Helicycle Hatchery

Bob- Thanks. I cant wait to see you flying your gyro again. I really enjoyed that time you flew down to Urbana to Rudy Frascas fly-in...then followed me back to my airport. You had a beautiful ship....and you will get it back flying. Just hit it at a part at a time...then the steady progress you see will keep the momentum going. We all want to see you back in the air Bob.

Stan
 
Very cool, really starting to look like it almost done too!

Love the shots with your grandson flying!!
 
Stan,
I had no idea about the the company actually coming to you and do all the safety checks... I am definetly impress...

Stan, would be better if you get some stick time on a ship with a normal cyclic (Stick) before flying your Helicycle???... I am still find the R-22/44 T-Bar cyclic anoying... would be any difference for you?

So, when is going to be the first "Stan's Fly-in" ?

Jose
 
I finished painting my pitch horns on the rotorhead..and my swashplate.

I am using this highly recommened oil for the main transmission and tailrotor gearbox. The tailprotor gearbox is now full...and you can see the sight gauge in the last picture.


Stan
 

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Tim- I have had good luck with gloss white Krylon paint. if I scratch it, I can fix it. Stan
 
Tim- I have had good luck with gloss white Krylon paint. if I scratch it, I can fix it. Stan
Well it looks really good. the detail work on your chopper is great. I still say you will have a show winner when you get it done.

I just came in from working on the Commuter,needless to say it don't look anything as good as your bird.
 
Tim- Thanks for the comment. Dont forget that just like you are doing....I have stair stepped up to each project....no pun.:p This Helicycle is my 9th aircraft..the first was an ultralight...the others were gyros. I used each one to help buy the next one. This will be my last kit I will build....I plan on flying this for a LONG time. I have no more plans of purchasing any other rotorcraft....the only exception being building some kind of single place gyro of my own design....for the challenge of it and to give my Helicycle some company in that hanger. ...composite construction, maybe way down the road several years.

Hey...I sure would like to follow what you are doing on your Commuter. I know you said upfront you do not intend to fly this one..but rather use it as a stepping stone to your Commuter 11 dream. You mentioned your project not being as nice.... I think anyones project is just as nice to them, its what they are working on with their available skills and budget. Thats what makes it nice to me.

I am wanting to see what you are doing to make your helicopter nicer....pictures .. start a thread,,,,PLEASE!!!


Stan
 
I installed the painted swashplate this afternoon...the locking rings that are hidden under the boot...and the accordian boot.

The last two pictures show full down and full up collective.

The rotorhead will be temporarily installed next...the pitch links will be installed. I am pacing my work on this according to parts arriving.

My rotorblades are on the truck today and headed to Illinois from Idaho. I will be ready for them...getting their doublers cutout and bonded to the blades. The blades will then be shipped back to Idaho for final balancing.

That process will take a few months as they wait until so many are ready,,then they do a batch. There are blades coming from kits sold over 4 years ago....not just my group.

Stan
 

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Stan, I am thinking of a fine wine slowly coming to maturation.
 
Resasi- Thanks..... I am looking forward to the fine whine of the turbine!


Stan
 
Stan, difference between pilot and turbine?.....When turbine shuts down it quits whining.
 
Resasi,
Good sence of humor I might say... I like your joke...I think I will stole your joke and use it at work with our pilots... Hope you dont mind...

Jose
 
You guys crack me up!
I heard if a turbine stops whining in the air, the pilot starts whining?
 
I tried out the temporary transport wheels on my rock driveway today. Not good...as expected. These are definately not for "off roading":twitch:

My permanent wheels will be much taller and fatter...plus I will have a helipad that connects to my hanger door.

The last two pictures are from a request to see the bottom side of the swashplate. You can see the cone shaped interior it has to clear the mast as it pivots. These pictures show max for and aft deflection of 6 degrees each way.

Later I will add a link to a You-tube video of my swashplate being articulated full for/aft, left/right...and full up/down on the collective.


Stan
 

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There was a lot of good discussion about the delta hinge on a tailrotor.....so I made this short video clip. If you look closely, you can see the degree change in my inclination gauge...and you can see the pitch being rolled out of the tailrotor blade as it flaps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NlIs_fl87k



Stan
 
I tried out the temporary transport wheels on my rock driveway today. Stan

It must be a great feeling to roll out your helicopter and take a picture of it outside the hangar. It has been a lot of months and a lot of good planning to get to this point. Well done Stan. It sure looks good.

Rotor blades and swash plates have always been my favorite subjects. Thanks for the close-up pictures of the swash plate. This is the heart of your machine and I think BJ Schramm got it close to perfect.

I have had a glimpse of what it takes to manufacture the blade root doublers and look forward to how you do it. To cut , and bend , and form , and clean , and properly bond these components to the blades is very precise.

I can't think of anyone more qualified than you. I am talking about the fundementals of bonding components together that are not always straight and flat. Should be interesting.

Thanks again
Arnie
 
Arnie- First of all, thanks for your comments. Such comments coming from someone like you and several others here gives me a warm feeling. The blade root doublers will be an interesting project. Not only is it so important to have them formed to mirror the airfoil shape, the surface prep and clamping techniques have to right for a proper bond. These of course spread the load as evenly as possible at the root. I have seen examples of this that are flawless, and I have seen one that was uneven in curvature. I know from experience with laminating wood. that a low angle light will reveal and amplify errors. With shiny aluminum...it will be very hard NOT to see any uneven curves, or slight indentations where a gorilla was subbed out to run the clamps! I am green at bonding curved aluminum....but am following my instincts and asking ones that were successful. I do have a good critical eye, and will be more anal about this next step than anything so far. I will post many pictures of this process. Most of the guys are having these doublers water jet cutout for them, but I want the experience of doing that. I most definately will cut each these all in a stack at once so they will all be the same shape, same edge finish, and same weight. None of this cut them one at a time. Stay tuned.... I will be back! Stan
 
My wife called me at Mentone with the good news that my Helicycle rotorblades arrived! I would not let her sign fo them as I want to personally unpack them and examine the blades while the truck driver waits. I never will forget the surprise I received when I unpacked my Sportcopter blades for my SparrowHawk. The box they were shipped in had no marks of any kind on it, so I didnt check them till much later. I opened them up and they were meticulously packed in high density foam. My jaw about hit the floor when I noticed a crease about 6 inckes long about 2 feet from the end of the blade. I had no success getting anyone to cover this, simply because I could not prove I did not do it. Had I opened them when they were delivered I would have had no problem as I simply would have flatly rejected them. I learned a big lesson not to assume there is no damage to a product inside an undamaged container. Anyway, these blades will just have to wait till Monday for me to inspect them before I sign for them. Stan
 
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