engine mount

the engine has a fan in it you just cant see it in the pictures.

Cuyunas also had problems with fan pulley failures so inspect the area carefully.

If you are not familiar with or have not done so, research everything you can about Cuyuna operation.

Do you have a manual for the engine?

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tozz22 : I glad to hear you are going to get some training, everyone need some time in a gyro. It is hard to go from one you are use to flying to something different some times also.
I hate talking about anyone aircraft but don't want to see anyone to get hurt either. I had things wrong with mine that needed to be changed also. Just part of it I guess.
As Alan_Cheatham said :Does your gyro have any history of being flown?

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sorry guys,I was in bed,I drive a big truck at night,but my gyro has never been flown.the guy I bought it from had a stroke before he got to fly it,that why he sold it.he was a cool guy.I check out my heads and my fan later today
 
my motor has the standard heads,im going to get rid of the motor i have and put a rotax 503.do you guys know if a bee with 23 ft. dragon wings,star bee pre rotar and rotax 503 could get off the ground in 800ft.i'm 230 ft. above sea level.also what would be the best prop for a short take off,thanks alot
 
tozz22 :
You would have to have some strong wind to fly in to to get off that soon. mine has a 503 and elect prerotator on it and still has problems at that short distance unless it is some good wind.
 
thanks for the reply and info.sense i need a new engine,anybody have any suggestions how to make a bee takeoff distance as short as possible
 
To operate out of a short field you need a very serious prerotator, the higher percentage of flight rpm you have at the beginning of your take off the shorter your run distance. At this time you will likely have to custom build such a prerotator.

Also, I don't want to seem to personal, but what do you weigh?

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Well, 185 is good.

Unfortunately, some prospective gyro pilots who are on the "plus" side have unrealistic expectations about what the machine will do carrying their weight.

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If done right a goped can get you around 230 rpm on 23' Dragonwings and with a strong, stiff headwind I have seen a good pilot take off in less than 800', but your mileage is likely to vary.


(If I were going to operate from an 800' strip on a regular basis I would opt for even more prerotator power using special techniques I won't mention here.)

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Are there any trees or other obstructions on either end of your runway?
How smooth is your runway?
 
You don't see that many underslung belt drives, most of the ones I've seen have the prop above the crankshaft. I doubt that thrust line is an issue.

Hard mounts on any engine are something I dont' like to see at all, let alone a craggy, nasty 2 cycle (dont' take offense, all I fly right now are 2-bangers). Do you know how many hours this machine has on the airframe? Something is going to crack, eventually. I dont' know what, but I know it is not a matter of if but rather when.

Next, I don't like the small rudder on the V stab. I fly a Bee and I have twice the rudder area that your gyro has and I still hate it. One day it will be a tall tail, take it to the bank. It never has enough rudder "authority", I am constantly on the left pedal to correct, running out of rudder control, and I built in an extra 5 degrees static turn to counter the prop wash! Your new gyro has a straight apparent wind attack, so nothing at all to compensate in the least for the prop wash turning the gyro in the direction of the prop. In other words, BE DAMN CAREFUL WHICH WAY YOU TAKE OFF IN CROSS WINDS! If you have a 90 degree cross wind, make sure it works to your advantage when taking off, and, no matter what, make sure you land into the wind - even if it means landing across the runway or in the grass instead of the pavement. Or land so the cross wind and the prop wash work against each other to cancel each other out. Landing or taking off slightly downwind is not nearly so much a problem as crosswind in concert with prop wash. Dont' screw around with getting your prop wash working WITH any cross winds on take off or landing, it will just make it a pain in the tookas to maneuver.

Did I mention I dont' like this rudder?

ANyway, good luck with training! And plan to buy some raw materials and start changing some things on your new acquisition. IT won't cost much, you can do the work with simple hand power tools, and the results will be very satisfying. I'll be watching for more from you! :) If you are going to change the tail, think about how you could make it a tall tail. IT is more work, more weight, and more expense, but it is worth it in the end.

Flying Dragon Wings and taking off routinely from an 800 foot grass runway is a recipe for many aborted TO's or just plain crazy. They are VERY flexible/flappy, they hit the stops way too easy on grass. Last Saturday I decided to try taking off after prerotating to the minimum 110 RRPM just for kicks. (I used to NEVER pre spin past 110 with Rotordynes, and always took off in 200-300 feet in calm wind.) With any other rotors this is no big deal. Guess what? I ate up 2000 feet of paved runway!!! I'm serious. That's with 65 hp, take-off weight just a bit over 510lbs. Dragon Wings and successful short take-offs dont' exist in the same universe, unless you can prerotate to twice the RRPM you need with a straight blade. I was on a 2000 ft grass runway last year at WRENS ROC and had to abort a take off cuz the gotdam things would NOT spin up from 110 RRPM on the attempt, in calm wind. I can take off in 300 feet, prerotated to 180RRPM, with a 3 MPH head wind, and that's about the best they'll do.
 
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Greg, what is your takeoff angle ??

Please refer to my thread under General discussion !
 
thanks for all the info on the wind and takeoff capabilities.the airframe only has some taxi time on it,less than hour.i going to get rid of the motor belt drive set up.as far as my tail,I'm going to take it off and put a new roof on my dog's house or something.do you know if Rotordynes blades will fit a star bee rotor head also do longer rotor blades make for shorter takeoffs.thanks for sharing your advice.
 
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