Sport Pilot Solo Sign-Off

NoWingsAttached

Unobtainium Member
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
4,871
Location
Columbia, SC
Aircraft
Air Command Tandem w/ Arrow 100hp; GyroBee w/ Hirth 65hp; Air Command Tandem w/ Yamaha 150hp
Total Flight Time
>350
Saturday marked the next stone I stepped upon on my way across the river to get to the other side where awaits my shining star - a pilot's license. Chris Burgess signed me off to solo in the early evening under a near dead calm, watching me do my balancing act up and down the taxiway at Frederick Airport 3 or 4 times. :plane: :whoo: :humble: :yo:

Onwards and Upwards! (carefully, and step by step of course!!)
 

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Good for you Greg.

Continue to work with your instructor, even though he's not on-board with you.
Fly safe.
 
Thanks, Tim! and Rocky, i will, promise. Yesterday we got the gyro back to its home port, Warrenton-Fauquier (W66) where we are surrounded by lots of open farmland if that is needed. It took forever to get the rotor back on, we ran out of daylight so I will have to wait again for my first "real" solo flight.
 
Prior to yesterday I had logged a total of 3 hrs doing crow hops up to 200’, S-Turns, steeps descents, short-field T/O, and even a bit of close, low-alt flying around the airstrip when the traffic was absolutely dead. Tuesday I went up on a couple of crow hops, then flew my first real pattern before the sun went down and light was lost. That was quite an experience, and I am a bit glad that daylight restricted me to a short session. It forced me to take a long break before trying anything else, so next day I was quite relaxed and ready to go.

So at 1:30 yesterday I decided to play hooky from work and sneak out to the airport. An hour later, I was doing my preflight. Before putting on my helmet I radioed base (no tower, but they monitor and advise from the office here) to let them know my intentions for the day (all the regulars here have been waiting in interested anticipation of my first real flying session, as they’ve noticed me warming up and testing for weeks now around here) to do some real flying for the first time. They monitored the airwaves and later advised incoming traffic of “gyrocopter operations”, which was nice to have them do for me. Winds 8k @ 180d, favoring runway 15; 35C, Density alt 2600’. Fuel, Instruments, Traffic. Good to go!

I was prepared to do a crowhop on the taxiway (being a bit cautious, as there was a good deal of FW traffic at the time) to warm up. As I took off I found I was quite relaxed, with no case of nerves at all, so I decided to give it a go and climb out to 300’ and make a crosswind turn. I leveled off at 600’ and wound up in the air for 20 minutes before coming back down to check everything over on the ground and add a splash of fuel.

Back out on the runway, this time climbing up to 800’, I did a couple of touch and go’s, then decided to see the surrounding countryside for the first time from this airport. Wow, what a feeling of freedom! No one giving instructions as to where to go, what to do next, speed, altitude, destination all up to me! Check out the Railroad tracks! Look at that little pond over there! Stay away from the forests, stay over the fields, makes mental notes of landmarks…45 minutes later, I finally got back on the ground to check fuel and do another inspection. It was really all about getting a feel for the aircraft, so intensely alert and lots of white knuckles, but the sensation of just trying to stay alive was over, and I actually did have some bandwidth left over for enjoying flying for all the reasons I have always wanted to do it in the first place.

Back at the hanger, I topped the rear seat tank up with 3 gallons, did a third ground inspection, and went back up for 1.1 hours, to 1100’. I did some Stop and Go, some low fly-bys over the strip, all the while coordinating similar ops with a helo doing pretty much the same things as me (I think he was a CFI w/ student), except he was using the FW pattern, leaving the rotor pattern just to me. We watched each other circle, land, T/O, and I had a great time. Then I did a bit of touring the local countryside again, taking mental notes of landmarks, landing possibilities, cows and naked people in the back of pick-up trucks, ala Stan Foster. (Damn, none could I see from 800'! Just kidding. I hardly had any bandwidth left over for looking for that, what with my attention being totally absorbed in flight characteristics of my gyro, wind, engine revs, emergency landing zones, traffic, etc.)

My findings on the “MGT Tandem” follow. (As you and I, and Tom Milton, now know, this is no longer an “Air Command Tandem” lowrider CLT conversion. It is officially a Mills Gregory T, Tandem. Hence the MGT Tandem from now on when referring to it. This is FAA technically correct now. And, quite literally, it is NOT an AC in its present configuration, as there have been numerous mods to the airframe that are unique.)

I practiced steep descents and engine idled, simulated engine-out landings, and I noticed the stick shake a LOT more during that. I am going to have to do what Chris B. and I discussed, checking the centering of the rotor hub bar. The spindle moved 1/4" rotationally, so there needs to be a re-torque of it. Also need to install new pivot block bushes which I found to be .010 out of round, and replace the pivot block bolts, which I found to be bent measurably with a straight edge. The stick is quite smooth during straight and level flight, with oscillation of 1" or less, but this will magnify with added Gs during climb and turn, and low-power descent. Sometimes the oscillation is as much as 3", and always from 2 O'clock to 8 O'clock, with a bit of rotational to it and then a mild bump once every 360 degrees movement in the stick. The airframe is always steady, never shakes or bumps. I think the prop may be pitched too much, and the engine seems to need adjustment to the carb settings. I can't get anywhere near redline, and when the Bings are fully open the engine bogs out badly and loses power dramatically until I close the slides back down a bit. Hmm. It'll run 6000 easily and constantly, very nicely. I got it up to 6200 but was afraid to try to get more out of it after the uncomfortable loss of power when going to wide open. More testing and work needs to be done on my gyro, obviously, but it does have plenty of power and reasonably smooth characteristics for flying close to the airport for now.

I have logged over 5 hours solo, so perhaps we’re ready to do a cross country when Chris B. gets back from FLA.
 
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Greg,

Nice report on your first flights! I still remember the sensory overload for my first ten hours of flying only in the pattern once soloed.

It's good that you're constantly checking for landing zones, don't ever lose that habit.

The white knuckle syndrome will go away. It took me right around 100 hours before I totally lost the last of my white knuckle issues.

Keep doing what you're doing, slowly expanding your experience, and your machine's flight envelope.

Keep us posted on your progress.:)
 
I'm gonna go up again this afternoon. Wish I was ready for taking pix to post of the Warrenton-Fauquier CO Airport, from the pilot's seat at altitude. I kinda like that name...Warrenton Fauq-U Airport. Kinda cute, ain't it? Heehee. I know, that's juvenile, like fart jokes.
 
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