Improved Dominator

[david holmes]

Finally, south Alabama has a lawyer they can look up to again.

Yesterday I (+son & grandson) went to Ernie's (950 miles) and brought home the one and only improved Dominator ultrawhite.

On a trailer behind my $700 Crown Vic.

It costs as much as I paid for my first new 1200 sq. ft., 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in San Diego in 1963. And I took out a 30 year loan for that house.

It's going to be a tight fit in the hanger with the Phoenix and Puff. Both those need work and my chemo/ radiation/ hormone treatments have left me with no desire for TLAR repair work yet. But the energy is back up enough that I'm flying again. I'll scrape the runway and be operating daily flights from The Field of Dreams AGAIN.

Oh, the "improvement" is replacing that rinky dinky instrument pod with my MAILBOX. You won't believe how much better it flies.

[Rando]

Congratulations! Can you post some photos of your new gyro?

[chuter]

Way to go David!! Glad you feel like flying again!

[barnstorm2]

Congratulations! you got a good one!

[WindRyder06]

David,
Welcome Back to the Hood... the Brotherhood!!

Fly Safe,
Chris

[bartc150]

I'm jealous David. Do you think Ernie will offer the "improved" insturment panel when I pick up my ultrawhite, or is that a one of a kind. Wait.. it is one of a kind!

[ben]

go dave go you got mail

[GyroRon]

I will buy the Instrument pod you take off if you want to sell. - unless someone else beats me to it.....

Dave, be very careful to ALWAYS land with the gyro pointed straight down the runway and no drifting. They sit up taller than what your used to and can and will tip over if you land it sideways. Other than that I think you will like it.

With the little Rotax 503 you got to be very careful not to add any weight on the gyro that doesn't need to be on it, or the performance will suffer quickly. Avoid temptations to add lights and electric starters etc.... Keep it light and simple and have fun!

[david holmes]

flew UW from Field of Dreams this afternoon for a few T&G's just to get the feel of it. There is really nothing like the completely open machine. It started on the second pull. Ernie is a good supplier for us addicts. (he said he felt like a dope dealer, supplying a bunch of people addicted to flying)

Ron, I'll only add FS-450 fuel flow and GPS. For the first time in my life I weigh less than my drivers license says which helps. E kept the original pod.

[Timchick]

David,
I used to travel between Montgomery, AL and Panama City a lot for a job I had about 7-8 years ago. I remember driving through the Troy area one day and I saw a gyro off in the distance. It may have been you.

[KenSandyEggo]

Great news, counselor.

[BUD ONEAL]

Hello David,
I don't post as much as I did before but think of you often.My daughter,Hannah,keeps the book that you gave her a few years ago at Wauchula on her book shelf beside her bed. That kid loves it.
Take care and let us know how treatment is going.God bless,
Bud

[MikeBoyette]

David,
It was nice to see you again. It is an Approved Dominator. It is "The only Dominator that has an instrument panel approved by the Postmaster General".

[WindRyder06]

David,
We need Pictures..... Must have Pictures...... :D

Fly Safe,
Chris

[david holmes]

Chris,
I can't figure out how to insert pics
Lights are on but nobody's home.

[gyromike]

Chris,
I can't figure out how to insert pics
Lights are on but nobody's home.

BAM!!!!

Inserting Pictures 101 (http://www.rotaryforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1274&highlight=INSERTING+PICTURES)

[Timchick]

Does everyone down there say BAM?

[gyromike]

Does everyone down there say BAM?

No.
Last week I said KAPOW!!! once or twice.

I have a Cha-CHING! scheduled on, or about, the 26th of May. :D

[Timchick]

I guess I never watch Emerill long enough to hear him say Kapow or Cha-Ching. I know when I cook it's the stove that says Kapow and then I hear the Cha-Ching when I'm getting the kitchen repaired.

[david holmes]

UW Dominator with only instrument panel approved by the Postmaster General.

I've flown it almost every day since I got it two weeks ago. It's an great improvement over anything I've had.

trims up hands and feet off at 57mph and 6100 rpm.

no wind 431' msl lifts off in about 300' with 600# GW.

5 gal/hr if I hotdog it a lot. Less if I just cruise around at 65mph.

It does have a tendency to fishtail about 5 degrees with feet off the pedals in stable flight. Don't know what that is.

I would post pics but haven't figured out how.

Thanks Ernie.

[gyromike]

Counselor,

You must have missed my previous post in your excitement over flying your new Dominator.
So here's the link again:

How to post pictures on the Rotary Forum. (http://www.rotaryforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1274&highlight=INSERTING+PICTURES)



:)

[Doug Riley]

Brother David, does your anti-servo tab have any play? Is it straight when the rudder is neutral? If not, one of those things might account for the fish-tailing.

[david holmes]

dumb and dumber,
Dumb turned around, in flight, to check fuel remaining in seat tank gage and burned his left elbow on the exhaust of the Rotax 503.

A day later, dumber did the same thing again.

I think I can remember now.

[WindRyder06]

David,
Send me the pictures of your UW and I will post them for you. Keep your arm off the exhaust!! It is HOT when the engine is running :eek: !

WindRyder06@comcast.net

FlySafe,
Chris

[WindRyder06]

Here is the first picture of David Holmes UltraWhite Dominator with the only instrument panel approved by the Postmaster General. David When you get more I will post more for you.... Great Instrument Panel, Love it!!

Fly Safe,
Chris

[david holmes]

thanks Chris,
On top of the Instrument Panel (IP) in front is the rotor tiedown cord. Next is the antenna with yaw string. On the far right is a $9 walkers clock/stop watch.
The GPS mounted nicely to the top of the stick.
Two strobe lights are underneath the "floor board" on either side.

THANKS ERNIE.

[gyromike]

Counselor,

I see that you machine has the toe-brake setup vs. heel brake.
I meant to take some pictures of that at B-Days, but missed it.

Would you mind taking a couple of closeups, and sending them to me?
Mainly I am curious as to how the attach points for the brake cables are made.

I am wanting to do the same for the Dominator I am going to build.

[Jimmy]

Mike , my current dominator came with toe-brakes that didn't work nearly as good as the heel-brakes on my 1st dominator. I'm much happier now that they've been changed back to Ernie's standard setup.

[gyromike]

Jimmy,

I should've flown both UltraWhites while I was down there, but I didn't want to pester Ernie too much. I flew the heel brake model.

It actually worked pretty well.

Mike Morgan and I are working some kinks out of his Dominator, and we need to move the pedals forward a bit. They're too close in, and make it hard to hit the heel brakes. I guess that's what got me to thinking about toe brakes.

[Jimmy]

Mike, Dave Dewinter may have some thoughts or ideas on this.

[WindRyder06]

Here is a picture of David's RIO. This guy is already logging flight time :D

Fly Safe,
Chris

[MikeBoyette]

Mike,
Dad makes these things out of aluiminum that clamp on the brake pedals to make them easier to reach. Not sure what they are called, they remind me of the blocks you put on a short kids bicycle pedals :) . LOL. By the way Dick Degraw asembled David's Ultrawhite and elected to build toe brakes because he prefers them. Dad does not offer them because they are more labor intensive.

[gyromike]

Thanks Mike.

I'll give it some more thought.
Maybe once the pedals are made and placed on the keel, I'll get a better idea.

The one I flew at B-Days worked fine for me. We just need to move Mike M.'s pedals a little more forward.

[david holmes]

lastest updates.
Only instrument console approved by Postmaster General now has a door on both ends. That makes it extremely easy to access.
RIO had another training flight yesterday -- think it slept in my flight suit the whole time.
Had some unusual winds so I sorta hovered around 1500' with less than full power. GPS indicated 7 mph and I realized that was BACKWARDS. As I started to move forward the ground speed decreased to ZERO before increasing to "flying" speed.

THANKS ERNIE.

[david holmes]

Playing with Arlene on the UW.

As the leading edge of the tropical storm came through this afternoon I couldn't resist. Between rain showers.

On the GPS I saw 107mph downwind and -11 mph upwind. It was kicks just "hovering" around until another rain shower started.

THANKS ERNIE

[david holmes]

completely round rainbow!!!
This afternoon Goose had his 5th training hour around the area. Not another aircraft anywhere. Cruising around about 55 and 1K'. There were a couple of rainshowers mixed in with the sunshine and I noticed a rainbow so I tried to fly into it. As I approached it turned into a complete circle. I haven't seen a completely round rainbow in years and it was at a much higher altitude then. Wish I'd had my camera. As I approached the rainbow I realized was raining to make the rainbow and I was in an OPEN machine.

THANKS ERNIE!!

[david holmes]

Best rate of climb airspeed for UW.
I only had a half hour to fly this afternoon so I tried 40, 45, 50kts to see which gave the best rate of climb. They all gave the same.

climbed to 3700 msl and got cold so I tried minimum rate of descent airspeed. Looks like 40kts poweroff gives 1000'/min rate of descent.

What is the minimum drag idle rpm for a Rotax 503?

I have lost my glasses so I flew without them. I'm nearsighted. Not a problem.

THANKS ERNIE

[C. Beaty]

Don’t know what RPM makes the propeller invisible, David, but it can be figured with basic arithmetic.

Measure the prop blade pitch at 70% radius, (pitch could be measured anywhere if prop was ideally twisted but don’t count on it.)

Say you get 12º. The flat backside isn’t the line of zero lift; zero lift will be about an additional 2º. So you have an aerodynamic pitch of 14º.

Open the calculator that is comes with your computer under accessories and place it in scientific mode.

Enter 14 and mash the purple button that says: sin. The number 0.242 will pop up.

If you have a 60” prop, the diameter at 70% radius is 42” and circumference is 132” or 11’.

In one revolution, the prop, if a screw, would travel 11’ x 0.242 = 2.66’ (32” pitch).

50 mph is 73.5 ft/sec (50 x 1.47).

To be invisible at 50 mph, the prop would have to turn at: 73.5/2.66 = 27.63 rev/sec or 1658 rpm.

If you have a 2.58:1 gearbox, engine rpm must be 4278 rpm.

[david holmes]

Thanks Chuck

[david holmes]

Another perfect end to a HOT day. UW flies hands off at 6100 and 55mph. It climbs hands off 45mph and full throttle.
I wonder how much adjusting went into getting this machine so perfectly balanced.
It's just a fun little kick around machine.
flew over ball fields and subdivisions and farms for an hour and returned to Field of Dreams at sundown. Did not see another aircraft.

THANKS ERNIE!!!

missed my RIO.

[GyroRon]

David, if you are more than pleased with the climb out performance of the dominator, you may want to look into re pitching the prop and adding a degree or two of pitch. It would allow you to cruise at a lower RPM and possibly a higher airspeed.

Ernie is very predictable when it comes to setting up the Ultrawhites and that is he sets the props pitch to give maximum climb performance, which is good for hotdogging and playing around, but the cruise performance suffers. Try pitching the prop to show 6400 or so static rpms while tied to a tree and you will probably have a better machine for those flights over the town!


Overall I would take it you like the ultrawhite. I am happy for you. I love those machines and feel like it is the best bang for the buck out there.

[Rotornut]

Just Glad your Back in the Air David. And Very Happy that you are Enjoying Yourself Again. Nothing Better than having a Family Member Happy :)

Let me jump the Gun here and Wish You A Wonderful Fathers Day June 19, 2005.

Take Care and keep the stories coming I enjoy reading your post. MJ :)

[david holmes]

Dumber did it again,
yesterday I figured out why I fill the seat tank to the top -----when I forget to put the cap back on the tank and crank the 503 --- it reminds me that the cap is off.

[david holmes]

Brundidge (pop 3K) had a National Guard appreciation parade yesterday. Parade had 30 units of NG, 30 "little miss everythings", old tractors, the Circuit clerk & her husband in a cart behind a miniture pony, kids in 4 wheelers & go-carts, fire trucks, AND YOURS TRULY IN THE UW.
I flew up and down main street just above the powerlines. Then landed in the parade lineup highway and taxied the length of the parade to the beginning ( figured out a few years ago that if I'm at the end of the parade I don't get to see the parade -- took me 4 parades to figure that out.) I sat at the the first of the parade and watched the units go past and UW and I got on end of parade and rolled down main street. That 503 is louder than I realized.
After parade UW sat in pavalion area for a couple of hours then I got police escort 1.5 miles to local airport and flew home.
Great day for flying. Wind was about 15 mph so I could almost hover over Brundidge.
I adjusted the pre-rotator and went out flying again for about an hour to Troy. A twin came into Troy and the pilot said he'd never get close to "one of those things" because his good friend was killed "in" one of those. His friend was Chuck Irby --------- Chuck's straw hat is still at my house where left it about a year ago when he spent the night with me at my place on the way to SX days.
small world!!!!!!
I think Ernie's going to get a couple of orders for gyros from the spectators yesterday.
I'm thinking to put my name, telephone # & web site on the top half of my tail and put Dominator, tele # web site on the bottom half of the tail. That way the FAA can call me OR Ernie.

[david holmes]

Next event is 4th of July parade in China Grove about 20 miles from here. I've never been in their parade before but parade master called and invited the UW and I to fly over and enter parade. They have free watermelon.

China Grove has 20 houses and 1 store and NO stoplights. Their 5th year with the parade and about 100 units already.
My 13 year old grandson is going to drive the 4 wheeler in the parade.

[Timchick]

Good deal David. Keep up the good work. See if you can get someone to take pictures of you taxiing in the parade so you can have them posted here.

[PW_Plack]

David,

Did you remind the guy that Chuck's accident had nothing to do with the category and class of the aircraft?

[Chuck Roberg]

David, I really appreciate your posting. Keep it up.

I also agree with Tim. Try to get some pictures to post. I'd love to see them.

[david holmes]

TOO MUCH PRE-ROTATOR RPM.
Yesterday I replaced the Wunderlich rubber wheel on the UW. The wheel wore out after only about 25 hours of flying time. Now the pre-rotator gets 240 RRPM at 2400 (TWENTY FOUR HUNDRED) engine rpm.

The problem is, the UW is not rolling forward at 2400 RPM and I have to release the pre-rotator to add engine RPM. As I gain forward speed I loose some RRPM down to about 200RRPM.


GREAT AIRCRAFT -- thanks Ernie

[KenSandyEggo]

When you're taxiing in the parade, make sure no one gets near you with a book of matches. :eek:

[rehler]

David,

Do you have a Wunderlich prerotator on your Ultra White rather than a hydralic prerotator used on Dominators?

Your rotor RPM spin up is much better than I can achieve. Perhaps I need a new rubber wheel too. Did you buy the new rubber wheel from Dick Wunderlich or use some other wheel?

[david holmes]

Ken R.
UW has a Wunderlich. At Ernie's suggestion, I just bought two replacement wheels -- $36 total.

If you have any questions, call Ernie.

Thanks Ernie

[MikeBoyette]

Ken,
It is a hybrid prerotator. Dad uses everything except the drum. He uses a flat plate behind the prop.This allows you to get better hook up and keeps the flex shaft running with less bends. This enables the higher RPM than a standard Wunderlich. He has two ways to mount the wheel: one so that the prop is trying to suck the wheel in(sort of self actuating) and the other it's trying to spit it out. While using the first I have seen a 503 be able to get 300+ RPM's on a set of 22' DW's .The downside to this is the wheel wears out very quick. Mr. Holmes' machine has the latter, therefore the 240 RPM's is very good.

David,
Give dad a call he can explain the procedure for maintaining rotorspeed once you start moving. Dad can actually keep the prerotator engaged during his takeoff roll, and disengages just before liftoff.

[Timchick]

David,
Please post some pictures of your prerotator wheel setup.

[david holmes]

After tweeking pre-rotator I had to fly it briefly to check it out. I've not flown for a couple of days while I cleaned up the wiring. I ran 95% of the wiring inside the 2x2 keel so there is VERY LITTLE wiring visible.

Then as a squal line approached I decided to jump out and fly because that might be the last chance of the day. Wind was up to 45 mph at around 1K'. It was a REAL fun ride. The UW is stable as a rock. Of course we got bounced around but there was never any doubt about control. When it started lightning nearby I went back to FOD (Field of Dreams) and cleaned the machine while the rain passed.
After showers passed it cleared and I put another hour or so around the area and some T&G's.

THANKS ERNIE

[gyromike]

David,
Please post some pictures of your prerotator wheel setup.

Tiim,

Here is a picture I took of Mike Bantam's prerotator.
He has a 503 Dominator also.

The UltraWhite I flew at BD had the same setup, and it really spins the blades up. I got it up to 210 very quickly.

[david holmes]

UW lost 3 pounds today.
I replaced 6" nose wheel and tire with 4".
Replaced tail wheel with roller blade wheel (gained a whole 3 ounces).
I'm wondering why UW has 8" mains instead of 6" mains. There is about 4 extra pounds there. I weighed them already.

I also moved primer from front left corner seat to the aft right corner behind the seat. -- for no good reason except it simplified the plumbing and one place seemed as good as another.

I guess I can't let well enough alone.

Managed to get UW into the air for about 5 minutes just before another squall hit the area. Great flyer.

THANKS ERNIE.

[david holmes]

I removed a 5# battery and bracket, 4 oz of brackets that Ernie says are for another engine and the two collars on the shocks. I also took the 14 oz. A21 radio off since there is no one around here to talk to anyway.

It seems to run quite nicely without the battery and it puts out 13 volts at 1200 rpm.

With all this weight off it should fly straight up ????

THANKS Ernie.

[Rando]

"and the two collars on the shocks"

You should put them back on. They were there for a reason, to keep the gyro from going over should one of the shocks fail.

[david holmes]

OK. They only add a couple of ounces anyway.
Are those bigass heavy shocks the only choice? They are a pain to air to 100#. When I take the air pressure off they loose #'s. I check proper pressure by looking at how high the tail wheel is from the ground. Everytime I'd put the tire gage on the shocks they'd loose air and go flat.

I have adjustable spring shocks on my other two machines and they look much lighter.

We can put acceptable things on our individual machines that Ernie could not sale because of his responsibility to the idiots out here.

[WindRyder06]

David,
Ron Awad has a great pair of shocks on his machine the are charged with some other gas and not air. Ron should be able to help you out.

Fly Safe,
Chris

[Timchick]

When running wiring or cables through the keel is it OK to drill a couple holes in the keel for that? I like the way Rick Martin's rudder cables go through his keel.

[GyroRon]

David, my shocks on my Dominator do not leak, and do not require any pressure testing. They do look lighter, but I have not weighted them to confirm. My shocks are meant for dunebuggys and are made out of steel and aluminum. They are filled with Nitrogen instead of air and to pump then up to the right amount of firmness needed for my gyro, the shocks require over 500 PSI of pressure, so like I said Air won't cut it and Nitrogen is what they call for.

I have played with my shocks and since they are pumped up to such a high PSI, just touching the air valve - the same type of valve found on any tire - you can loose 50-100 psi just like that so I have had a tough time at first getting them just right.

what I have done now to fine tune them is I bought a CO2 tank meant for pumping up the small tanks used on Paintball guns. These tanks can be bought and refilled at most large sporting goods stores. I also got a short hose with it and a screw on to the airvalve fitting. So to air up my shocks I screw on the fitting - the fitting does not make contact with the pin inside the valve on the shock, the high pressure of incoming air is what opens it, so when you unscrew the fitting no air is lost from the shocks as you would normally have with most fittings. So anyway, I hook up the fitting and then slowly open the valve on the CO2 tank and very slowly the pressure in the shock increases and what I do is I grab the mast above the shock and try to pull the gyro over to the side, when I see the shock is hard enough to only have a half inch of so of movement when I yank the mast towards the side, I close the valve on the tank and remove the fitting. Then I go over to the other side and do the same thing.

Now just a note.... I have not had to do this except when I have screwed around and tried to make the shocks a tad softer and ended up letting too much air out. If I leave the shocks alone I never have to mess with them. The last time I put air in my shocks was in the middle of winter.

I don't know who makes my shocks, but there is a thread on the forum here that they were discussed. Apparently a few others also have the same shocks, Doctor Bill Clem being one of them. If you want these shocks we can find out where to buy a set.

You are supposed to use nitrogen because it is dry - no moisture in the air - and it doesn't change pressure as the outside temp changes. Because of the high pressures - 500-600 psi - normal compressed air is not going to cut it, because you can't pump that high of a pressure with a typical air compressor. Most good aircraft shops have nitrogen in big tanks to fill up the landing gear struts on airplanes. You can always go to one of them for nitrogen for these shocks. I found all that to be a pain in the butt so I got the CO2 tank and hose set up made for refilling paintball gun airtanks, and it works out well, and can do the work in my hangar.

[GyroRon]

Now as for the automotive air shocks on your dominator, they also can be made to work fine, but there is some stuff you need to know to work with them easier.

Number one, that aluminum clamping thing you took off is there to stop the gyro from leaning too far over if one of the shocks blows out and you loose all air pressure. This has happened so that is why Ernie makes the clamps, I highly suggest you put them back on!

As for pressure, forget checking it with a presure gauge, and who cares what the PSI in them is...... what you need to do to more easily pump up the shocks is this. Go to Walmart or Sears or whatever you can find a portable aircompressor - the type of compressor that runs off 12 volts and usually has a flashlight built into one end, these compressors are normally intended to be kept in the back of your truck or car and used for emergencys. Anyway buy one. They are normally under 50 bucks.

Then when you get home, take a sharp knife and cut of the end of the hose to get rid of the cheap plastic clamp on fitting on the end. Then using larger hose, clamps and proper fittings, install a push on air fitting on the pump. Just the regular old standard type of fitting where you have to hold it down on the airvalve as you fill and if you let off the pressure as your holding the fitting it normally will just pop off.

Now when you got this all set up, pull the gyro over close enough to your car or truck where you can plug in the pump - or modify the power wires to clip on to a spare battery and you won't have to have a 12 volt cigarette lighter outlet nearby to make this work.

Put the pumps fitting onto the airvalve on the shock and turn the pump on. These little cheap pumps are cheap, but one nice thing about them is they can pump out over 200 PSI if you wait long enough. Then while holding the air valve with one hand, use your other hand to grab the mast above the shock and try pulling the gyro over to the side. The proper amount of air is in the shock when you only see a inch or less of movement on the shock itself as you pull on the mast. Once you get to that firmness note the psi shown on the pump as a refence for the next time - but it should end up being much more than 100 psi, my old Dominator needed 160-170 psi to be properly filled. Then once you are filled to the right firmness and noted the reading shown on the pumps gauge, just pull the fitting off the valve and then turn off the pump. Doing it this way, no air escapes the shock as you take off the fitting from the valve.

then go to the other side and repeat. Remember than the way to know if your properly inflated is by grabbing the mast and pulling or yanking on the mast towards the side and watching the shock itself. You only want to see a small amount of play or give in the shock. they will obviously move more when your in the seat and taxiing over rough ground or hard landings. But if the shocks are too soft to begin with, the gyro can lean over to one side and or the feel of the landing gear is too soft and squishy to give any feedback on what it is doing. There is no reason to check the pressure with a gauge before every flight. I never checked them that way. The grab and pull on the mast test works better and no need to fool with the shock itself.

[david holmes]

17 volts on the voltmeter at cruise RPM since I removed the battery. Is that too high? If so, what do I do about it.

[GyroRon]

you could put a light simple "landing light" in the front of the gyro and that will eat up the extra juice. A small lightweight light from Autozone would do the trick.

[RICK MARTIN]

Tim,

I'm not the first person to run my rudder cables through the tail boom. I've seen a few others. Jay Boyce is a Bee owner who has done this. You can find his machine on Ralph's site under completions.

I don't think I have compromised the integrity of the tail boom in a way that is unsafe. If the holes were where the keel ends (this is the stress point for the tail boom) then it would be dangerous, but My holes are only about 8 inches in front of the tail, where it shouldn't matter to much.

The holes were a real pain the ass to make. I basically just drilled a line of holes into the tail boom at a right angle. Then I used a dremel tool to "carve" the line of holes into a "slot". Then I had to taper the incoming and outgoing surfaces to allow the cable to have a run that was as straight as possible. I really like the way it turned out. I think I mentioned that I used icemaker line as a conduit for the sheathed cable.

I got most of the ideas from Jay Boyce. Call if you have any questions. 941 795-4668.

[Doug Riley]

In a cantilever beam like a gyro tail tube, the maximum bending stress of course is at the "fulcrum" end. Way out at the opposite (load) end, modest holes won't hurt. I like my cables out where I can see them, though.

Those cheap cig-lighter pumps that Ron mentioned are great -- while they last. I had one for my Dominator shocks, and it would indeed pump them up over 200 psi. However, the innards really aren't made for that kind of load. After a year or so, mine stripped its inner (plastic) drive gear. Goodbye.

I found something I like better. Mountain bicycles use high-pressure shocks. The shops that service them offer an assortment of hand pumps that go up to 3,4 and 500 psi. They are hand-powerable because they have a very small piston -- so it takes a lot of strokes to fill a shock. They are very nice quality, though, they don't require that a car be nearby, they're good exercise and they are about the size of a big screwdriver. They have a valve that controls air loss when you attach and remove the filler hose. Cost about $40. I love mine.

By volume, sea-level dry air is about 78% nitrogen, 20% oxygen and a couple percentage points of other gases. So "air shocks" are 78% nitrogen shocks.

[david holmes]

503 is a piece of S.

Today on preflight I noticed one of two bands that hold muffler in place was loose. Turns out the band had broken on the bottom where it was bent 90 degrees. My next door neighbor has a 503 on his Challenger so I thought he might have the part. His has two bolts to engine but what holds the muffler looks more like a sleeve.
No place to get it welded today so I wrapped a piece of control cable around it twice & swedged it and went flying for 1.2 hour.
Right out of 43.15.
Also having trouble putting enough left trim in. I adjusted the gadget on back end of the rudder like Ernie said and it didn't seem to have much effect. It wants to hang out about 1/2 of a ball to the left. Also I've noticed that when I get a "bumping" when changing attitudes, etc. if I put in left rudder it will go away -- strange???

[GyroRon]

David, your engine's exhaust mounting brackets are made by Ernie, not Rotax. Blam Ernie for the part that broke!!! 503 Rotax is not a piece of S!!!!

[david holmes]

OH!!
Apologies to Rotax.

Looking forward to flying as hurricane approaches this afternoon.

[Timchick]

It's not very good flying conditions here right now. David, is this why you were asking about landing in 65 mph winds the other day?

[RICK MARTIN]

Tim,

How are you doin' buddy? Are you ridin' it out alright? It looks like the worst of it is about there now.

[Timchick]

We still have power. It's flickered on and off a couple times but so far so good. I have a 5000 watt generator so losing power doesn't hurt us too bad.

[bartc150]

Glad to hear you made it ok.

[MikeBoyette]

David,
I am curious as to the cause of your troubles. That machine ran and flew flawlessly for Carol and Dick all winter. I don't know if you are aware but, you can not let the 503 idle below 2000 rpm more than about 5 seconds. Anything below 2K is called the rattle speed and the engine will shake itself to peices. This maybe the cause of you broken muffler bracket. Dad will be bringing a new one when he delivers your new blades next week.

[GyroRon]

Yes, adjust idle speed as needed to the point of smooth no shake running. Typically this is somewhere around 2000-2300 engine rpm. Any lower than that and it will vibrate things apart as Mike said.

[david holmes]

Mike,
I have put more than THREE times the hours on the UW --- than Carol and Dick put on it TOTAL.
I'll try to be more respectful of the "rattle range".

Love the machine, THANKS ERNIE

Photo of Ultrawhite Attached

[david holmes]

UW got another .6 of "pinky" time last evening to try out new landing light. I didn't stay longer because UW had no anti-smash light.
Landing light is tractor utility light housing from Harbor Freight and 250 (TWO HUNDRED FIFTY) watt a/c landing light bulb from Spruce. It lights up the runway like the sun had never set.
Of course I only turn it on on final for about 30 seconds because my system only puts out 176 watts. Light is fused and removable with one bolt so's I don't carry the extra weight (12 oz.) all the time.
After I got back I installed two Kushman multi-flash strobes (8oz.)

[david holmes]

stick bump?
machine flies GREAT. However when ball is out to left 1/4 ball or more a bump develops. I center ball and bump goes away. Any ideas?

[david holmes]

fuel evaporating?
another question -- when I fill seat tank to top of sight gage and leave it over night, it is 1/2 " or more down from top. What's happening?

Has anyone put a small colored cork in top of sight gage to make top of fuel easier to spot?

[GyroRon]

fuel evaporating?
another question -- when I fill seat tank to top of sight gage and leave it over night, it is 1/2 " or more down from top. What's happening?

Has anyone put a small colored cork in top of sight gage to make top of fuel easier to spot?

Tank is swelling and getting larger overnight from all the fuel in the tank, making the level seem lower. Try filling it up to the top, let it sit overnight to get the lower level and then get up and sit down in the seat and see if it isn't back up to or higher than where you filled it the night before.

[david holmes]

Wheel Pants,
Has anyone put wheel pants on a dominator? Beaty says it will be an improvement.
Where did you get the wheel pants? Any problems?

[GyroRon]

David, it is non of my business, but In my humble opinion you should stop fooling around with the Dominator and just fly the thing! It is perfect as delivered, and with every change made you take it further away from what made it so special to start with.

If you got the itch to tinker, why not spend that time getting some of the other birds you got back in flying order?

[animal]

If you got the itch to tinker, why not spend that time getting some of the other birds you got back in flying order?

yes I agree with Ron,I would like to see Puff (RF-170) in the air someday.it is a good looking gyro from what I saw old picture of.but all I saw was black and white photos.

How about it David? do you have any pics of that bird?

Tim H.

[david holmes]

David, it is non of my business, but In my humble opinion --
Ron,
you said all that's needed to be said, and maybe a little more so --

MYOFB

I rest my case!!

[Rando]

David,

Don't be too hard on Ron, he was just offering up his opinion. I thought the same thing, I just decided to keep my opinion to myself. I welcome people like Ron who are not afraid to express themselves to help others.

[GyroRon]

David if you bring your questions to the forum, EXPECT to hear opinions, even if you don't like them. If you want to be a asshole about it, then that is fine, just know that a ****ty attitude like that will only bring you less help and less opinions. Modify it and tinker with it to your hearts desire.

[Chuck Roberg]

Come on guys, play nice. :p

[david holmes]

Ron, I'm sorry, you caught me at a bad time. For two days I'm on a pain killer for an absessed tooth that will have to be pulled -- Saturday afternoon -- and it makes me miss SX days.

Puff status: The $4200 rotorblades are in the shipping box (never opened) in my hangar for 1.5 years waiting. $500 soft start stuff sitting for 1.5 years. New tail will have to be built. New landing gear is looking at me.

Phoenix status: New $1600 25' blades and slider head, $2500 PRU sitting here for 2 years. $1200 72" prince Q tip prop sitting here for 1.5 years. Ernie is delivering new 23' blades for UW tomorrow and will decide what type legs and tall tail to build for me for Phoenix -- Maybe we can have Phoenix back in the air in 2 months.

About the time I bent Puff and I was taking Phoenix apart for PRU I underwent a serious paradym shift to where I didn't go to hangar for MONTHS -- chemo treatment induced I think. Up to about 2 months ago I did NOT want to work on machines but I did feel well enough that I thought flying would be therapeutic so I bought UW. My only/best pleasure is flying and making metal shavings out of good metal -- why else would I get my A&P at 65 years old.

Once again, I'm sorry for being snappy. Thanks for all your help -- I need it.

[animal]

Ron, I'm sorry, you caught me at a bad time. For two days I'm on a pain killer for an absessed tooth that will have to be pulled -- Saturday afternoon -- and it makes me miss SX days.

Puff status: The $4200 rotorblades are in the shipping box (never opened) in my hangar for 1.5 years waiting. $500 soft start stuff sitting for 1.5 years. New tail will have to be built. New landing gear is looking at me.

Phoenix status: New $1600 25' blades and slider head, $2500 PRU sitting here for 2 years. $1200 72" prince Q tip prop sitting here for 1.5 years. Ernie is delivering new 23' blades for UW tomorrow and will decide what type legs and tall tail to build for me for Phoenix -- Maybe we can have Phoenix back in the air in 2 months.

About the time I bent Puff and I was taking Phoenix apart for PRU I underwent a serious paradym shift to where I didn't go to hangar for MONTHS -- chemo treatment induced I think. Up to about 2 months ago I did NOT want to work on machines but I did feel well enough that I thought flying would be therapeutic so I bought UW. My only/best pleasure is flying and making metal shavings out of good metal -- why else would I get my A&P at 65 years old.

Once again, I'm sorry for being snappy. Thanks for all your help -- I need it. David thanks for the Update and pic Of Puff, man I like that paint job always have liked blue with yellow trim.
the black and white pics I saw of Puff in home built Rotorcraft mag just does not do it any justice at all. I have all the Homebuilt rotor mags from when Don designed the RF-170.always have liked the design.I still think there should be some way to work the Bugs out of the design,I even was thinking some kind of twin tail to get the rudders out in the slip stream. I was Looking at an RF-170 in fla. for sale,but it kit number 3 had the old straight axel gear,and well even though the price was right for it,it is over 90% complete,so I was leary of the getting it certified. it was the early 4 door open cab style and I could have bought it for $13,500.
hope you continue to enjoy UW,and keep is informed on when you start rebuilding the others.

Tim H.

[GyroRon]

Okay no problem David, we all have bad days! I am sorry for snapping back at ya. All loaded up and getting ready to hit the road to SX days in about a hour. Gonna miss ya

[david holmes]

--I even was thinking some kind of twin tail to get the rudders out in the slip stream. ---early 4 door open cab style Tim H.

Tim,
I had added vertical stab and horizontal stab that took care of all problems with keeping back end in the back. I did "wind tunnel" tests with it that showed to it stay pointed into the wind better than my Bensen.

The 4 doors are a must. I will have to modify my cabin before I put it back into the air. A door for each side of every compartment is a MUST. I realized the need for another door when I was lying on my side with the door up. If I had rolled right instead of left, I would still be trying to get out. I said "THANK YOU GOD it rolled left" and it was on the ground when it grabbed itself by the tail and lost directional control -- blade flap. I had about 10 hours total blade time on the 29 ' Sportcopters.
I will get back to Puff one day but right now I'm looking to get Phoenix back up. Ernie will build the legs for the Phoenix for the 6' Prince Q tip -- maybe a couple of months.
I'd just like to have that windshield in front of me before cold weather gets here.

[david holmes]

Tim,
The Blue and Gold are after the Blue Angels colors.

[david holmes]

UW got new blades delivered yesterday by Ernie and Connie. Is that Special Delivery or what??? That's FIVE sets of rotor blades in my hangar for ONE working gyro. This last set of blades costs TWICE as much as I paid for my best car (86 Crown Vic).

It was nice of E & C to take a few minutes and visit my shack (home to g-son and me) in the pasture on their way to Mentone. Shack was built, partially, with surplus 2.75" rocket boxes from Ft. Rucker -- markings are still on the walls. What is paint? WHEN THE LAST NAIL WENT IN, IT WAS PAID FOR.

[animal]

Tim,
I had added vertical stab and horizontal stab that took care of all problems with keeping back end in the back. I did "wind tunnel" tests with it that showed to it stay pointed into the wind better than my Bensen.

The 4 doors are a must. I will have to modify my cabin before I put it back into the air. A door for each side of every compartment is a MUST. I realized the need for another door when I was lying on my side with the door up. If I had rolled right instead of left, I would still be trying to get out. I said "THANK YOU GOD it rolled left" and it was on the ground when it grabbed itself by the tail and lost directional control -- blade flap. I had about 10 hours total blade time on the 29 ' Sportcopters.
I will get back to Puff one day but right now I'm looking to get Phoenix back up. Ernie will build the legs for the Phoenix for the 6' Prince Q tip -- maybe a couple of months.
I'd just like to have that windshield in front of me before cold weather gets here. yeah Remember you said the blades flapped into the tail or something and thats what rolled you. glad you did get out ok. that would have been a bad feeling for sure if it had rolled the otherway.
The one I was looking at had the 4 open door cab ,with out any doors for it. I think that was before Don designed doors for it. Glad you are getting motivated to work on the Gyros again and that you are haveing fun with UW.

I don't think I have seen pics of Phoenix yet. but I would asume that is the one burning in the back ground.

Tim H.

[animal]

Tim,
The Blue and Gold are after the Blue Angels colors.
Thats right I should have put 2 and 2 together you where navy.
I still like the colors. :)
Tim H.

[animal]

UW got new blades delivered yesterday by Ernie and Connie. Is that Special Delivery or what??? That's FIVE sets of rotor blades in my hangar for ONE working gyro. This last set of blades costs TWICE as much as I paid for my best car (86 Crown Vic).

It was nice of E & C to take a few minutes and visit my shack (home to g-son and me) in the pasture on their way to Mentone. Shack was built, partially, with surplus 2.75" rocket boxes from Ft. Rucker -- markings are still on the walls. What is paint? WHEN THE LAST NAIL WENT IN, IT WAS PAID FOR.
well you should not run out of blades anytime soon.
what did Ernie think about Puff and Phoenix?
BTW what blades did you get with Puff, or did you have to buy them seperate, the project i have been looking at had rotordynes with it.

Tim H.
p.s.
would like to see picks of the Shack, that sound pretty neat.
I someday want to put up a arch style hanger type building and do an apartment in the top of it.

[david holmes]

The blue bird in my Avatar is the Phoenix with ZERO gas -- before I put the FS-450 on it. program says my pics are too large and I haven't yet figured out how to reduce them -- blame it on the chemo.

I think my RF-170 came with some rattie rotordynes that I could never get to stay straight with that "shock" pre-rotator. The rotordynes are in a box in my hangar if you know of anyone who wants them. RF-170 is on it's second set of Sportcopter blades.

[Kevin_Richey]

Shack was built, partially, with surplus 2.75" rocket boxes from Ft. Rucker -- markings are still on the walls. What is paint? WHEN THE LAST NAIL WENT IN, IT WAS PAID FOR.

David: Did you disassemble the boxes and use the planks, or just nail them together?

Were they FREE?

What happened to your bird you were taking flying?

[david holmes]

I disassembled boxes and used the boards

$.25 per box but that did not include delivery -- should have seen them stacked on my pickup. Looked like Sanford and son.

"Goose" died. I think it found some warfarin rat poison on my floor. Small comfort to know that the blood thinner I've been taking for 3 years is the same stuff -- discovered 50 years ago to make rats hemorrage to death.
I do NOT have any signs of rats however yesterday I found a 7' snake skin in my attic -- probably rat snake that keeps rats down.

[david holmes]

Thats right I should have put 2 and 2 together you where navy.
I still like the colors. :)
Tim H.
That's with a capitol N

[animal]

That's with a capitol N
oops Sorry, sometime I don't get all my capitols where they should be.
p.s. tryed to send ya my E-mail but it got rejected. so here it is.
ncra@bellsouth.net

Tim H.

[animal]

I think my RF-170 came with some rattie rotordynes that I could never get to stay straight with that "shock" pre-rotator. The rotordynes are in a box in my hangar if you know of anyone who wants them. RF-170 is on it's second set of Sportcopter blades.
I bet if you listed them for sale on here,someone would grab them up.
or list them on barnstormers web site you can list up to a 100 words free.

http://www.barnstormers.com/

lots of people check out the site I have my Scorpion listed there.

some people like the Rotordynes,so ya never know someone might grab them right up.
Tim H.

[david holmes]

Yesterday, I removed the rock guard (after looking at it with Ernie) and removed 2# & 13 oz. -- heavier than it looked.

Flew it for 45 minutes to lift my spirits before the Dentist removed the abscessed tooth (on Saturday afternoon).

Teeth have knowledge. They know when the Dentists office is closed and they know when one has an event like SX days on the schedule.

[bartc150]

What is the rock guard?

[david holmes]

Bart, the rock guard is the thing under the keel that is under the prop and was intended to keep gravel and bahia grass, etc from damaging the prop. Because I operate off a bahia grass strip and sometimes off places that have loose gravel I wanted to protect my prop. You would not believe the dinged props that I have hanging around my hangar.

Sorry I don't have any pics that show the rock guard on any of my machines.
I paid Ernie extra $$$$$$$$ to put it on and then we decided it wasn't worthwhile so I took it off.

[bartc150]

It makes more sense now since it was an add on part. I was trying to figure out where my rock guard was on my UW. BTW, why did you change rotor blades?

[david holmes]

Bart,
I bought UW from Ernie without blades because I had a ragged set of 23' DWs here that I'd put new on the Phoenix since it's rebuild about 3 years ago. During P's upgrade I replaced P's blades with 25' because of added weight of PRU.

Ernie said Phoenix's 23 DW's were "probably" OK for flying but they looked dingy -- hangar rash, etc -- so I shelled 3 months social security checks.

[david holmes]

got ELT installed today and took if for a flight. It activated on takeoff and on each landing. Nice to know it activitates but sorta of a bother to have to push the reset button on the mailbox.

I didn't refuel after yesterday's flight and took off with 4.2 gallons for 26 mile over to TOI and back. Fuel flow said I'd have .9 remaining at touchdown. I had 1.1 (according to Ernie's gage on the side of the tank) -- I LOVE it.

I can hear the tower real good but I cannot hear myself transmit. Any ideas. Also tower says I'm garbled at 8 miles and 500'. Thinking to move antenna from top of instrument pod to underneath the frame. Someone said the rotor could cause interference. I'll let you know.

[Mike V]

got ELT installed today and took if for a flight. It activated on takeoff and on each landing. cause interference. I'll let you know.

Hi again, David. You said you were installing the ELT. Any details regarding the install you'd like to share? You did say is was voice, 121.5? I'm not familiar with that device......

Mike

[david holmes]

Mike V.
ELT
AK-450 $185

http://www.gulf-coast-avionics.com/detail.asp?id=4630

[david holmes]

is being a pain!!
today with master switch on I have something less than 12 battery volts but all electrical instruments work. As soon as I crank the engine the voltage goes to ZERO and all electrical instruments quit working. Does that mean the little inverter thingy has gone bad? How can I check it?

Of course engine cranks and runs fine with master switch off and no electrical instruments.

Is that little inverter thingy available from Napa?

[GyroRon]

Does that mean the little inverter thingy has gone bad? How can I check it?

Of course engine cranks and runs fine with master switch off and no electrical instruments.

Is that little inverter thingy available from Napa?


don't know

don't know

and no

[scottessex]

What kind of little inverter thingy? is it silver, with cooloinf fins? or blue?

I am guessing either rotax (silver) or key west (blue)
not available in stores----Aircraft spruce---Lockwood--etc.
You should be making about 13.8 t0 14.4 volts at the battery with the engine running. But, if you have no voltage, and no assesories work, hmmmm start looking for electrical gremlins....check everything especially the grounds! Most electrical problems are "grounding" problems. keep us posted!

[david holmes]

Scott,
I think you were right about the ground. I remembered that I had removed (for no good reason) the ground that Ernie had put from the battery to the instrument panel. I had grounded all instruments to the airframe nearest the insrument. When I put in a new dedicated ground from the battery to the instruments all worked well off the battery-- for a while.
Now it seems my voltage regulator isn't "putting out".

CPS advisor says it's probably the regulator.

Engine still cranks and runs so I fly -- just not as far or as proud.

[david holmes]

I checked voltge with machine running. Rotax was putting out 16V ac. Battery had 13V. Voltmeter had 8 - 9 V. Voltmeter was grounded to frame. I changed VM ground to dedicated ground and it reads battery voltage of 12 to 14 Volts steadily now. There is some reason that the frame is drawing off voltage and I may never know what. It was 100 degrees in the sun outside the hanger where I had to do my runups but it was worth it.
Flew for .3 just to check it out.
That UW is one more sweet machine. I set the throttle for 6300rpm and it flew hands off with heading change with the feet.
Fuel flow/GPS interface (i.e. fuel required, etc.) has decided to not work so that's next.

[KenSandyEggo]

I've found over the years that a lot of problems can be solved by moving the "ground" of the problem instrument somewhere else by itself.

[C. Beaty]

Aluminum is a fairy good electrical conductor, David. Aluminum oxide is an excellent insulator. Freshly machined or scraped aluminum forms a fresh oxide layer almost immediately.

The electrical power companies use a lot of aluminum instead of copper but they have special techniques for making reliable splices and connections.

Connections which aren’t resistance welded are swaged after the application of a conductive paste that excludes oxygen.

You should never depend upon the bolted joints of a gyro airframe to provide electrical continuity.

[scottessex]

Chuck is right, the bolted airframe is not a good conductor, I will usually run a ground wire from the battery to a small terminal strip, and attach grounds there, or a dedicated ground as you have described.
Cars are the only things you should use the framework as a ground. :)

[david holmes]

chuck,
what you say is correct of course BUT my problem is not bad airframe connections. My instruments died the instant that I pulled the starter -- the engine didn't even need to start. This leads me to believe that the engine/lighting coil is putting out a "bad" voltage. I seemed to have bypassed this by putting dedicated ground wire from battery to the instruments.

[C. Beaty]

Is your engine grounded, David?

If I understand you correctly, simply tugging on the starter rope causes mischief. Sounds like you’ve got some dangling wires that ought to go somewhere.

Take a look at the Rotax manual to see where they ought to go.

[david holmes]

Chuck,
engine has very good ground to frame and battery negative -- Ernie installed them.

Don't see any loose wires.
Engine cranks and runs fine.
Just ordered DVD on Rotax repair from CPS

[C. Beaty]

David Seace had some problems several years ago when Rotax first switched over to the Maurelli (don’t know how to spell it) ignition from Bosch.

The stator for the mag/alternator depended for grounding upon being clamped to the engine housing and humidity made a mess of things. But it seems like his problem was hard starting.

[david holmes]

kamnist thing happened today. Thought to go flying before the first rain rings from Katrina got here. I had started and strapped in. When I pulled on the pre-rotator handle NOTHING!!!
The cable had parted immediately in front of the two swedge fittings!! It was so smooth that it looked as if they had been cut.
There was enough slack in the P-R cable that I was able to cut a couple of inches off the metal cover and put another eyelet in the aft pre-rotator arm. I used cable clamps and painted slip marks on it.
By this time the turbulent first rain band was approaching so I went for a very quick VERY turbulent ride and landed with a great cross wind as the rain started.
By the time I got it dried off -- the band of rain had passed through and I went up for some NICE flying in clear air with good visibility and LOTS of wind. I could indicate 35mph and sit in one place forever at 500 feet.
Of course I had the WHOLE sky for myself.

[C. Beaty]

Where is our prodigal Dominator improver? I pray he’s not lying underneath a pile of splinters in Lower Alabama.

Most likely, no electricity, no telephone.

[david holmes]

CA, et. al.
Katrina had NO impact here.
Monday as K came through I was on the road with kids -- missed some good flying winds.
Tuesday I flew about 40 minutes in clear cool.
Wednesday I got absorbed in (improving dominator) moving radio from console to location alongside seat and antenna now points down near front wheel --then rain hindered flying.
Someone said placing antenna further from rotor might improve reception/transmission --- as if I ever used a radio up here.
I could actually hear fuel flow (FS-450) noise on the radio. FS was about 4" from radio.
Glad I have 50 gallons of gas in barrel. Gas stations here have gone crazy.
Today I'll get high again. Flying is my BEST therapy. I think it's the adrenalin.
Yesterday I got another $900 Ariness shot because my blood counts were low --thank God for good insurance -- my cost? 0.

[C. Beaty]

Just to show my ignorance of Alabama geography, I had assumed Lower Alabama would be somewhere near Mobile.

Looked on the map and see you’re 100 crow miles north of the Panama City/Ft. Walton Beach area.

[david holmes]

CA,
more specifically, I live in UCLA -- upper central lower Alabama.

[Timchick]

We think of anything above Florida as LA just as they think of us as the Redneck Riviera.

[david holmes]

Ernie's OK!!!
I don't care what the rest of you guys e-mail me about him!!!
Wednesday I mentioned to him that the pre-rotator cable had broken -- Friday I received a new one in the mail. I don't even remember asking him to send one to me. I was using the one that I had jigger-rigged.
I put the new one on and flew over the Troy University Cal-Poly game Saturday at 6. Only up to the kick off and 1000' or greater and away from the stadium.
HOWEVER, on Friday I called the principle (who happens to be my cousin) for the local high school and asked if I could make 2 passes over the local game (same stadium as Troy University above) at/no lower than light level -- before the game started. He approved it so I did.
The golf course is on one end and the parking lot is on the other.

I'm waiting for the FAA to call next week.

[C. Beaty]

HOWEVER, on Friday I called the principle (who happens to be my cousin) for the local high school and asked if I could

You didn't by any chance mean principal, did you?

Now, we're even.

[KenSandyEggo]

Maybe they have more than one and he's the principle principal.

[david holmes]

"When I make a word do a lot of work like that I always pay it extra."

to quote my authority source:
Bet you didn't know Humpty Dumpty knew about gyros

"`That's a great deal to make one word mean,' Alice said in a thoughtful tone.

`When I make a word do a lot of work like that,' said Humpty Dumpty, `I always pay it extra.'

`Oh!' said Alice. She was too much puzzled to make any other remark.

`Ah, you should see 'em come round me of a Saturday night,' Humpty Dumpty went on, wagging his head gravely from side to side, `for to get their wages, you know.'

(Alice didn't venture to ask what he paid them with; and so you see I can't tell you.)

`You seem very clever at explaining words, Sir,' said Alice. `Would you kindly tell me the meaning of the poem called "Jabberwocky"?'

`Let's hear it,' said Humpty Dumpty. `I can explain all the poems that ever were invented -- and a good many that haven't been invented just yet.'

This sounded very hopeful, so Alice repeated the first verse:

`'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.'

`That's enough to begin with,' Humpty Dumpty interrupted: `there are plenty of hard words there. "Brillig" means four o'clock in the afternoon -- the time when you begin broiling things for dinner.'

`That'll do very well,' said Alice: `and "slithy"?'

`Well, "slithy" means "lithe and slimy". "Lithe" is the same as "active". You see it's like a portmanteau -- there are two meanings packed up into one word.'

`I see it now,' Alice remarked thoughtfully: `and what are "toves"?'

`Well, "toves" are something like badgers -- they're something like lizards -- and they're something like corkscrews.'

`They must be very curious-looking creatures.'

`They are that,' said Humpty Dumpty; `also they make their nests under sun-dials -- also they live on cheese.'

`And what's to "gyre" and to "gimble"?'

`To "gyre" is to go round and round like a gyroscope. To "gimble" is to make holes like a gimlet.'

[C. Beaty]

The relevant quotation: “A word means precisely what I choose it to mean; nothing more, nothing less.”

But can't remember if that was Bill Gates or the Mad Hatter.

[Mike Jackson]

I don't get how Alice (in Wonderland?) met Humpty? Same syndicated shows? :confused:

[Doug Riley]

...and how many people over the years have claimed that they had an offset "gimble" head?

[david holmes]

The UW got another improvement this evening!!!!!!!! For 4 months I've been CLIMBING up onto that thing and stepping on what I think Ernie told me to not step on. My guilt was getting out of hand.

If you've ever seen springbutt Boyette hop up and do a half twist to get into a UW you will be convinced he's not all caucasan.

The step is simple tubing.

[david holmes]

UW got new Icom A6 mounted on instrument panel. It picks up static from everything. Even gets beeps from my Garman 195 GPS. Using stub antenna or remote doesn't seem to make a difference.
Any suggestions?

[Screw]

Screw-In

Today I went to ROC, John Palmer and Gary were there with a yellow two place Dominator that looked very familiar. I don't know what Sub engine was on it, and I'm not sure about the blade size, but I loved it!

Let me repeat with a little clarification. I love flying gyros. I love tearing up the "Patch." I loved my little KB-2 for that reason, but I wanna two place. I've flown a Sparrowhawk, 2 place Aircommand, Parsons 4 ect.....and I guess I thought I knew about what to expect out of a two place Dominator.

I was so wrong! Being used to flying gyros like the KB-2 and others that are sitting on the ground, I still haven't gotten used to the hieght of the Dominator cause I was a little nervous with the takeoff roll.

This sucker lept off the ground with Gary in the back seat! I relaxed and the cyclic and built airspeed about 20ft off the deck and throttled back alot! I maintained 60-70mph and began to circle the patch. The first thing that grabbed my attention was how light she felt. This Dominator didn't feel like a heavy two place, it felt like a single rocket with a jump seat in the back.

I got to banking, and slow flight, hover and decend and before long, I felt like the Great Waldow Pepper! I did a spin, slip her sideways, a few touch and goes. Dominators are addictive. I've flown both the single and two place. I can't wait to lay my hand on an Ultrawhite. Does anyone have Stuarts phone number? :D Just kidding.

The two place is Very Impressive and I wish I had one. Please, what engine combo is on that one and what is the blade size?

Also, for those that do not know, John passed away today at ROC. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Screw-Out

[CLS447]

Dave, sorry to hijack your thread but I just wanted to know what engine was on that tandem that John S. got a ride in ?

[Doug Riley]

John, you need to buy my Rotax 912S Dominator. It has a light engine and 28-foot blades, and flies accordingly. The first $30K takes it!

[GyroRon]

Chris, it was John Palmers gyro, and it had a Subaru EJ-20 on it.

[Screw]

Screw-In

Thanks Doug, but I'm 29k short right now. I got alot tied up into this LW and I'm gonna finish and enjoy her.

I just wanted to let everyone know my thoughts on the way that bad boy flew. If I had an extra 30k, I'd do it in a minute and add to my collection. Of course my hanger fees would go up. :D

Screw-Out

[david holmes]

Evergreen SERFI flyin
was great experience for Ultrawhite. When we arrived Friday pm there were only 4 fixed wings there because of bad weather.

About 4 dozen fixed wings and Dolfin Fitts and another RAF arrived Saturday.
It was very windy. Only about 6 Ultralites and they didn't fly. The ultralite runway wind was 90 degrees and the flag was staight out.
Ultrawhite flew 3 times and really attracted lots of attention because I "hovered" over the crowd from 1500' down to 300'. RAF's couldn't do that. I had the only open cockpit machine at the flyin.
UW was the most photographed on the ground and always had a crowd around looking at the only console approved by the postmaster general.
I wore the orange flight suit and Stewart said he could see orange suit reflected in the rotor blades when I was flying. I'm really working on the polishing.

Some people said they heard the noise and looked up and the first thing they saw was the orange flight suit.

My son and two grandsons & I stayed in motorhome. One 12 year old grandson got his first airplane ride with Young Eagles.

THANKS ERNIE.

[david holmes]

4.4 gal per hour is max endurance at 45 mph --this is also max range of 70 miles on 7 gallons.
5.2 per hour gives 50 mph and this range of 67 miles on 7 gallons.
5.9 gal per hour gives 55 mph and 65 miles seven gallons
6.9 gal per hour gives 60 mph and 60 miles on seven gallons.*

* i.e. travel 10 miles less and get there (tanks dry) 33% quicker than max range-- assuming no wind.

test from flight at 1000 msl & 70 degrees & FS-450.

THANKS ERNIE

[david holmes]

Yesterday UW took me to the annual Peanut Butter parade. I flew overhead for about 20 minutes before the parade started. I noticed balloons floating up from the crowd so I started attacking the balloons -- air to air combat with a balloon.
Sorta fun. I chased two and popped one. This would make a good contest for our flyins. Maybe to release 3 balloons for each gyro and let them record the altitudes at which they popped the balloons. Least total wins.

After parade started I landed in the highway at the end of the parade and taxied through town so crowd could get a close up. I won't do that again without wing-walkers.

Great middle America day.

THANKS ERNIE

[Doug Riley]

At the old USUA northeast regional flyin (80's and early 90's) , we used to do an event like this. I didn't participate, out of cowardice about racking my unstable Air Command around too much.

Among the FW ultralights, the tractors always won and the pushers seldom got a balloon. It's tough to get a balloon to go into a pusher prop, since the structure in front deflects it away.

[david holmes]

48 minutes around the area this afternoon. Hands folded in my lap MOST of the time. It took a little right rudder because I added a trim tab and it's not exactly adjusted.
6130 RPM gave 54 mph and I just sat back and turned with my feet.

THANKS ERNIE.

[david holmes]

flew around at about 1100' for 1 hour and 7 minutes and landed with a little over a gallon of gas. That's my longest flight so far.

I set the throttle at 6100 and it trimmed itself for about 54mph. I put my hands into my pockets and steered with my feet for over 40 minutes just gently circling area. Not another airplane in the sky. Amazingly stable.

As I was going to the hangar I saw the eagle circling upwards so I went in that directions and about 2 miles away I spotted it about 200' away--- briefly, then lost sight of it. I felt like I was flying with the eagle.

Buzzards just about won't get out of the way.

THANKS ERNIE

[Aussie_Paul]

That is what stability is all about David. Great stuff.

Aussie Paul. :)

[Doug Riley]

David: The tandem Dominator flies the same way. It's a waste of effort to hold the stick. The machine maintains airspeed better by itself than we mere mortals can, chasing the guages. I also fly around with arms folded and steer with the pedals. It's nice to find some use for them.

Flying solo, the Rotax 912S on the tandem with 28-foot blades will hold altitude at about 4500 RPM (redline is 5800). Add another 400-500 for a second person.

[david holmes]

Doug,
Do you have pitch trim?
I do not.

[david holmes]

The Ultrawhite earned it's keep today. This is the last day it's going to be 65 degrees for a while so I thought I'd take UW up to check out the heated jacket liner before it really gets cold.
The wind was 90 degrees at about 10 knots -- a cake walk.
When I got above 300' the wind picked up and at 1000' I sat stationary indicating 25 mph. It only took 5700 rpm -- not hammering 6400 like it does at 0 mph. The air was VERY smooth. I guess it's the cold air mass moving in.

This old geezer sat still at about 1500' for FOURTY FIVE minutes just enjoying the view -- nothing else in the sky -- just me and God.

THANKS ERNIE

[Doug Riley]

David: Yes, I have in-flight electric trim. I set it full forward on takeoff and and full back on landing. The stick pressures are quite a bit higher on a 2-place than on a 1-place, thanks in part to the tall rotor head. Controlling speed at other than cruise requires steady pressure unless you dial it out with the trimmer.

OTOH, the (plastic) shaft on the trim motor broke once and left motor, spring and all disconnected. The stick pressures were annoying but perfectly manageable. IOW, the trim is a nice touch, but not essential.

[david holmes]

Today it was 50 degrees and still windy enough to "hover" at 1500. I was VERY comfortable in my electric jacket underneath a Mossey Oak jacket. I used the electric gloves but did not plug them in. I cannot blow air through the Mossey Oak jacket and that makes all the difference.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be 40 degrees so I will be on the windchill chart at 55-60 mph. I'll let you know.

These spam can drivers don't know what they are missing.

35 minute flight. UW handles the amps really well with rheostat..

[Doug Riley]

Brother counselor, please send some of that nice toasty 50-degree weather up here. Them's shirt-sleeve flying temps in these parts.

[david holmes]

how cold has any of you flown a no pod/no windscreen gyro?

[Chuck Roberg]

Our club has a Polar Bear flyin on New Years Day. I remember one day the temps were abot 0 to 10 degrees. Light snow and a little windy. 2 of the fellas elected to go flying. I elected to stay in the Airport office and drink hot chocolate.

I have been up in my gyro (no windshield or pod) a couple of times in 20 degree weather. But not for long. Only about 20 min.

Been thinking af getting a heated vest. But I'm not sure I'll use it enough to justify the cost.

[Doug Riley]

Low 20's, when I was younger and stupider (age 18, I think). Tomorrow is going to be in the 30's, and I have a pretty eager student, so we may go for it. Time for the snowmobile suit.

[david holmes]

5300' !!
This afternoon I went out for my daily airgasm. After drilling around at 500' and waving at people on the ground. I noticed some smoke rising and going flat on top. I thought that was due to an inversion layer so I decided to climb above the smoke and see if the air got warmer. Smoke top turned out to be higher than I thought -- 4000'. OAT on the ground was 61 and at 5000' was 48. Glad I had the electric jacket.

58 minutes of flight only took 4.9 gallons.

I decided that since I'm up here I might as well take her on up to a mile AGL. On a clear day you can see forever -- 40 miles from 4000'.

I wonder if one on the ground can see a 67 year old man in his rocking chair/gyro at 5300'??

THANKS ERNIE

[david holmes]

yesterday when I was flying about I thought I saw 3 of my cows in a neighbors field about 1/2 mile from where they were supposed to be. This morning I took UW out out early and went looking again.
Talk about faith in Rotax and Ernie -- I HAD IT. I was looking right down in the tree tops. There was a good wind so I could slide sideways at zero forward speed for a good look.
If anything had sputtered I'd have been the biggest tree ornament of the season.

didn't find the critters.

[david holmes]

flew 30 minutes yesterday and found my cows. Sure can't drive them with UW because the pine trees are everywhere. 4-wheeler and Border Collies time.

[ultracruiser41]

Hey David,

Can you post some pics of your UW?

Thanks,

BArryK

[david holmes]

thanks Ernie

[Timchick]

Great photos David. I do have a question about your front canard. It looks like with that angle it would tend to make the gyro go nose down.

[david holmes]

Tim,
I picked that angle because it puts the instruments easiest to see and the height blocks the view the least.
In years past I've taped strings all over the mailbox to check airflow. I even had thingys on the top and bottom to redirect airflow and reduce drag.
Chuck Beaty did a drag computation for me.
BOTTOM LINE -- at 40 t0 70 mph I don't think it makes much difference.

P.S. Actually Ernie mounted the UW mailbox and he pulled the angle and height out of his "ear" and got it exactly right.

THANKS ERNIE

[C. Beaty]

Just had a good look at your runway, David.

The Girly set that’s always wringing their hands about high CG and spindly nose gear legs couldn’t even taxi their RAFs on your runway, much less FLY from it.

[david holmes]

ignorance is bliss. Do I need to worry now?

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread?

Where did you get a good look at my r/w?

[C. Beaty]

Refer to your post #165. I know you lawyers are intolerant of wording that is
imprecise and ambiguous so I should have said: “took a good look at the pictures of your runway.”

[scottessex]

Looks like a typical country strip, Looks like you are having entirely too much fun David.

[david holmes]

more mustering L.A. style
yesterday I took UW looking for the 3 cows and found them 1/2 mile from the previous location. flew back to Honalee and took Raider to the location and could not find them. I called local cowboys and their 3 dogs. They arrived about 45 minutes before sundown. Launched UW and after scouring 1000 acres of piney woods I discovered cows in a "deer plot" about 1/2 miles from cowboys. I was able to guide cowboys to the cows and they lassoed 2 cows -- almost dark. They caught both cows with one loop -- threw the horse down but they got the cows -- wish I'd been there to see it. The cowboys did not know where they were in the woods by then and it was DARK! They could not hear truck horn but they did have cell phone. One's wife came over with 3 young kids and we waited for them to find their way. About 1 hour after sundown these two on their horses with dogs come out of the wood exactly where they went in. They must have a built in sense of orientation.

It was 37 degrees by the time they loaded their horses. One can feel a bonding between the men and their horses that we can't get with cold metal.

They caught the cows but I felt like a real player because they wouldn't have found them without the aerial recon.

Really impressive to see real cowboys at work -- wish I could have seen it all.

[Cobra Doc]

When ever I got lost I would just hang the reins on the saddle horn and take a nap. When I woke up, we were home. My cousins used to think I was really great at cuttin' cows. It wasn't me. It was all Trixie. And to think I got her from the BLM for $25. She was a Pinto that came out the White Mountains near Springerville. She was the most sure-footed horse I ever rode. When I joined the Army, I gave her to a cousin that still owned a ranch. He said he needed seat belts on the saddle because that horse could cut and knew exactly what she was doing. I sure do miss that horse, and my dog. Between those two, I just hung on and looked good. Rusty, the dog, would sure give me a dirty look if I missed a toss. Trixie took it in stride and just cut the calf again and Rusty, being a Catahoula, would usually pin the calf until he was sure I could get rope on it. Sometimes I felt like such an idiot...

[david holmes]

Cody,
I have a mustang that I got from BLM about 13 years ago -- beautiful creature - still. He just roams around the place and maintains himself.
I call it my $5200 mustang because I paid $200 for the horse and $5000 for the two steel pins I have in my ankle for about 11 years now.
I can ALWAYS find something to thank GOD for. Insurance covered the bill and I've never had a minutes pain from it.

BUT I've learned there are somethings I can do without and riding that mustang is one of them.

[Cobra Doc]

The trick with wild horses is you only get to ride with their consent. I "broke" Trixie with just a rope halter and my great-grandfather's pond. there were days that she just didn't want to be ridden so I used another horse. Once she saw the other horses working, she usually wanted in on it.

[david holmes]

took the UW up for a quickie this am.
the wind was the strongest yet at 70 to 90 degrees off r/w heading at 20 to 25 mph on the ground. getting off was dicy but doable. Indicating 35 mph and 1000' agl, i backed for 3/4 of a mile from one side of my farm to another. This was at 5700 rpm but I only had 2 gallons of gas on board.
landing crosswind on 20' wide r/w was soft as a baby's butt and zero ground roll, of course.

Good adrenalin rush before I go this afternoon to schedule open heart surgery. She is probably going to mess with my flying for a couple of months -- worse part about it.

THANKS ERNIE

[Doug Riley]

Best of luck, David. Attitude is half the battle in health matters, and you've got that part nailed.

[animal]

Good adrenalin rush before I go this afternoon to schedule open heart surgery. She is probably going to mess with my flying for a couple of months -- worse part about it.

THANKS ERIE[/QUOTE]

Good Luck David.

[Rotornut]

David, God Speed. I Hope and Pray that All works Out for you.
You are a Very Special Person and Honest to Boot. Go with FAITH.

Love ya David. MJ :)

[david holmes]

Broke the Ultrawhite today. -- right main and rotor.

Today it was 65 degrees and not supposed to be warm again before my heart valve replacement scheduled for Feb-7. So I decided to go flying and did for about 45 minutes. During the flight I felt a slight kick in the right rudder pedal but didn't think anything about it until I started back to FOD (Field of Dreams). Then I realized I had NO right rudder.

Having not practiced lost rudder landings I was sorta at a loss as to what to do. I was about 200' descending. I tried to add power and climb and that yawed to the left and was very uncomfortable. I continued descent, at reduced power, to the r/w area (pasture) and tried to raise the nose before touchdown. It started to turn left and the right main hit the ground when we were sliding to the right.

The right main broke off at the axle and bent the aft lower brace. Of course the rotor is history. Other than that and the broken control cable I think it's flyable. ended on it's right side.

I tried to make some pictures and will see if I can post them.

The prop had cut the rudder cable.

I was only hurt in the wallet.

[animal]

Broke the Ultrawhite today. -- right main and rotor.


The right main broke off at the axle and bent the aft lower brace. Of course the rotor is history. Other than that and the broken control cable I think it's flyable. ended on it's right side.

I tried to make some pictures and will see if I can post them.

I was only hurt in the wallet.

Wow David thats bad that you crunched the UW, Just glad you are ok.

[bartc150]

Can you tell what happened David? Was it a cable failure?

[david holmes]

Can you tell what happened David? Was it a cable failure?

prop tip cut the cable. 100 hours on the machine.

[david holmes]

four pictures of UW

[Rotornut]

David, Glad your OK. Jeez you have some luck or murphys law.
We all Know you have a Angel watching over you.
Be Safe, MJ:)

[Timchick]

David,
Glad you're OK. Bummer.

[scottessex]

Glad you are OK David, Hope you can get back up and flying soon.

[stuart]

Ditto, stuart

[Ga6riel]

I never thought of that before~
~that a control cable will move, and yes on a pusher configuration its possible to slice through it. Did the rudder go hard over and stay that way ?
The really important thing is you are OK.

[gm276]

David,

Wow, quite a story to be able to tell. Please share how the cable was mounted , etc. Very glad your ok.

Don B

[david holmes]

Glad you are OK David, Hope you can get back up and flying soon.

Scott,
I'll probably not fly for 8 weeks or so after the heart valve replacement on Tuesday.
Fixing the machine won't take more than an two hours to replace right main, rotor and rudder cable.. -- that's the only damage I see. There isn't even a dent in the prop.

[david holmes]

Did the rudder go hard over and stay that way ?

rudder worked fine with left pedal, just no right because the cable was broken. There was just 3 slight kicks of the rudder pedal earlier in the flight that I thought was strange. That must have been when it got cut. Flying around at 45 - 65 I didn't even notice not having right rudder until I started the descent to land.

[MikeBoyette]

Hey David,
Glad you are ok. I swear you are part feline. I have never heard of a cable being cut like that. Dad is in your neck of the woods looking at property. I wish I could get hold of him and he run by and have a look at it. I tried his cell phone earlier to no avail. I will try again. Once again I am pleased to see you were not hurt.

[GyroRon]

Mike, is Ernie not looking to go to New Mexico anymore?

[Doug Riley]

David, I think you did about all that could be done. Overall it was a good save on rough ground. Slowing down as much as you can is important when landing a damaged gyro.

It's possible on some machines to slide your foot down and hook the one working pedal from underneath, pulling it toward you for a limited push-pull effect. This at least can overcome the unblanced spring tension. You can't get much good out of pushing on a wire, though.

It's very important to have a cable guard right under the prop. It must have long "ears" to eliminate any chance of the cable popping up into the prop arc. Check it on each preflight to make sure the cables haven't snuck out from under it during ground handling (I find this on mine every once in awhile). One good thing about the old Bensen design is that it positively kept the cable down below the prop. Bensen used closed fairleads and the infamous "horizontal stabilizer" to boot.

A weak link in the Dominator landing gear is the tubular stub axles. If you land in much of a crab, they will bend down and snap off. They are good for just about 2G's on a single-place, and less than 1.5G on a two-place (I added internal sleeves to my 2-place). Ernie may intend them to be a weak link that saves the rest of the machine, but Dom. pilots need to be aware of this in any event.

David, have your rotor head checked out carefully. Replace the bearing and bolts no matter what. Blade-busts are really hard on them.

Take care of yourself and the very best of luck with that surgery.

[BUD ONEAL]

Mike Boyette, Do you remember Dwight Kittenger who built a V.W powered machine several years ago in Ft.Myers? We were in Immokalee one weekend and he was doing engine off spirals. Full left rudder when his prop caught the rudder cable and cut it. He fell pretty hard straight down. The wheels were practically wrapped around his ears !

[david holmes]

lest anyone think otherwise, When I picked up the UW it had a rockguard and the brace kept the cable from rising above the keel. It was built right.

I took the rockguard off. Now I wish I had not because not only did the prop get into the cable but in 100 hours I have erroded the leading edges of the warp blades until they will probably have to be replaced soon.

[GyroRon]

Dave, I would like to see pictures of the area around the bottom of the prop where the cables were and this rockguard you took off as well. I have yet to see a Dominator with a rock Guard installed, or at least that I recall.

[david holmes]

Ron,
The rock guard was special ordered because of the runway I operate from. I should have left it on.
Probably won't spend any time in the hangar for the next couple of weeks -- post op.

[MikeBoyette]

Bud,
I remember Dwight, but I don't remember the accident. Dad said it was nice to see you this weekend.
Ron,
Dad islooking to get out of here. He hasn't settled on where he wants to move. He has made trips to Ala. and New Mexico, but neither struck his fancy. He like most of us from Florida are feeling like we are being squeazed out of our home state. Pretty soon it is going to be one big parking lot. Besides that he wants to go somewhere the property taxes are less. We pay about 300 to 500 a month for the right to live in Hillsbourgh County. Plainly put just too many people.

[animal]

Bud,
I remember Dwight, but I don't remember the accident. Dad said it was nice to see you this weekend.
Ron,
Dad islooking to get out of here. He hasn't settled on where he wants to move. He has made trips to Ala. and New Mexico, but neither struck his fancy. He like most of us from Florida are feeling like we are being squeazed out of our home state. Pretty soon it is going to be one big parking lot. Besides that he wants to go somewhere the property taxes are less. We pay about 300 to 500 a month for the right to live in Hillsbourgh County. Plainly put just to many people.

Mike ,has he thought any about Aiken county s.c.? I have almost 4 acres there I would like to sell. not sure if it would be big enough to land a gyro on or not.I was mainly look at it for helicopter ops. when I bought it. but there is a lot of land in Aiken and barnwell countys for sale. in fact if it has not been sold there is another 25 acres that is beside my land,almost land locked so can be bought cheap I am sure.

just a thought.

[MikeBoyette]

Tim,
I think he wants farther south. He said Ala. was pretty cold while he was there.

[KenSandyEggo]

What's further south than Florida and still be in the U.S.?

[animal]

Tim,
I think he wants farther south. He said Ala. was pretty cold while he was there.
yeah I was kind of suprised to find out that it's not that much warmer in Aiken then it is here in greensboro. I would love to live in a warmer climate my self.

[chuter]

How about Okiehoma? Oklahoma City is centrally located, right on 3 major highways: I-40, I-35, and I-44.

I think the cost of living is relatively cheap.

Gets plenty hot in the summer. This winter has been abnormally warm, but still a bit cool for much open frame gyro flyin'.

[Vance]

It's warmer in Arizona and he could hang out with Mr Mayfield.
Swamps are less of a problem and there is a lot of areas avalable for engine out landings.
Thank you, Vance

[Mayfield]

I'd try to pick his brain too much. I suspect he might become a little cross with me.

Jim

[GyroRon]

North Carolina Mountains, Mike.... That is where he needs to look at property.

[gyroman]

Tell him to come to Texas... I have 4 acres and it only costs about 700 bucks a year in taxes. Plus, there's land everywhere... Doesn't get cold here in southern Texas either, I haven't worn a heavy jacket since I was a kid...

Plus everything's BIGGER in Texas....:D

[david holmes]

They are good for just about 2G's on a single-place, and less than 1.5G on a two-place (I added internal sleeves to my 2-place).
David, have your rotor head checked out carefully.

Doug,
2 or 1.5 seems MIGHTY frail because the machine uses up ONE G just sitting.
I'm shipping the head back to Ernie for inspection.

Thanks.

[Doug Riley]

David -- Ernie or Mike can address the thinking behind the design. I would guess that the intent is for the air shocks to reduce a 2-foot drop to no more than 2G and, for a higher drop than that, something just is going to bend. There's additional relief from a straight drop in the form of the upper shock terminal sliding up the mast (been there, on one student's first practice deadstick...).

If you drop straight in hard, the stub tube axles will just bend/break and land you on the struts with no tipover.

The real trouble comes when landing with sidways motion. Those large-diameter wheels create quite a bending load if they dig in on a sideways slide. That can easily snap off the stub axle tubes. Another of my students did a hiphop landing and managed to break both stubs off, all without falling over.

[Dean_Dolph]

Ernie has been to Texas and I don't think he was impressed with the local gyro designs!

[MikeBoyette]

Doug,
I'll let him address that if he wishes since he designed it. Needless to say as with any gyro it is better to land a Dominator as straight as possible and with as little ground speed as possible. I think if you tried to make every part completely crash proof, it would be to heavy to get off the ground.
Everyone,
I told him to try Arizona, I was in Seirra Vista while I was in the Army and loved it. Texas is a thought. Florida is South but he wants out of Florida. Oklahoma gets too cold. He wants property that is not too full of hills.

[Aussie_Paul]

Doug,
He wants property that is not too full of hills.

Well Downunder in Oz is the place!!!!!!!!!!!:D

Aussie Paul.:)

[Timchick]

A couple of my co-workers just transferred up to Tennessee. Land and houses were half what it is here.

[Ernie_B]

Seems like a lot of brain power is being diverted to a simple problem concerning the landing gear. what is more important, your back bone or a crash proof landing gear? I can make it where it will not break, BUT, then YOU WILL BREAK! I always though parts were cheaper than doctors!
But, just maybe if you land correctly all would be OK? There is no way to make a gear that some one with little or no training can not break.
As Doug stated above, his student DID NOT get hurt when he screwed up!How many G's can your back bone take WITHOUT going to the doctor?
As to the strait down hit, I have dropped down from 4 to 5 feet with no bending!
As to a side ways landing , if the wheels did not give , the you would roll over anyway. axles are cheaper than rotorblades. and rotorblades are cheaper than back bones.
And that is my reasoning for why I build them that way.

[Vance]

Thank you Ernie,

That kind of thinking is why you are an Icon in the world of autogiros. We get stuck in the thought process, you think it through and make good compromises. You make things happen in a most elegant way and you make it look easy.

Thank you, Vance

[david holmes]

As to a side ways landing , if the wheels did not give , the you would roll over anyway. axles are cheaper than rotorblades. and rotorblades are cheaper than back bones.
And that is my reasoning for why I build them that way.

That is why I'm replacing the strut with another one from Ernie -- when he'll send it.

I'll add the tailwheel centering spring idea that has come up also.

[david holmes]

lets all the smoke out of the magneto and it's impossible to get it back in.

I did this about 6 weeks ago and didn't want to tell everybody -- but experience is --.

CPS supplied rebuilt mag for half the price of a new one (and half the price I paid for the car that I'm driving).

I replaced it and have about 6 hours on it since then.

Somehow I don't feel special because I'm one of the few people who have seen the inside of the 503 magneto.

[Timchick]

Glad to hear your getting back in the air David.

[david holmes]

when I pre-rotate to about 210 rrpm with ~ 3100 erpm and add power from there to start TO roll, the engine will not take the added throttle and "lugs" down. I have to release the pre-rotator and the engine picks up and the TO roll starts and the wind spins up rotor but by that time the rrpm has dropped 20 - 30 rpm. At that point, if airspeed/ground speed accelerates too fast, I can induce blade flap. A little dicy.

What is causing the engine to loose power when I add throttle with pre-rotator engaged?

[Doug Riley]

David, most likely you're on a place on the power curve where there's no spare torque to speed up the engine under load. Have you tried starting your roll without adding power? Just let off the brakes and roll at your 3100 for a few seconds. Putting some air through the rotor will off-load the prerotator a bit and might get you past the "hump."

If that doesn't work, you're stuck with reducing one or the other of the loads -- either de-pitch the prop a bit or change the reduction ratio in your prerotator.

I haven't run into this problem with either the older or newer (higher) reduction ratio on Wunderlich prerotators and Rotax 447 and 503 engines. But "bogging" often means the engine is overloaded.