Vortex M912 build

[CLS447]

Nope....they won't do it ! That is why we have to pay a DAR !

Tommy (Milton).....what do you think about this stuff ?

How about the repairman certs ?

[Vance]

Two very nice gentlemen from the Van Nuys FSDO drove around 400 miles round trip to the Santa Maria Airport to inspect my engine change, AKA major change, and give me my limitations and defined the new phase one.

They shortened my phase one for no particular reason.

They spent most of the day studying every detail and reviewing my paperwork.

They examined many things that were not involved in the major change.

They were very helpful; one was their rotorcraft expert and quite knowledgeable.

I learned a lot.

One later helped me at the Thunder Over the Valley airshow at Santa Maria where the FAA had five representatives.

It doesn’t hurt to ask.

If it is an option; I will have Tom do the airworthiness inspection for Mariah Gale because he is an advocate for gyroplanes and will give me as much freedom as he can feel comfortable with.

The gentlemen from the FAA were by the book.

In my opinion they cut me some slack.

Karl is a very personable and knowledgeable man and I suspect the FAA treated him well.

I feel they are working to try to keep people safe and not have to fill out all the paperwork that is generated by an accident.

Thank you, Vance

[reelmule]

Karl, Congratulations on your 912 Build. I just returned from S/C at Scappoose where I hauled my M 912 for Jim to test fly. I wish I had your building skills and experience. I stronly urge you to take Jims flight instruction advanced course. After the first pushover to 90* nose down I was sure I was practicing dying--but Jim had everything under control. You learn the edge of the envelope and proper recovery technique. Great RV camp ground nearby. The M 12 Vortex certainly handles differently than my RAF. The entire staff very helpful and friendly. I would stronly urge any new builders of this model to stronly consider the factory assist build program--it will definitly be less expensive in the long run.

[feedpro]

CLS447,
My repairman certificates are for aircraft that I manufactured. Plus the model is listed also.
I would suggest that you send a letter to your local FSDO that covers your area and ask them to outline in writing what they do. Also ask that they state in writing why they do not do Air Worthiness inspections. You will find that they will do them (it is "what they do"), but be warned that they do not have to pass your aircraft, so a DAR is safer in that regard. You can do as I did, and visit with them in advance about your fullfilling the 51% rule.

Reelmule,
Jim Vanek is a great instructor, however they are 1100 miles (one way) from my place, so I will do additional instruction with the CFI in Spanish Fork, Utah, which is a lot closer. I will do this after I am flying a while then use him to polish up my technique.
I have good friends near by in Portland, who loaned me a Motor Home, which I parked at their hanger, which is the large hanger next to the camp ground. I was very comfortable the 10 days I was there taking lessons.
A factory assist build is good if you do not know how to start a nut on a bolt or how to torque to the correct inch pounds. The Sport Copter is only assembly, there is not any fabrication. The good side is the fact you don't have to wait for parts that were left out of the kit, when you build at Sport Copter. It would be a lot faster having answers to your questions right there. You would have your gyro flying in only a very few weeks. So, if money is not a factor, then I would build at the factory.

[reelmule]

Karl, I agree.

[feedpro]

The weather cooled last week, so I flew every morning for an hour. I flew again last evening just before dark and determined that evening may be the most comfortable time to fly. The deer are coming out and the air is smooth as glass. Seven and a half hours on the hour meter now.
I have put the Vortex down in all sorts of terrain, so am confident that it can handle anything, even a unplanned drop from 30 foot onto ground you would not drive a pickup on. Running the pre-rotator up to 250 rrpm got me off after a couple of bounces.
I did a demo flight at our flyin breakfast on saturday and received applause when I came back in to park. They liked the vertical descent because the breeze was blowing me backward, so then I dived out of that back to the grass runway for a no roll landing.
Gyro flying beats everything I have flown, but it is not good for cross country at 60 mph. My Sonex goes 150 mph, so I flew that to a flyin on Sunday. But the gyro beats every "bush" airplane I have owned, including a Helio Courier, simply because it lands in such a tiny space and does not need a lot of room to take off again. Usually, I had to look for at least 500 foot of smooth surface to land a fixed wing on, my gyro only needs 20 feet or less to land. So after over 2000 off airport landings with a STOL fixed wing, I have now found a flying vehicle that makes this a lot easier.
Every year I do a forum about landing off airport at Oshkosh, and now I can add a new dimention to this presentation.
This has got to be a sin. It's too much fun.

[reelmule]

Karl, any details on the " unplanned drop from 30ft??" on departure did you advance the throttle with the prerotator engaged? Wish I had your off field experience.
Walt

[feedpro]

Originally Posted by reelmule

Karl, any details on the " unplanned drop from 30ft??" on departure did you advance the throttle with the prerotator engaged? Wish I had your off field experience.
Walt

Nope, haven't made that mistake as yet. I did it while doing turns around a point and kept at it too long without keeping track of the airspeed. Found out that I can't keep turning past 360 degrees, like I do in a fixed wing. The big thing is that in a fixed wing I do 720s, but with a little more altitude. I was doing tight 720s close to the ground with the gyro and all the back pressure dropped the airspeed faster then in a fixed wing. It was a nothing event in the Vortex, (a tough machine) except the next time I did turns around a point over smooth ground and stopped after 360 degrees.

[reelmule]

Thanks for the comeback. Iv'e noticed in a tight bank and the necessary back pressure to hold altitude the AS drops fast if you don't get the power up. Will practice this one at 500ft!

[feedpro]

Yesterday 11/3/12 I was at the Quinn Ranch in South Dakota for dinner.

[feedpro]

Just a note here about the great customer service that I just received from Jim Vanek and Sport Copter.

A small design flaw was exposed by my "off airport" landings and take offs in some very rough ground. Two small steel parallel brackets that hold the wheel alignment turn buckles could not take this rough treatment and bent down because of the leverage. A call to Jim revealed that he was aware of the problem and asked that I just send the gear legs to him and he would replace them with the new design that added a steel top piece that changed the bracket from parallel to a box. I received the new gear legs almost by return mail. I am very pleased. My original plan was to weld on the additional pieces myself, but his method comes brand new and power coated. This makes the Vortex M912 the perfect off field gyro.

35 hours of test flying with 5 more to go.

[NoWingsAttached]

Got a curiosity question for ya: Who made the brackets for your PTO wheel that powers your prerotator, the attachment to your PSRU? Very shiney and nice looking, too. I never paid much attention to this thread before. Is it aluminum?

[Master Roda]

We did Greg. Everything you see except the engine, tires, instruments.....we make all of it. We powder coat, anodise, plate, or otherwise protect the materials that are laser cut, CNC, or somehow fabricated with the latest technology.
We try very hard to be the best. That's why we don't have issues. When a problem arises, we try to take care of it immediately.