Anything new on Yamaha conversions?

[StanFoster]

Russ- I have to say your jesture of letting your engine be delayed a 4th time for the benefit of others is so admirable! I actually feel guilty that I am not offering the same to my fellow Helicycle builders that are also waiting on their turbine. Maybe I am being too hard or honest when I could not make the same offer. You are setting a very high bar of unselfishness and I just wanted to say you should be commended. Stan

[Russ Hobbs]

Stan, as much as I want to fly, I also needed to commit to the learning process. If my gyroplane was flying I have my head in the sky.
Russ

[NoWingsAttached]

I called Todd a few times b4 settling on the 4-cyl for my conversion and tried to give him as much moral support as I could. When I get to Bensen Days I'll dedicate a song to him - "Further On Up the Road". It's the least I can do for such a good guy, and a gyrobro.

Oooooh. I made the final arrangements today to drive up to PA. I'll be putting the "new" sled on the gyro hauler at noon on 3/30.

[B Hawley]

I am working on a Little Wing 5 and have purchased a Yamaha 130FI thru Todd. I am under the impression that both Todd and Neil are doing some ground work on a gear redrive for the 130FI. Also, Todd’s 120 engine mount only needs a few adjustments to be used for the 130FI.
In my tractor application, I still hold hope that a more conventional engine mount / gear or even belt redrive combination can be developed for the 130FI, maybe not. There is plenty to mount the engine to on the right and left sides. The problem is where to attach a gear redrive unit OR how to anchor and dampen a belt redrive. Maybe at the 130FI rpm’s, a belt redrive would not be the best engineered choice. I’m not closing any doors as of yet, just asking questions and trying to get informed opinions.
I know Todd has had a lot on his plate lately and have not bothered him. I just wanted to step up and be counted as one building a LW5. Also one eventually in need of a final solution using a Yamaha 130FI in a tractor configuration.
Brad H
Grass Valley
Northern California

[NoWingsAttached]

Here is a belt drive on a pusher ultralight.

[NoWingsAttached]

Got the 2003 Yamaha RX1 home this past Wednesday at midnight. Made a side trip to visit my kids in Arlington over the weekend, then made a surprise visit to the home office in Chantilly, VA Monday. It was nice to see my collegues in person for the first time in years. My boss comes down to visit me in ATL maybe once a year. Funny, at the weekly Monday WIP meeting (Weekly Implementation Progress) a new chart was circulated, showing how well we did our jobs. The higher the bars, the more money our project's value. The greater the disparity between bar 1 and bar 2, the worse we performed. I had a 1:1 projects assiged to completion ratio, perfect score, and a high load to boot. I win! LOL. Maybe my boss was just touting my good efforts knowing I was going to be there in person, and no one else was aware of my surprise visit. As you can see, George really f- - - - d up, and Boyd was really grumbling sour potatoes when this was passed around, saying stupid things to belittle my performance like "he just got lucky, that's all." I never did like Boyd. I hope he doesn't like me either. He's a jerk. That's why I am a Senior Project Manager, and made that title after just 6 months with the company, and Boyd is still just a lowly PM and will never make SPM, even though he hired on same time I did in 2006.

Well, no matter, I am going to frame this and hang it in my new office You see, ATL has NEVER had a real office, just caged-off cubicals in our long-haul switch WHICH IS NOISY AS HELL AND FREEZING FRIKKIN COLD cuz the switching gear needs cold air and the cooling fans are NOISY.

I saved my company almost $500k last year in a deal I brokered with our landlord for the switch. Then I sold services to a few customers - which is NOT my job, as I am a pM, not a salesman.

So they thanked me by giving me a 3-office suite, on the 22nd floor of 34 Peachtree St., overlooking 5 Points Park in downtown ATL. My whole office wall is glass My last office space had NO WINDOWS. Telecom switches do not have windows, folks.

So, my new office lease was signed on the same day that I brought home the new Air Command engine to replace the broken <sniff, sniff> Arrow motor.

If you look up in the western sky this evening just after sunset, you will see Venus easily. Now, look down and to the right, and that faint little star is Mercury. It is rare to see this, so enjoy, and maybe you will get a better view at 700 ft from your gyro before you bring her in for the evening.

After all, isn't that one of the best reasons for flying in a gyro? The magnificent sunsets, with the world all around you out in the open like that.

[NoWingsAttached]

Well, it is finished! The Yamagiro Bee Blue! Loaded up on the trailer, ready for Bensen Days. Of course I'll remove the No Wings Attached before running down the road. Let me tell you, the redrive for this thing was a real B---h, but I finally got it mounted solidly. Had to go down a few inches on the prop diameter, but clearance is pretty good at 1-1/2" from the tail keel. The hang test was spot on!

I utilized the reverse gear in the transmission for a driveshaft PTO to the prerotator. When I shift from Reverse to Forward, it disengages the prerotator, and engages the track drive. Talk about a HOLE SHOT! With that baby revved up to 10 grand, and dropping the clutch, it will literally launch itself into the air, and gain the necessary minimum air speed in less than 10 feet of runway to maintain flight. It is nearly a jump-giro, but not quite. As soon as it is off the ground the track drive auto disengages, and all power is then to the prop only.

Upon landing, I can remove the blades and rescue people on the Beltway around Washington DC in the next bad snowstorm of the century. I plan on charging a hefty fee for my services.

[GyroRon]

Greg, your a trip man! Can't wait to see you at Bensen Days.

You bringing the sled there too? I have never ridden a snowmobile, but figure early in the moring while the grass is still wet from the morning dew, it should go quite well. That would be epic... riding a snowmobile in April, in Florida!

[Timchick]

Here you go, Ron.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrl3e8SRIms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLE23in0CsE

[CLS447]

Ron......get out ! You have never ridden a snowmobile ! ?

It's cold ! So I don't really care for it too much. It used to be fun when they didn't clean the roads so fast & you could go bar hopping using the roads.

Grinding your skis on bare road , sucks ! We had a nice old Ski Doo until a friend put her smack into a tree. We still rode it but it was kind of crooked !

These new ones would have killed him !

[NoWingsAttached]

Grass drag racing is pretty common in northern Michigan. Going across paved roads the rule is ACCELERATE, lift the skis off the ground as you cross. The only real NO-NO is gravel. VERRRRy bad for the track, rails, wheels. Tears stuff up in a hurry.

I grew up in Northville, Michigan, I guess my first snowmobile drivin was around 1968 or 69 when I was in high school. I remember we used to be able to rent them next to my GF's house, so we used to ride a lot at night...heh heh.

There's a 1/2 mile harness racing track in my hometown. In winter they would truck in snow and pack the track down with it and run snowmobile races. THAT was AWESOME. They brought in some exotic stuff, like this one Canadien sled called a Scorpion that had 2 tracks, with a lower center of gravity. It would smoke everyone around the turns, but the bigger HP machines would eat it up on the straights.

WHat do you think, you really want to ride a snowmobile down the grass at Wauchula? Would they let us? I tell you, they do NOT turn well on the grass, so turning around takes a wide area, and going very slowly. And I can't turn off the hand warmers, so gloves might be adviseable to protect your hands.

I'm looking forward to seeing you too, Ron, and all the other guys. Of all the things I've done, Gyro flying and building rounds me out just fine - at a station in life when I find myself...ahem...rounding out.

[GyroRon]

I am pretty sure if you bring it, we could ride it there. There is ALOT of grass at Wauchula airport to monkey around in.

[NoWingsAttached]

"...I sense a disturbance in the force..."

[Timchick]

There's also some ponds to try water skipping down there.

[Resasi]

Just don't skip off any of Jim's pet gators.