Olney Flyin

[Red Sky]

Well, yesterday was a real ground breaker for me. I got my first ride in a gyroplane at the Texas Rotercraft Assoc. flyin in Olney, TX. I must say, those guys did a very fine job. It was a cold start with a gusty 25 mph wind and temp starting below 50 :eek: but climbing to 65 by afternoon.
TRA put on a really great show. There were a half dozen gyros, 2 helicopters and half a dozen gyros on display, including Larry Neals new gryohog. :cool: Must have been 200 folks and lots of kids.

[KenSandyEggo]

Congratulations on your first gyro ride. Has Larry's Hog flown? What a great idea.

[Red Sky]

TRA did a really fine job with a good catered lunch and Leland Snow, owner of Air Tractor for the speaker. He gave a great history of Air Tractor its accomplishments and innovations. Truly amazing considering they started with $180K in capital that got them 2 finished aircraft and complete FAA certification within 2 years. My next trip to Olney, I'll ask for a tour of their facilities.

Jerry Keeter gave a demo on the art of crop dusting in an Air Tractor and David Martin gave an amazing performance of aerobatic flight. :cool:

For me, main attraction was the intro rides offered by TRA and pilot Brad King. Also, Larry Neal made several demo flights to show off the Golden Butterfly and Monarch. Now, that was quit a show! :)

I didn't get to see them fly, but Larry had his Turbo Golden Butterfly and Gryo Hog on display. He said the Gryo Hog will fly at Oshkosh

[REDHORSE556CES]

Well, yesterday was a real ground breaker for me. I got my first ride in a gyroplane at the Texas Rotercraft Assoc. flyin in Olney, TX. I must say, those guys did a very fine job. It was a cold start with a gusty 25 mph wind and temp starting below 50 :eek: but climbing to 65 by afternoon.
TRA put on a really great show. There were a half dozen gyros, 2 helicopters and half a dozen gyros on display, including Larry Neals new gryohog. :cool: Must have been 200 folks and lots of kids.

Don, nice pic of me getting strapped in. My first ride in a gyro too ("Daddy give da' man anuddah quarter, I want's to ride again!"). Great ride! Even that *ahem* engine out practice when we landed. :D

[Red Sky]

Charlies,

Sorry, I didn't mean it to look like me riding in that picture. My only shot of me in the gyro is a close up of my cheesy mug. :)

It was a pleasure meeting you! You certainly took that engine out pratice with style! ;) You only bounced a foot or two. You still had the biggest grin on your face as you walked away. Did you get any good shots? I wish I'd shot more stills instead of video while flying. Of course, that was once I got my hands working again! :eek:

I can send you a full sized image if you want to drop me your email address at justwingit@valornet.com

[Red Sky]

Thanks Ken! It was an eye opener and incredible. I've ridden a few biplane, but that climb out on take off had me hanging on to my harness :eek: I've shot video while doing barrel rolls, but it took a while for me to loosen my grip.

I'll say this, if I ever considered trying to fly a gyro on my own, this convinced me to to think any further about it. When I'm ready for training, I feel

I don't know if the Super Sky Cycle has flown, but it is reported to do 52 mph on the road and to be converted to flying status within 2 or 3 minutes with blades that will unfold as they rotate.

I did notice that some of the FW pilots seemed to keep there distance. I guess if I'm going to fly gyros, I better get used to that.

[REDHORSE556CES]

Charlies,

Sorry, I didn't mean it to look like me riding in that picture. My only shot of me in the gyro is a close up of my cheesy mug. :)

It was a pleasure meeting you! You certainly took that engine out pratice with style! ;) You only bounced a foot or two. You still had the biggest grin on your face as you walked away. Did you get any good shots? I wish I'd shot more stills instead of video while flying. Of course, that was once I got my hands working again! :eek:

I can send you a full sized image if you want to drop me your email address at justwingit@valornet.com

Thanx Don. I did get some pics, now all I need to do is learn how to download them to my computer.

[GyroRon]

What powers the wheels on the gyrohog? how do you control it in flight?

[KenSandyEggo]

Why do you need power to the wheels? Looks like the steering bar would be connected to the rotorhead like any other gyro....somewhat. Whoops....wait....it looks like there's a chain drive to the left wheel. I thought it was just for flying.

[REDHORSE556CES]

I've got a couple of pix from Olney but I can't figure how to attach them! I upload them and preview the message, but they don't show up!