"Your best or most awesome picture of your GYRO/ HELO sitting on the ground"

[MH1FLYER]

Originally Posted by bryancobb

That's a work of art, Crew chief has to be the best... Where is it now???

[NoWingsAttached]

Originally Posted by bryancobb

Kind words Arnie. The paint is PPG Concept.

For the ignorant...me...please help. I've seen it elsewhere, I knew what it was for about 3.08 minutes once last year, but I can't find a helicopter identification sheet, and I dont' know what it is.

Please provide some details - power plant, when it was made, etc.

Thanks.

[WaspAir]

Originally Posted by NoWingsAttached

For the ignorant...me...please help. I've seen it elsewhere, I knew what it was for about 3.08 minutes once last year, but I can't find a helicopter identification sheet, and I dont' know what it is.

Please provide some details - power plant, when it was made, etc.

Thanks.

Looks like a Brantly B2B. Some data here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brantly_B-2

[StanFoster]

Bryan- That is one iof the nicest Brantlys I have seen. Way to go! Stan

[turbo]

Rhinebeck Aerodrome

[bryancobb]

Originally Posted by NoWingsAttached

For the ignorant...me...please help. I've seen it elsewhere, I knew what it was for about 3.08 minutes once last year, but I can't find a helicopter identification sheet, and I dont' know what it is.

Please provide some details - power plant, when it was made, etc.

Thanks.

My helicopter WAS a 1963 Brantly B-2B. It is now owned by Ron Spiker in Pennsylvania.

The Brantly was designed and developed by Newby O.Brantly, between 1946 and 1959, and the B-2 received its' Type Certificate in 59. The three iterations (B-2, B-2A, and B-2B) were built in Fredrick, OK from 1959-1968. F.Lee Bailey and Lear (Jet) owned the Type Certificate (TC) for a few years and then sold it to Hynes Corp.. Mr. Brantly was a weaving loom engineer and designed several other things Americans may be familiar with. He designed a miniature hydraulic backhoe that attached to Sears Craftsman lawnmowers, in the early 70's. He also made many INNOVATIONS to the "double-barrel-over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder" known as a bra. Many of his patents are included in modern bras of today. All Brantlys had only a flapping hinge at the hub. Then at 40% they had a "universal joint/Lord damper" that allowed flapping and hunting there. A heavy AXLE called a pylon shaft was inside the hollow inner blade and had a 4-pack of angular contact Fafnirs at the tip of that shaft to carry the centrifugal load and allow feathering. As the inboard blade was feathered, the universal joint and outboard blade feathered with it since they were all connected. Neither inner or outer blades were twisted but there was a 4 or 5 degree incidence difference at the universal joint which was practically the same as twist.

The engine sat in the helicopter vertically and was connected directly to the transmission's splined input shaft. The huge centrifugal clutch was bulletproof and started engaging at 1200 with NO action from the pilot. (except throttle increase). Right on top of the centrifugal clutch was the Formsprag Overrunning (autorotation clutch) which had inside splines for the transmission shaft. A long hollow 3/4" dia crome-molly tube, inside a thin aluminum pipe, drove the tail rotor at engine RPM. It had 7 bronze Oilite bushings spaced evenly for support. The lower T/R Gearbox (1:1) acted as an oil sump and oil pump. A non-rotating threaded nylon plug in the lower gearbox fit up inside the long hollow driveshaft. As the shaft spun at 2900 RPM, around the plug, oil pressure developed and pumped oil through the spinning shaft, and up almost to the main gearbox where it was discharged into the hollow aluminum pipe. Gravity then caused it to drip downward in the pipe to lubricate the 7 Oilite bushings and wind up back in the sump/gearbox. The upper T/R gearbox got lubricated and cooled the same way.

ALL gears in all 3 gearboxes were standard SPUR type (not spiral bevel) and made a lot of noise. They were cheap and easy to make and worked like a TANK, never giving any trouble.

The most impressive "system" on the helicopter, to me was the "butt-simple" failproof low fuel warning. Air from the engine cooling fans exited through the cylinder shrouds and oil cooler and box. Since the engine compartment was already being "blown-up" by the cooling fans, Mr. Brantly used that pressure to close a Dwyer Pressure switch by running a small 1/4" plastic air pipe from the oil cooler box (positive pressure) to the Dwyer switch. The switch was connected through the 12VDC bus to a red warning light on the instrument panel. If pressure in the oil cooler box decreased to below the Dwyer switch setting for any reason, the red light would come on. Now a "tee" was put in that air line and another air line was placed from that tee to 2 static ports, one on each side of the fuselage, to act as a "leak-point" to activate the light.

Now all that was required was a open/close method in that "leak line" that was dependent on fuel level in the tank. Well, Mr. Brantly put a "tee" in the fuel line at the lowest point where it exited the tank and ran a tube from it to another "TEE" in the air leak line, going to the 2 static ports. I'LL CALL THIS THE ADJUSTMENT TEE. As the fuel tank was filled, fuel level in the air leak line would prevent cooling fan pressure from escaping out the static ports. In flight, as gas was consumed, fuel level in the air leak line would decrease toward the ADJUSTMENT TEE. If fuel level was very close to the ADJUSTMENT TEE, the red light would FLICKER during maneuvering, since fuel would be sloshing around. This would let you know you had 20 minutes of gas remaining. Then when the fuel level was so low that it would not be above the ADJUSTMENT TEE, even during maneuvering, the red light came on continuous letting you know you only had 10 minutes of fuel left. To calibrate the system accurately, you only had to raise or lower the ADJUSTMENT TEE and tighten it up in that position. It ALWAYS WORKED...95% reliable.

In the early 1990's the company was revived ...http://brantly.com/contact.htm... and built NEW ships in their Vernon, TX factory until 2008. During this time is when I bought and restored mine. Parts were easy to get and very cheap. I bought $12,000 in parts from the Vernon Factory. Now they have surrendered the TC and moved to China. Parts are almost non-existent. So SAD, but the story of almost all American Manufacturing! See end of this post for a picture of what the Chines have done to it!

In the early 60's the US Army tried out 5, and considered using it but payload, duration, and low rotor nixxed that idea. The Army YHO-3BR is where I got the inspiration for my color scheme.


The B-2 started out with a Lycoming VO-360-A which is 180HP carbureted, and has AUGMENTER TUBE exhaust and NO MUFFLER. The augmenters created a vacuum that sucked cool air through to cool the cylinders. The B-2 had a hideous gull-wing door/canopy arrangement that had 2 hemispheres for you to put your head up into. The bubble frame was directly in your line of sight. The B-2 was LLLOUD! A "12" on a scale of 1-10.



The B-2B (Like Mine) was the 3rd and most modern of the models. The engine was now a Lycoming IVO-360-A1A which was fuel injected. The augmenters had been replaced with normal 4 into 2 exhaust with a shroud and cockpit heater, and still no muffler. The bubble now had more subtle "head holes" and doors that swung like a car's. It remained in production till just a few years ago. It cooled the engine and oil cooler by 2 high flow axial ducted fans that were driven by a matched pair of v-belts. The Delco-Remy GENERATOR was also driven by a single V-belt. In the 1990's an alternator system was included on all new ships .

There WAS a 4-seater that was certified. The Brantly 305. I was plagued with problems and never made it very far in the market.

[Steve_UK]

Bryan - you did a great restoration job and the "warbird" colour scheme was certainly very eyecatching.

I understand the one of the original five US Army Brantlys is held in store at the Army Aviation Museum down at Fort Rucker.

Cheers

Steve

[bryancobb]

Yes,

Thanks for the kind words Steve and Stan.

I have pictures of the Ft. Rucker one, that I took when I was in Flight School on 1987.

[bryancobb]

Originally Posted by Steve_UK

Bryan - you did a great restoration job and the "warbird" colour scheme was certainly very eyecatching.

I understand the one of the original five US Army Brantlys is held in store at the Army Aviation Museum down at Fort Rucker.

Cheers

Steve

There were several benefits to this color scheme:
* Never got complained-on, no matter WHERE I went. Landed once, at night, on the Governor's helipad in Atlanta.
* FREE FILLUP OF AVGAS WHEN I WENT TO AIRSHOWS/FLY-INS.

[bryancobb]

Originally Posted by turbo

Rhinebeck Aerodrome

I watched the exploits of Cole Palen at Old Rhinebeck many years ago on a 2 hour documentary.

I would love to go see the show.
Back then he was test flying a Moraine-Saulnier with a reversed engine on which the cylinders revolved with the prop and the crank was bolted to the firewall.

[Penguin]

Here is a current picture of Punkin ...

[choppergabor]

Originally Posted by Penguin

Here is a current picture of Punkin ...

That's a good looking gyro Larry.....say is that and extended fuel tank behind your seat? Looks awesome

[scandtours]

All gyros are my favorites, no matter who is the manufacturer/builder (pic 1)

PIC TWO. Bill Parsons tandem with Bill trying to start the Arrow engine with cables connected to the cars battery. Gyros battery got flat. It was when I visited Bill at Flagler Airport in Florida.

[scandtours]

This is one more gyro pic with the gyro (on the ground little bit oblique.)
What I like from this photo is that Ken Wallis escaped from this incident
without a scratch after an engine out landing.

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by choppergabor

That's a good looking gyro Larry.....say is that and extended fuel tank behind your seat? Looks awesome

You're bad!
My extended tank is supported by a Behemoth bracket fabricated by Gab.
Despite that, my bird actually flies!