Aussie_Paul
11-04-2005, 02:50 AM
....why???
I will give it an IMHO go at it.
There has been a continual stream of discussions as to what we need to do, to have our sport and/or industry thrive. It seems to me, from comments around the world, that the major drawback is the lack of dual training.
If the lack of dual training is the main reason, WHY!!!
We seem to have people who start out instucting, but eventually give it away.
Again, WHY!!!
I have accumulated over 3000 hours teaching people to fly gyroplanes since I started in 1989 when I was 40 years old. I know now that I would not be able to continue as I did in 1989.
Again WHY!!! S**T SCARED OF DYING!!!!!!! That’s why.
I started with a side-by-side Air Command that had a Rotax 532, a 60” prop and 25’ Skywheel rotors. My first student, a fixed wing pilot and friend, porpoised up and down the runway that we were conducting strip runs on. I had seen a pic of an A/Command with a pod and an h/stab. I guessed the size and mounting, and my friend flew so much better. That machine was so under powered and under rotored, that strip runs were all we could do safely. Over the next couple of years I changed to 27’ rotors, a dual ignition 582 and installed the “supper thruster kit” that had a 68” propeller. Performance was now acceptable.
I trained for over 1500 hours in that machine and remember how I had to be “on the ball” all the time to stop a PIO developing into a PPO and me dying. Forget the student!!! Me dying!!!My only reason for doing this was to stop people from dying in gyroplanes. This was ruining respect for me because of my "recreational activities", and I hated to see people dying when training would help. I did not like the way people looked at me when I said I flew a gyroplane. The amount of hours I spent away from the family certainly could not be justified by the profit!!!!!!
By the time I reached the age of 48 in 1997 my chest was saying no more, please no more. It was at this time I decided that I would get soft and go for a machine with a cabin, hence the Raf representative status.
Even though I had flown fixed wing aircraft in the 60’s and had studied and passed the commercial theory exams in aerodynamics, I did not realise that my gyroplane should behave the same. I was under the mis understanding that my gyro was more like a helicopter than a fixed wing aircraft.
Where am I going with this?
Ok.
Most people have conducting training in gyroplanes with varying degrees of “pitch instability”. This is quite likely to have a subconscious effect on the instructor. The deep down fear of dying could influence the instructor to give the game away.
Now this is not to say that it happens to all instructors but I feel that it does play a major role. There are not that many instructors who continue to instruct in gyros for a lot of years.
I believe that if I had not sorted out the stability issues, I would probably have stopped training. It was becoming too hard on my nerves, and the thought that getting older and a little slower might cost me my life was not appealing.
With the machine that I am training in now, there is NEVER the feeling that “if you don’t catch it you’re gone”. That makes life instructing in gyroplanes much more enjoyable. Gyroplane instructing can now be conducted in the same manner as in general aviation and ultra lights.
I believe, whether rightly or wrongly, that the gyroplane industry will see an increase in people instructing as gyroplanes are designed and built to be more pitch stable. I hope that this will be the case, as us gyroplane pilots definitely need the gyroplane industry to grow and become more socially acceptable.
Also, I want to sell gyroplanes, and I don’t apologise for that, but the real reason is, I love gyroplanes and dislike seeing people who fly these wonderful machines called “temporary people”.
I believe that, with the new breed of gyroplane designers, instructors, and pilots, our recreational activity of flying gyroplanes will become much more socially acceptable. I hope so.
This is written from the memories I have of being involved in the gyroplane industry since 1961 when I flew a gyro glider at the age of 12, powered gyros since 1982, and instructing since 1989.
I may be way off course, but I put this forward as a possible scenario.
Regards, Aussie Paul. :)
I will give it an IMHO go at it.
There has been a continual stream of discussions as to what we need to do, to have our sport and/or industry thrive. It seems to me, from comments around the world, that the major drawback is the lack of dual training.
If the lack of dual training is the main reason, WHY!!!
We seem to have people who start out instucting, but eventually give it away.
Again, WHY!!!
I have accumulated over 3000 hours teaching people to fly gyroplanes since I started in 1989 when I was 40 years old. I know now that I would not be able to continue as I did in 1989.
Again WHY!!! S**T SCARED OF DYING!!!!!!! That’s why.
I started with a side-by-side Air Command that had a Rotax 532, a 60” prop and 25’ Skywheel rotors. My first student, a fixed wing pilot and friend, porpoised up and down the runway that we were conducting strip runs on. I had seen a pic of an A/Command with a pod and an h/stab. I guessed the size and mounting, and my friend flew so much better. That machine was so under powered and under rotored, that strip runs were all we could do safely. Over the next couple of years I changed to 27’ rotors, a dual ignition 582 and installed the “supper thruster kit” that had a 68” propeller. Performance was now acceptable.
I trained for over 1500 hours in that machine and remember how I had to be “on the ball” all the time to stop a PIO developing into a PPO and me dying. Forget the student!!! Me dying!!!My only reason for doing this was to stop people from dying in gyroplanes. This was ruining respect for me because of my "recreational activities", and I hated to see people dying when training would help. I did not like the way people looked at me when I said I flew a gyroplane. The amount of hours I spent away from the family certainly could not be justified by the profit!!!!!!
By the time I reached the age of 48 in 1997 my chest was saying no more, please no more. It was at this time I decided that I would get soft and go for a machine with a cabin, hence the Raf representative status.
Even though I had flown fixed wing aircraft in the 60’s and had studied and passed the commercial theory exams in aerodynamics, I did not realise that my gyroplane should behave the same. I was under the mis understanding that my gyro was more like a helicopter than a fixed wing aircraft.
Where am I going with this?
Ok.
Most people have conducting training in gyroplanes with varying degrees of “pitch instability”. This is quite likely to have a subconscious effect on the instructor. The deep down fear of dying could influence the instructor to give the game away.
Now this is not to say that it happens to all instructors but I feel that it does play a major role. There are not that many instructors who continue to instruct in gyros for a lot of years.
I believe that if I had not sorted out the stability issues, I would probably have stopped training. It was becoming too hard on my nerves, and the thought that getting older and a little slower might cost me my life was not appealing.
With the machine that I am training in now, there is NEVER the feeling that “if you don’t catch it you’re gone”. That makes life instructing in gyroplanes much more enjoyable. Gyroplane instructing can now be conducted in the same manner as in general aviation and ultra lights.
I believe, whether rightly or wrongly, that the gyroplane industry will see an increase in people instructing as gyroplanes are designed and built to be more pitch stable. I hope that this will be the case, as us gyroplane pilots definitely need the gyroplane industry to grow and become more socially acceptable.
Also, I want to sell gyroplanes, and I don’t apologise for that, but the real reason is, I love gyroplanes and dislike seeing people who fly these wonderful machines called “temporary people”.
I believe that, with the new breed of gyroplane designers, instructors, and pilots, our recreational activity of flying gyroplanes will become much more socially acceptable. I hope so.
This is written from the memories I have of being involved in the gyroplane industry since 1961 when I flew a gyro glider at the age of 12, powered gyros since 1982, and instructing since 1989.
I may be way off course, but I put this forward as a possible scenario.
Regards, Aussie Paul. :)