Crazy Idea!
 

I'd love to have a big tractor auto gyro. I wondering if you could clip the wings on a Boeing Stearman and put a rotor in it's place? There's a project plane for sale within driving distance of where I live.

Love the sound those radial engines make. Rates up there with the sound rotors make when they're winding down.


http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218...lpid=4&search=

Have you heard of the little wing? http://www.littlewingautogyro.com/price.html

IMO you would save a lot of money and time just building a little wing if you want a tractor gyro. Leave the stearman project to people who want a restored nostalgic airplane. Just my opinion.

Robert

Your idea may be crazy but there are several of us "old farts" that have tossed around ideas just as crazy, I'm working on a small tractor (started the drawings about 18 yrs ago and started building about 3 or 4 years ago.

Tony

I had a Stolp Starduster airframe with the top wing off, little Continental radial and a whole lot of ideas once.
I recalled the troubles Ron Herron had with the Cub to Little Wing conversion, and let the Stolp go.

Were I to ever finish my Barnett, I would build a scale replica of the Pitcairn PCA-2 using the construction methods the Challenger UL (light plane) uses.

Radial engine LittleWing is the thing:

http://www.littlewingautogyro.com/pictures/oshkosh2.jpg

http://www.littlewingautogyro.com/radialpictures.html

Historically speaking, not so crazy
 

That's basically what Cierva did to make the very first autogiros. He started with an Avro 504 biplane to make the C.6, as I recall. Here are pictures of each.

Because these were so early in the development history, the direct control rotor had not been fully implemented, and a lower wing to carry ailerons was used.

Hi Tom

You are a man after my own heart, I have thought of the EXACT same possibility, even as late as 4 or 5 years ago since there was a nearly completed Starduster 11 here that and older fellow had started years ago and then passed away and I could have bought it for just making an offer. Was your fuselage a Starduster 11 ? What was the Continental, a 220 hp ? You should have kept that project Tom, it had GREAT possiblilities :) . Most any bi-wing or parasol wing will lend itself to a autogyro frame design. You will need to relocate the main gear foward and add vertical transistion braces between the upper and lower longerons at the rotor pylon attach points and modify the tail and the show is on the road (more or less :) ) Today I would look for a low wing with a center section stub wing, this will give a wider maingear stance and put the fuel in the center section instead of the fuselage. Out of curosity, how hard is it to find a small continental or lycoming radial (200 plus hp) ??

Tony

Tony, it sounds like you would be looking for an aircoupe to modify. :rolleyes:

Hi Jeff

Yeah, that too, but think it may have already been tried ??

Tony