer cable of the prerotator system and attached both ends. I spun the clutch plate by hand and all seems to be working well. I took the old rrpm sensor off my old head and attached it adjacent to the ring. Had to chenge the angle on the bracket a hair is all and it matched right up with the ring-gear.

What I didn't know is that I can adjust the amount of "mesh" between the Bendix and ring-gear. You can remove lash as the gears wear down the road. The plates that hold the Bendix assembly can be slid back and forth and thus bring the teeth closer or further apart as needed.

The Sportcopter rotor-brake system is cool. I'm going to discard my old brake-lever and install the one from Jim. I spent about 45 minutes figuring how I'll do it and came up with a nice spot near where the old handle is.

[StanFoster]

Ken: I know your gyro is a AAI modified RAF. I am wondering if the SparrowHawk mast can be easily removed for getting it under an 8 foot door. The SparrowHawk is over 9.5 feet tall and thats a lot of tipping to get it to clear an 8 foot door.

I know it can be removed...but is it a major deal?

Stan

[lanichol]

Ken: You are installing a Sportcopter head and using the RAF belt drive system to power the cable.

Do they use the same size/type drive cable and is there a difference in the gear ratio?

How about the difference in travel between the RAF & Sportcopter to kick in the bendix?

I assume you are still targeting 200+ RPM on spinup.

Pictures would be great when you get the lower end connected. I am still green on the prerotator setup.

Thanks

Larry

[scottessex]

Geeze Man! hire somebody to clean that hangar! :)

Then post some nice new clean gyro pics! :D


Lookin' good.

[rehler]

Ken, just to give you something to worry about:

It looks like the Sport Copter head has the pushrod ends at the top 90 degrees to most all other gyro rotor heads. I believe they can do this because they use a special rod end connection system that allows the rod ends to turn on the push rod axis. You may want to check to see if you need these special thing-a-ma-jigs. Otherwise the rod ends may bend at the threads at full left or right stick (and break) due to binding.

After reading their web site I found: "What SPORT COPTER conceived to deal with this classic rotary-wing nemesis may well be its finest achievement to date: The Roto-Control. The Roto-Control somewhat resembles a human shoulder because that is basically how it acts. Comprised of a finely-machined, bearing-mounted aluminum cylinder specially built to accept a standard aircraft rod-end fitting at either end, the Roto-Control enables those two rod-ends to act like a pair of real shoulders, with more than enough range of motion to accommodate any control/response ratio a designer might wish to select."

The Roto-Control bearings at each end of the push rod is the "special thing-a-ma-jigs" I refered to above.

[KenSandyEggo]

Scott, I already did. Guess it's time to call him back.

Ken R.,.....wha choo mean, Willis? I don't know what you're talking about. That top bar that that the rod ends of the upper tubes connect to is an RAF bar. Mine got a little bent, but a friend had a spare one. Jim Vanek told me that I would have to use it to attach to his torque tube. The rod ends slip between the "tines" with a tube-reducer that keeps them centered between the tines. Plenty of wiggle-room. Am I on the same track as you? I'll have the control rods all hooked up tomorrow (Thursday) and I'll post a few pics. They attach the same as on the RAF and Sparrowhawk.

Larry, I am using the same prerotator system that I had. The cable works the same and fits at both ends. I haven't spun it up yet, but when I hand spin the clutch-disk, the Bendix engages, same as before. Everything is pretty much the same.

Stan, I don't think so. That's a lot of weight to pull one of the bolts and tip it back. Maybe with 2 careful people doing it. I don't know how well it would tip back with the blades on.

[KenSandyEggo]

Hooked up the control-rods today and did a hang-test with my Harbor Freight hoist. Had a little less than 1/4 tank, which should be pretty close to 5 gallons. With my butt in it I was 5.5 degrees nose down. I had to lean my cheek-plates backwards some to get 19 degrees back tilt, but then the hang-test was right on. In the original, most upright position, I wasn't getting enough back tilt of the rotor-head, just a little over 10 degrees and the stick didn't come very far back. It now comes back to just about where it was before the changes.

I spoke to Jim Vanek, and he said I could leave the cheek-plates where I wanted and he could cut me another set of cheek-plates and add some back angle at the top of the cheek-plates with the rotor-head, but as long as I have the option of 4 different positions and this one seems to work out, I'll leave it for now and see how she feels during my first test-flight. All the numbers as far as rotor-head tilt-angle and hang-test go, are right on.

Took her outside to try the prerotator and take a few pics. The prerotator engages and spins the head, so that looks O.K. I'm hoping to get the blades assembled and mounted tomorrow and give them a spin-up. Wheel-pants are done, but I'm still waiting for a nav-light that's being drop-shipped from Whelen directly, through Spruce.

P.S. I didn't turn her into a tail-dragger. The nose-wheel ran up onto the tow-bar when I was running her up and stayed there while I took the pics.

[Timchick]

Looking good!

[KenSandyEggo]

Wow! I spun up with the prerotator to over 300 rrpm today. Tomorrow I'll do it with the blades attached. :p I shot a pic of the tach getting up there, but when I zoomed in, I looked through the view-finder instead of the window and there's another glitch with some cameras. If you're too close, the pic is of the bottom of whatever you're shooting. There's a pic of the hub-bar, with one blade attached and then both. I have to torque them down to the proper "poundage" and then I'll get them on tomorrow.

The fuzzy picture is for Al, who wondered how my upper rods connected.

Got held up a little attaching my prerotator tach-sender to the wiring. It was short already, and when I was crimping one of the wires, I didn't watch carefully where it was in the crimper and I cut it in half and it pulled out most of the wires. I had to grind away the little stub in the sender that the wires come out of and I finally had a little stub showing. Learning my lesson, I went to Home Depot and bought a soldering-gun (another) and managed to solder the wires to the stub and the tach now works. I lent my brand new one out months ago and never got it back. I finally saw it in a guy's hangar, and the bastard had it so long that he swore it was his!

[StanFoster]

Kenny: Looking good. Cant wait to see some aerial pictures.

Stan

[Harry_S.]

Ken; Any reason for the bolt heads to be on the bottom of the rotor attach plates?

.

[rehler]

Harry, the bolt heads are supposed to be on the bottom of Sport Rotors, McCutchen Rotors, and others. It is for safety to keep the castle nuts and cotter pins from ripping someone's fingers when they reach up to stop the blade from spinning.

[KenSandyEggo]

Oh. I ain't reachin' fer nuthin' anyway.

[KenSandyEggo]

Got the blades on today, but not without a little setback. I put them together yesterday and my step-son met me at the airport today to help me install them. I hoisted the assembly toward the roof with my trusty Harbor Freight hoist and then positioned the gyro underneath. It was close, because my gyro is now a little taller with the conversion. Step-son says:
"Raise it up another hair." So I pull the chain another couple inches until it stops.

We then get the hub-bar centered between the towers and I start pulling the other chain to lower the hub-bar. I was using 2 tie-down straps with ratchets hooked to the hoist-hook. I'm pulling and pulling and finally realize that nothing is coming down. The hook assembly on the hoist got jammed into the housing and IT WAS STUCK GOOD! It also had a strap from one of the tie-downs jammed in there. We pulled and pried and finally took a torch to the webbing to burn it out, but it was still stuck. I'm looking at $4,500 stuck up on the ceiling hanging by a chain, a cheap hoist and some straps. :eek:

We finally figured to carefully use the ratchets on the straps and lower it that way. It was slow, but it worked. Whew. And I'm going to clean the hangar as soon as I'm done with my gyro. I promise.....sort of. :o

The install took so long that I didn't get the rotor-brake hooked up. I didn't want to spin up the blades without the brake, because the wind was up a little today and I didn't feel like waiting an hour for the blades to slow down.

[Harry_S.]

Ken R., That makes sense, especially for those short gyro's with no rotor brake.

Thanks, Ken.

[lanichol]

Wow! I spun up with the prerotator to over 300 rrpm today. Tomorrow I'll do it with the blades attached.

Ken,

You could have had so much fun... if you would have waited to post the prerotator dash picture after the blades were installed!

Larry

[KenSandyEggo]

Here's one for ya, suckers. I spun her up with the blades on today. I'd say the Sportcopter head is pretty efficient. I didn't change anything on the prerotator system since I had the old head on. I didn't bleed the hydraulic actuator or adjust the clutch-plates or nuttin'. This baby hums. I'm turning 2400 on the tach. The torque was really heavy. It took some muscle power to hold the stick to the left. It wanted to lean right as the rrpm increased. Once I put that new slave cylinder on, bleed the actuator system and adjust the clutch-plates, I bet I get a lot more rrpm. I would have taken her for a flight, but the main runway is closed for repaving and we're blocked on my side of the field from taxiing to the left runway. Supposed to reopen on Thursday. I want to fly her to Ramona on Saturday for the annual Ramona Air-Fair, but I don't want that to be my first flight. More photos later tonight.

[KenSandyEggo]

Here are some more pics I took today of her with the blades on, the wheel-pants waiting for the glue holding the wires off the tires to dry, and the Sportcopter rotor-brake (I may flip it to the other side of the trim-box for more room on the pilot's side).

On my spin-ups today, the rotor-head was motionless and there was no stick-shake or wobble. I doubt if we'll want to get much over 200 rrpms on a regular basis. Getting near my 239 rrpm, there is a lot of torque and it felt like the wheels were starting to get light and wanting to skid around. Maybe it was just my imagination. The stick was also hard to hold level as I mentioned earlier.

I used my old cable-sheath for my prerotator-brake hook-up. The one supplied from S-C was too short. I went to a local motorcycle supply shop and just got a longer cable and Nico-pressed the small wire-pulley onto the new, longer cable after I cut it loose from the short cable. I also had to cut about 1/3 of the brake-handle assembly off. It was too long to fit anywhere. I could have used the shorter cables by bringing them through a shoulder-belt hole, running the cable across the top of the pilot's door and mounting the handle on the door-jamb, near the panel, but thought it would work better near the floor where the original one was.

I dressed up the rotor-tach wiring, secured the cooling system overflow-tank to the mast more securely, cable-tied the brake-cable and sensor-wiring to the mast and generally cleaned up loose-wiring. I also checked the cooling-fluid and it was still full. I added some radiator anti-rust treatment and a bottle of Water-Wetter to the overflow tank to eventually make its way into the system.

Left is attaching the wheel-pants and plugging in the nav-light wiring which is all in place and working, wire up the lighting wires for the compass, and fabricate a small bracket to mount my tail-light on the upper support-bar. That will pretty much do it except for maybe a good engine bath and going completely over everything to make sure all nuts are properly tightened and secured. I did upgrade all bolts and nuts in the control-rods with castellated nuts and cotter-pins.

[KenSandyEggo]

Got the wheel-pants and red and green nav-lites hooked up today. Put a little squiggly on them just to break up the plain-ness. Still have to make a mount for the tail-light. Hoping to test-fly tomorrow evening after work. The runway is supposed to be back in business.

[pwendell]

Ken,

I'm glad to see your machine almost airworthy. I remember seeing it, in it's former colors, sitting in the hangar in Buckeye when I first started training. It was the only AAI modified RAF other than the prototype, 4132R. I think we even borrowed an oil pressure sender from it once to test on the training ship. I think it looks better now.

Good luck on the flight test tomorrow.

[KenSandyEggo]

Thanks, Peter.

[KenSandyEggo]

Little update. My cheek-plates were drilled wrong to give me only a 10 degree back-tilt. Someone got confused at S-C about the angle and it's straightened out now. I'll be getting the proper cheek-plates which will give me about 19 degrees lean-back shortly. Now I have to figure a way to get my hoist down, see if I can fix it and replace it or get a new one and hang it. I guess the easiest way to change the cheek-plates would be to lift the head and blades along with the cheek-plates and just change the cheek-plates while it's all suspended.

Or I wonder if I got a few fellow-rats to help hold the rotor system, if I could leave it on the floor, take off one cheek-plate and replace it and then remove the other cheek-plate and replace it. I don't know if one cheek-plate will hold everything up, even with some helping-hands. Anyone try this with a dread-nought class gyro? :confused:

[animal]

Little update. I guess the easiest way to change the cheek-plates would be to lift the head and blades along with the cheek-plates and just change the cheek-plates while it's all suspended.



That sounds like that would be the easyest and fastest way.last time I worked on the head on my Scorpion I lifed the head blades and all,rolled the helicopter out from under it, lowered it down and worked on it,got my lead /lag adjusted.then lifted it back up. in your case you could always support the head and blades and if you did not feel good about removeing both plates at the same time,then maybe do one side at a time with it still suspended from the hoist.

Tim H.

[Chuck Roberg]

Ken I have the 29' SportCopter blades. When I have to raise them, for any reason off the head, I use the hangar door as a hoist. I use two ropes and two rubber bungies. One on each side of the rotor head.

I then use the electric door as a hoist to lift the blades. The rubber bungies help me to position the blades and I can lift them up and lower them slightly by hand with out having to raise or lower the door. Makes it an easy one man job.

I did have to change my cheekplates once but I had the Rotordyne blades on at that time. I first tried removing one of the cheek plates and having the other hold everything. It didn't go very well, I was trying it alone. So I put the cheek plate back on and I did it using the method above. At that time I was using two ropes tied as a cradle. Later I tried the two bungie straps and it worked a whole lot better.

[KenSandyEggo]

I have sliding doors, so that's out, Chuck. I did manage to fix my hoist today with some Kroil, a rubber mallet, a sledge-hammer, and 2 pry-bars. I also put a washer at the top of the hook so that it can't wedge in there again. I think raising everything would be the safest way. I'd hate to ding my expen$ive blade$.

[KenSandyEggo]

Well, I had to disassemble my cheek-plates and replace them with the correct ones that I got from S-C. What a pain-in-the-ass. It was about 100 degrees at the airport, and it got kind of aggravating to redo all the work I recently did. I didn't feel like waiting to have the plates powder coated, so I took them bare. I looked around the hangar, and guess which paint-can was the fullest? It matched the tubes and head!

I had to take the cooling system overflow bottle off, the 2" by 4" stiffener between the cheek-plates out and then try to get everything back on without scratching anything. Absolutely impossible. :mad: I spent about 5.5 hours sweating my arse off. I tried a new clear acrylic set of cheek-plates first (2nd photo), but didn't like the way they looked and went with the gold ones. :rolleyes:

The cheek-plates are not perfectly vertical. They're in position #4 with 1.5 degrees lean back. S-C did the new cheek-plates so that the head leans back 17.5 degrees, to give me my 19 back-tilt.

Sticks may be in an O.K. position. If they're a little too far forward, I can just S-bend them like some of you clever guys do.

[david holmes]

I LOVE my air conditioned hangar!!!!!!!!!!
102 outside here last couple of days.

[Harry_S.]

WOW...I bet you do. Do you fly when it's that hot...and humid?

I'd be in the hangar with the cold beer. Fly tomorrow...if it's cooler. ;)

.

[KenSandyEggo]

Nothing special. I just know a lot of people here like to look at pictures. I took her to the wash-rack on Saturday and she cleans up good, so I took a bunch of photos in anticipation of putting her on E-Bay. But I got 2 pretty good nibbles from people that are seriously interested and have the money, so the pics may not be getting posted on E-Bay.

I have to adjust the control rods and trim. The SC geometry seems to be a little different. I don't think I'll have to replace the stick cross-bar as originally thought. Other than that and a couple very minor items, I'm about done. I got several thumbs-ups from passer-bys at the wash rack. It's right next to a road. People were stopping to take a look. One guy got out his camera and started taking pics. I have to say, she does look pretty sharp.

[KenSandyEggo]

Here are the rest.

[StanFoster]

Ken: That gyro looks very nice. Glad to see her about ready to fly.

Stan

[animal]

Nothing special. I just know a lot of people here like to look at pictures. I took her to the wash-rack on Saturday and she cleans up good, so I took a bunch of photos in anticipation of putting her on E-Bay. But I got 2 pretty good nibbles from people that are seriously interested and have the money, so the pics may not be getting posted on E-Bay.

I have to adjust the control rods and trim. The SC geometry seems to be a little different. I don't think I'll have to replace the stick cross-bar as originally thought. Other than that and a couple very minor items, I'm about done. I got several thumbs-ups from passer-bys at the wash rack. It's right next to a road. People were stopping to take a look. One guy got out his camera and started taking pics. I have to say, she does look pretty sharp.
Ken did I read right? you are going to sell that sweet machine?
may I ask why? man that is a sweet machine.

Tim H.

[KenSandyEggo]

Tim, I have wanted a McCulloch J-2 since the 70s. I found one, talked the owner into selling it to me and have a deposit on it. It's just one of those things that I "need" to do. It's a "guy" thing, I guess. The attached photo is not the one I'm getting, but it's similar except it's a brighter red. This one is Virgil's.

[animal]

Tim, I have wanted a McCulloch J-2 since the 70s. I found one, talked the owner into selling it to me and have a deposit on it. It's just one of those things that I "need" to do. It's a "guy" thing, I guess. The attached photo is not the one I'm getting, but it's similar except it's a brighter red. This one is Virgil's.
I understand that, I always liked the J-2 my self,in fact i had the last one the factory built when it closed it's doors,never even had a data plate,and that is what messed me up.
it came from Jack lenhardt in hubbard Or. it had the engine in parts,part of the prerotor, blades,and a bunch of other parts.
but thanks to the Good ole boys at the FAA, thye said no to me putting it together unless it was in restricted experimental catogory.
so I traded it for a scorpion project. then sold the Scorpion and built my first harley. I found a pic of my Old j-2 the other day,I will see if i can take a pic of the pic,and upload it,mine was red white and blue.

those J-2's are sweet I have a video of one flying that Jack sent me.
he said it would cruise at 120.I just wonder how hard it will be to find replacement parts for it.

anyway good luck and of course keep us posted.

Tim H.

[KenSandyEggo]

Luckily, mine comes with a truckload of parts, including a spare set of blades and a brand-new rotorhead.

[animal]

Luckily, mine comes with a truckload of parts, including a spare set of blades and a brand-new rotorhead.
Cool deal! sounds like you found a good one. can't wait to see in flight shots from it posted on the forum.

Tim H.

[KenSandyEggo]

Proud of myself today. I fabricated a mounting bracket for the tail-light all by myself. Fellow rat had a piece of scrap aluminum with a hole in it. Perfect. I drilled 2 holes for the mounting screws and cut as close around as I could with tin-snips and then finished it off on a grinding wheel for a nice clean look. I just bent it at a 90 degree and drilled a hole to mount it on the bolt at the top of the tail.

I wasn't sure about the rotor-locks that came with my rotor-head. I found if you hold the stick centered until they swing out of the way, it's nice and steady. If you hold the head at an angle, you get a side-to-side jerking until they flatten outwards. I like the way they hold the blades horizontally now that with the gust lock on, my rotor-head is virtually level.