Trailering with blades attached

[Chuck Irby]

This picture is one that someone in Colorado, I believe, posted somewhere, quite a while back.

I have always been under the impression that hauling with the blades attached would not be good for the rotor bearing(s).

Does anyone know for sure if the rotor bearings would be damaged from this activity?

There are times when it would really be convenient to roll my gyro up on my trailer and haul it in this, or a similar manor.

[GyroRon]

I can be done, but isn't the best way to trailer. It puts a hurting on the blades, bearings, rotorhead, etc...

If the roads were perfectly smooth it wouldn't be a big deal but they are not.

Ernie who makes the Dragon Wings blade says to Never trailer them on the machine.

And if you think about it, it doesn't take that long to take the blades off

[Chuck Irby]

Thanx Ron. That'ts not what I wanted to hear, but what I expected.

[barnstorm2]

I read an article a while back where someone made a hydraulic blade lift on the trailer. It was essentlly a engine lift mounted high on the gyro trailer.

I would like one of those but right now I don't even have a reliable truck to pull my trailer.. :-[

[Steven_Kozned]

I can't see why it's any worse to haul a gyro with the blades attached,
than to run it over the same ground without the trailer and with the blades spinning.

Seems to me the same stresses would be put onto the relevant areas.
Am I missing something?
Regards,
Steven

[GyroRon]

When the blades are spinning they are supporting their own weight and make themselves kinda stiff. Besides flapping most of the damage to blades comes from taxiing over rough ground with the blades not spinning or not spinning fast enough.

It is not that you can't trailer a gyro with the blades on, especially light machines with light blades. But it does put unneeded stress on the blades and rotorhead that just isn't worth the time you save by not taking the blades down.

[gyropilot]

Shifting gears a little...

Can anyone offer an advice about how to adequately protect a gyro from the hazards of the road (rain, sand, rocks, road spray, etc.) when trailering it on an open flat bed trailer on a long road trip?

A gyro is so oddly shaped, that it's a real challenge to figure out what to do. Throwing a tarp over it results in abraded paint and quickly leads to shredding of the tarp on all the sharp gyro parts (especially the rotor head). I suppose wrapping old towels around the sharp parts, taping and stretch wrapping the towels, *then* throwing a heavy tarp over the whole thing might work.

Any ideas? I've never tried trailering my gyro in anything but good weather and on relatively short trips (less than 600 miles).

Thanks,

John L.

[Udi]

John,

Some people use plastic wrap to protect their gyros during long trips. You can used the food plastic wrap but I found they are too flimsy. You will be better off getting the more sturdy kind used by movers. You can find them in shipping/movers supply shops.

Udi-

[gyropilot]

Udi,

I have access to that sort of heavy stretch wrap (a.k.a. pallet wrap) at work... 18" wide. That would probably work well.

So you guys just thickly stretch wrap your gyro up like a big cocoon? Do you put anything underneath the stretch wrap first to protect the finish? Have you encountered any negative effects when using the stretch wrap?

Thanks,

John L.

[jucie]

Going back to the "Trailering with blades attached" issue. Look at this picture, my friends. Note that what you see isn't the same as what Chuck Irby posted. These are rigid columns supporting the blades weight, they aren't strips pulling the blades down.

[jucie]

I forgot to attach the photo.
Too big an emotion. ;D

[Udi]

John,

I wrap only selected sections of the gyro. Rotor head, engine, prop, instrument pod, tail. All the rest is easy to wash and dry after the trip. The prop collects bugs big time (especially at night) if you don't wrap it.

You want to wrap the plastic real tight so it doesn't flap in the wind. You may use duct tape to add some mechanical strength. As long as the wrap isn't flapping in the wind, it isn't going to scrape the paint.

Some people say there's no reason to protect the gyro from rain, but I just feel better keeping road slime off the important parts.

Udi-

[Dean_Dolph]

John, there is a problem with trash/grit being kicked up from the road by the tow vehicle. If the gyro frame is exposed from the bottom or front then the gyro ends up with a very nasty and ugly rash!

[GraemeMonro]

Jucie. I trailered my gyro the same as that picture all the time. Once the blades went on they stayed on. I trailered for many miles in the northern parts of Australia where the roads are not too good without any problems. I also know of someone who trailered his gyro right around Australia just like that. He said when he found a spot that looked good he just pushed off the trailer, used the road as a runway and went flying. He flew that thing for years with no problems. Maybe we were doing the wrong thing, who knows..

[Caribean_gyro]

we use to do this here in PR I believed they called it Miami style?
Any way we let the 2 post pivot and move you dont weant to anchor them . Our problem was not bearing was alignment. But After the MCCutchen we use boxes. But we still have rotor hawks and Rotordyne blades. The Dragong wings are alwasy in abox no problem to align them.

CHuk P.