the only reason for balancing on the mains is because thats the position of the rotor to obtain the fastest RPM in other words the sweet spot for acheiving fast rotor speed.
If you change the balance to keep the weight forward the rotor will obtain that sweet spot faster and have more weight holding the rotor in that position and you will obtain rotor RPM faster than being balanced on the mains,and you also will have better control on take off,and the number of botched takeoffs will be greatly reduced.
I will begin by stating I am not a gyro Instructor, my gyro hours are limited. My notes were my own opinions compiled from many sources and my thanks to all of them including Marion Springer. They are intended to be presented as training notes as part of my course in becoming an Assistant Gyro Instructor. I am painfully aware that I have a long way to go, that my knowledge is limited, but I am learning. I expect to be learning for ever as I do not believe that process is ever done, and am always ready and willing to be corrected. I have paid a lot of attention to many very experienced gyro pilots and my thoughts are based on what has been learned from them.
Eddie with regard to your contention that the only reason for balancing on the mains is to get the 'sweet spot' is baffling to me, since you then go on to say that the 'sweet spot'??? ( perhaps an explanation of that term from you would be useful) can also be obtained while you are on all mains, and faster??? That would seem a bit of a contradiction. Your explanation is perhaps not the best for backing up Fara, who has admitted to being only a gyro student with no experience of single seat machines. His reason for not wanting to do wheel balancing or extended wheel balancing prior to going solo is to my mind a possibly dangerous misconception
should he at any stage wish to fly a single seat gyro. In that situation he might wish to revise his thoughts on the matter.
One of the reasons for balancing
in a single seat machine is to demonstrate to a ground observer preferably the Instructor, and to themselves the ability of the pilot in mastering the fine control required once airborne in avoiding Pilot Induced Oscillation.
In a dual seat machine there is less emphasis placed upon this particular exercise, partly because in the early stages the student is together with the Instructor who is immediately available to correct and or prevent such an occurrence, and also because most dual seat machines are not as light on the controls as most single seat machines, and on the whole tend to be more stable.
There are always exceptions to the rule however in the main, when a student goes from a dual to a single seater, control forces required will be lighter and the machine will respond to stick inputs quicker. It can therefore be seen that an inexperienced or low time gyro pilot could get into stability problems quite quickly.
It is also the case that many single seat machines tend to be open frame and therefor the visual references from cockpit coaming or windshield in relation to the horizon will be missing.
I can agree that with the nose wheel on the ground more directional control can be maintained, however it should be borne in mind that when coming in for landing the attitude that will result in the shortest landing roll is in a nose up attitude, and it may well be required for the pilot to cope with cross winds at that time. If he has had practice in maintaining directional control through extended wheel balancing he will be better able to control his machine when in that attitude,
if landing with a crosswind was necessary.
An Instructor should be preparing their student with the appropriate exercises to be as safe as possible in the air in all phases of flight in the machine they are flying in, to allow a student to go solo before mastering the basic essentials appropriate to that machine is dangerous to the student. The Instructor can satisfy themselves by observing a student wheel balancing whether or not they are capable of the fine control movements required, as well as a situational awareness of exactly what is required for the conditions they are operating in at that time.
Learning to balance takes practice, as does doing it with any sort of a crosswind. It will not be easy for the beginner, who should begin with calm conditions or with very light winds directly down the runway. Only later with slight cross winds. It will be easier for those with previous experience on flying machines
with a stick. There are flying machines that are not controlled in a similar manner and while they will bring over some advantages these will not apply to wheel balancing in a gyro.
It is not an exercise that is particularly relevant to other flying machines and the points made above I hope can help clarify why this particular exercise has a place in gyro training, in particular single seat gyro training.