Flying To The Peach State (PRA #56) Meeting

jcarleto

Aluminum Supporter
Joined
Jun 5, 2007
Messages
3,571
Location
Taylorsville, GA
Aircraft
Beech Bonanza G-35 N4638D/"The Bulldozer" 2-Place Gyroplane N575EE
Total Flight Time
Several
Lewis Gulley and I took off from Cedartown, GA this morning to fly the 20 miles up to Rome, GA for our quarterly Chapter 56 meeting. This video contains excerpts from the flight as filmed from the GyRonimo. Lewis is flying his Bensen/Mac.

If you are looking for crank 'n bank or exciting stunts, this isn't it. There are some shots of above-ground pools, however. You can also see if you can pick out the gas pipeline easement we use as a navigational aide and emergency landing area (when it is wide enough). Otherwise, it is just, "flying along at altitude."

YouTube - FlightToRomeGa.dv

It was an excellent meeting, by the way. Thank you to all in attendance. The trip back was fun but also fairly routine. I see this as a good thing.
 
Yaw Mon, thanks for sharing it with us!
 
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Duplicate post!
 
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Yeah, Thanks !

How long was the trip ? 503...right?

How much fuel do you carry ? How much did you burn ?

Did you guys just follow the roads ?

What was the altitude ?
 
Specifications

Specifications

CLS447 said:
How long was the trip ? 503...right?

How much fuel do you carry ? How much did you burn ?

Did you guys just follow the roads ?

What was the altitude ?

The trip was 42 minutes. It was 2 minutes longer than my comfort zone for the GyRonimo. I know the GyRonimo (Rotax 503) will fly 50 minutes on its 5 gallon capacity. I had slightly less than a gallon left.

There was a low overcast covering the airport at Rome when we arrived (despite briefing information to the contray from 800-WX-BRIEF and Rome AWOS). This forced us to fly West and get under the overcast to get to the airport. It cost us 12 minutes. Usually, the flight is about 30 minutes +/- wind.

I am committed once I pass the 25 minute mark...or more practically for flight-planning purposes...20 minutes. If I cannot make my destination, my only choice is to find a nice pasture or local grass strip and put it down. I have all the grass strip locations memorized in this area. Fortunately, there are several alternates. In my opinion, the 5 gallon limitation for ultra-lite aircraft is the most potentially hazardous restriction for those who actually want to fly the machine away from the home airport.

I've made this trip (and back) in the GyRonimo 15 times and 11 times in the Bulldozer. There is a gas pipeline easement (50' wide cleared and mowed) that runs most of the way that I generally follow, then along the loop road around Rome. You can see the gas pipeline easement in the middle part of the video.

Most of the flight was around 2000' AGL with some increases were necessary to remain VFR at times due to low clouds.
 
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Thank you Jon

Thank you Jon

I am amazed at how steady your video and camera work is.

Our video results were not that good.

I feel pressed when I plan with less than an hour reserve because of what happens when the wind comes up. This limits my practical range to a little less than 100 miles with 22 gallons. When I am flying somewhere new I figure on about 75 miles in case I get lost.

I find those clouds are very intimidating.

Thank you for having us along, Vance
 
Nice flight Jon, I certainly empathized with your range and endurance concerns.:)
 
Vance said:
I am amazed at how steady your video and camera work is.

Our video results were not that good.

I feel pressed when I plan with less than an hour reserve because of what happens when the wind comes up. This limits my practical range to a little less than 100 miles with 22 gallons. When I am flying somewhere new I figure on about 75 miles in case I get lost.

I find those clouds are very intimidating.

Vance,

The only way I can get good results with my camera is to hand-hold it. I've tried every mount imaginable, excepting a helmet mount. You miss anything interesting (like take-off and landing) when my hands get busy, but I can get good results otherwise.

Yes, range and clouds are always an issue. Fortunately, these were clouds formed from rising fog and would be gone completely in about another hour. If there aren't big holes, or edges I can see, I won't go over it...even in a FW unless IFR. I don't care for planning to land anywhere other than my destination, but at no point in the flight do I not have my next alternate landing site firmly in mind.

This is not to say my "engine-out landing zone." I mean, that if I cannot make my destination, I have at least a rough plan of where to go from any given point along the route as an alternative. This is above and in addition to scanning the ground for emergency spots enroute.

Gas is good. More gas is "gooder!" That's why I constantly rant on the 5 gallon limit. It may be a good number for a FW, but it is light to the point of being very edgy for gyros. You have to be really expert at flight-planning or stay in the pattern.
 
Great vid Thanks!

Love the clouds n sun!

l
 
Resasi said:
Nice flight Jon, I certainly empathized with your range and endurance concerns.

Thanks! The GyRonimo would be a whole different machine with an 8 gallon tank, pre-rotator...and then I guess a bigger engine to lift the mess after all of that additional weight (or a lighter pilot).
 
Yes, we are considering another 5 gall tank on the Bensen.

Interesting to see how she handles it.
 
Very well done, Jon.

I now have the new gaskets made for the caps on my extended range tanks. I have flown once since & they seem to be working good.

They supposedly hold 3.5 gal each but I will not be filling them to the rim, so I will have to measure what they hold.

I figure on flying on the aux tanks for 1 hr & then switch to the seat tank for another hour. This should leave me some nice reserve.

I have all the bells & whistles on my single place & I am real close to 200 lbs. The machine really knows when she is fully loaded. I can feel that extra 40 or so lbs under my butt.

Are you premixing ?

I also would like to carry an extra pint of oil with me for refueling my oil tank.

26 trips ! Wow ! Do you have other destinations that you fly to ?
 
scottessex said:
Nice going Jon, did Steve pay you guys a visit?

Steve who? :boink:

Um..no. Apparently, there is a force shield across I-20 that prevents other Georgians from travelling North to Rome. We did get several from Alabama and Tennessee, including as far away as Clarksville and Knoxville...even one from Texas!

We don't draw well from Georgia from about Atlanta South. Pity that. We do live and hope, though!

:D
 
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