Chopter Gyroplane

[RotoPlane]

Gosh Vance….you were and still are ahead of your time! I have no doubt that even with that price, that neat gyro would sell. Too bad you weren't able to make at least one. Those graphic presentations are right up there with the best that I've seen. Your business plan is still sound…..money isn't everything, but it sure makes the world go around.

[Vance]

You remember well Chuck.

Thank you for the kind words.

Hello Wayne, it may be that I think slowly so I talk slow.

I am grateful for all you have taught me.

Thank you Ed that is a very nice thing for you to say.

Victor did a great job on the web page and we have never even spoken. He would show me what he had done and I would email him back with what I wanted changed. He is a remarkable person and English is not his first language and the Harley Davidson culture was completely foreign to him. Victor lives in France.

This was a market based design and part of what I have learned is that I prefer a gyroplane with more capabilities.

As a senior management person at Harley Davidson Motor company always reminds me, “Who will buy the second 100.” My tastes tend to run outside of the main stream.

I would love to see how far the performance limitations of a gyroplane could be pressed.

Your designs are much more innovative than this flying motorcycle.

I would like to see a bunch of chopters show up at Daytona or Sturgis and ride into town.

How it looked in front of the Bar was more important to my aeronautical engineer than how it flew. He felt that people would spend more time on the ground than in the air. He had always been frustrated by the lack of money in aviation.

Thank you, Vance

P.S.
I forgot to mention I have a Harley Davidson Twin Cam engine sitting on the floor that put out 115 horsepower on a water brake and with that engine I felt that it could easily carry a passenger just like on a motorcycle.

[PW_Plack]

Originally Posted by Lspav8r

...Do we really need to make this a sport for the rich? Some of these ideas are really good but you need to put your expertise in to making a gyro for the masses if you want more people to get in to this sport..

Jim, with all due respect, what's been missing from the marketplace is not the low end, but gyroplanes which appeal to people accustomed to serious aircraft, produced by companies which have the margins needed to promote themselves and stay in business. Magnis, MTs, ELAs and the rest are selling strong in Europe during a recession at prices higher than $59K US.

You can't even buy a new engine and set of blades for much less than $10K now, and people keep asking for whole machines cheaper than that. If you find one, it's a pretty safe bet the company that sold it to you won't be around long.

[aerialvisitor]

Hi Vance:

In a previous post under General Discussion, New Categories, I stated that the gyroplane won't become mainstream until the image of the gyroplane is changed from a “joy toy” to a “personal” utilitarian aircraft. I asked members to suggest ways that the gyroplane could be useful as a personal utilitarian machine, and even gave a short list of suggestions. However nobody responded. So I was left with two impressions: 1.) People are totally satisfied owning the gyroplane for personal sport flying ONLY, and 2.) there is still a tremendous opportunity out there for someone to come along and develop the industry much like Dennis Fetters did with Air Command. As far as I know, nobody sold more of them than he did. But until a utilitarian value can be realized with a gyroplane (much like the European models offer), the only gyroplanes that will be sold here will be the "cheap and easy" models for sport flying using individual surplus funds. That's my opinion, and like noses, everyone's got one

Dave

[Russ Hobbs]

I agree with Wayne, way cool. I love the design, and would love to see concept turned reality. You can tell from the reactions here you've captured everyone's interest. I hope you have the opportunity to finish this project, never say never.

Russ

[tadgyro]

to you Vance
Teddy

[Heron]

Sun-N-Fun 2004, Vance?
You with a funny hat looking at the Butterfly booth, it seems so long ago and it was only 5 years back, another lifetime . . .
Lots of money and effort spent and good progress on our machines, but educating the market still on the start line . . .none so far.
Top money customers will induce emulation and that will trickle down to other levels, comercial use of gyros is the goal, that will bring the money.
Heron

[Stoney]

Originally Posted by tadgyro

to you Vance
Teddy

I agree 100% Vance. Your approach was very innovative. There may not be a large market for these now, but once a few of them are out there they would rapidly build a following. I'm glad that you kept the site up as a reminder and that you still have the dream.

[Vance]

Thank you for the kind words.

I feel it would have been a great adventure and a lot of work.

Getting as far along as I did was a great adventure and a lot of work.

There is a lot of responsibility to the dealer network once it has been created.

It would have been a lot of fun if I didn’t need to make money. At the time I felt that I was not likely to run out of money, it didn’t work out that way and this project was unrelated to my economic downfall. I needed to be in a position to lose $500,000 without an impact on my lifestyle.

I feel that the gyroplane business is very close to an oxymoron.

I have never been able to imagine a commercial market for experimental gyroplanes.

I don’t feel that the capabilities that the gyroplane I fly now makes it any less of a toy.

I love design and I find joy in each step of problem solving.

Dennis, who sold me the new heart for the Predator was the one who built the proof of concept re-drive complete with hydraulic pump drive and a clutch to stop the propeller for road use. It had the greatest engineering risk.

Smokey built the first airframe and as always it was a treat working with him.

Building the mold for the body and empennage was a wonderful learning experience that grew out of my Bonneville adventure.

I am still in touch with my aeronautical engineer and I am still friends with most of the people who advised me about how a gyroplane works. I learned a lot about airfoils.

Working with Victor was wonderful and he is still one of my favorite people.

I still use my doodle program and excel spread sheet for weight and balance. I use the things I learned to understand what is going on as I learn to fly my gyroplane.

I embarked on the Chopter adventure with what I had learned from design projects and business experience dating back to the sixties. I feel that knowledge is power and no knowledge is wasted. I make my living by working a few hours a week because of what I have learned along the way.

My focus on gyroplanes has been shifted by my passion for flying.

I hope to one day build a gyroplane of my own design and much of what I learned will be applicable. I do not intend to sell it so that changes the design parameters and performance targets.

The point I am trying to make is that even though the goal wasn’t reached I am glad I embarked on the adventure. I learned a lot and had a reason to interact with my friends. I am not in any way dissuaded from chasing my dreams or focused on what some may perceive as failure. For me it is about the journey.

Thank you, Vance

[StanFoster]

Jim- Vance is following his passion. We all are wired differently and he has a wonderful idea that I think would go over well with a stronger economy.

Its like my high school principal occasionally mentioning to me that I should have been an engineer instead of messing around with wood. He was trying to live the life he would want...and thought I should too. I finally told him I am going the way my passion is pulling me, and am loving it.

I see Vances concept very exciting...


Stan