the Bensen 50th April 2024

[N962GT]

Carolina Barnstormers inna house, yo.

 

[N962GT]

 

[N962GT]

Row upon row of gyrocopters, gyroplanes, autogiros, rotorcraft...

 

[N962GT]

Mohawk Aero 145 AAMRAM

Air Command Tandem orig. build ORA COOK, 1995
Sold to Greg Mills at Bensen Days 2011, $4500.00
Converted to first successful Yamaha Genesis 4 cyl (YG4)
Total cost: $6000.00, all-in.
First flight Nov. 2012
Rebuilt due to rollover 2019
Dry Wt: 570 lbs TOW +1 hr fuel 803 lbs

​

 

[Capt'n Gator]

Carolina Barnstormers inna house, yo.View attachment 1160889

Barry copied my When pigs fly shirt

 

[Vance]

I feel it was an exceptional turn out for the fiftieth despite some daunting weather at the beginning of the week.

Lots of flying, no bent metal that I know of and no injuries that I know of.

There were a lot of exceptional gyroplanes present.

There were a few inelegant landings in part because the winds were shifting a lot.

The people and the attitudes were delightful and for me it was time, effort and money well spent.

I was treated to some wonderful food and friendship around the fire in the evening.

It is a great place for anyone who likes people or aircraft to hang out.

 

[N962GT]

Looking trim, Vance, keep up the good work!

 

[N962GT]

Just getting around to trimming and such...

 

[N962GT]

 

[N962GT]

Engine & wire loom, Mohawk Aero Corps​

 

[N962GT]

Kroplin's Radial

 

[RogerB]

That’s a wild looking radial engine, nice!!!

 

[N962GT]

 

[N962GT]

Joe Pires' GyroMania Honda 130

 

[N962GT]

Speaking Sicilian Sign Language w/ Spicola as we both start to lose it after being held up on the taxiway waiting to take off for Mfg's Parade of Gyros. Seriously, calling an approach at 45 miles out is a bit much, even for a damn Gulfstream. Oh, well...It's all good.

Wonderful event.

I'll be back.

 

[N962GT]

Barry T. approached me last fall about doing a 1000' climb together, so we sat down and tossed around some ideas. I wanted 5 gal fuel and a flying start, side x side at 45 mph, like we used to do with our cars on Woodward Avenue in Detroit back in the day. Barry wanted to start on the RW with 1 gal of fuel. I needed some time to let the idea of a SXS climb sink in, mull it over, get used to the idea. Let it simmer for the next 5-6 months.

Friday someone asked me if there was going to be a climb competition, so I went and asked Barry T. if he wanted to go for it. He was all about it, so we headed out together, me following his lead, and he wanted me upwind of him, on the inside lane. He knew he'd have to allow extra time for me to get airborne and we'd discussed how to handicap the 800# TOW, YG4 Air Command Tandem, spinning MUCH longer, slower 28' Dragon Wings, against his hyper-lightened, 500# TOW Dominator Single, spinning 23' DWs, for a fairly fair race.

I mean, a two-seater cross country cruiser against a single that nevers leaves the pattern? C'mon, duh. He'd predicted, back in October, much to my doubt, that at some point my bigger disk pushed with more power could actually overcome his gyro.

As he strolled down the taxiway ahead of me, his little 23 footers started spinning up, then he paused for me to catch up at the hold line. As I rolled up he engaged his Pre-Ro and we headed out to the active, me never braking to make the turns. We lined up and came to a full stop, Barry abeam, spun up and I announced "3-2-1" as my blades hit 135 RRPM, max roll-out for my flat belt, back-side PTO grip before it starts to overheat. Barry was spun up to double that, and jumped into the air immediately as I rolled 500 ft for TO RRPM, Barry side-slipping, well ahead, so he could see me as he waited for me to get airborn to start the shootout. There was no "GO!", we just hit it and pointed skyward from about 10-15 AGL.

By the time I got to where my bird actually starts to fly and climb (150 AGL) he was a good 20-30 ft higher already, but at that point I arrested any further losses to him as his ascent advantage died right there, and I paced him equally to 500 ft.

That's when things got interesting, as Barry's predictions came into focus and I began to realize he might have been right. The Gunslinger began to reel in the Dominator, with plenty or room to go. I don't know when Barry realized I was catching up, but as my engine gets hotter it gets stronger - whereas as his smoker gets hotter it starts to lose power.

At 700' AGL I was looking straight and level, right across at him as we climbed together into the stiff 15-20 MPH wind currents. I never saw him again, and was pleasantly surprised that my Yamaha had just beaten the best of the best, in any class.

I knew there would be hell to pay to my joker friends for the handicapped TO, that just goes with the territory. And like I said, wryly, at dinner for all to hear, looking at Barry T., "There's two people at this table who know what happened today at 700 feet."

And now you know, the REST of the story.

Bottom line: It appears there are two winners, depending on how you want to spin it:

1. Barry T. takes short TO to 20 ft AGL, hands down, not even close. In fact, this "Warm Up Lap" was never intended to be part of the race.
2. Barry T. wins Climb from 20' to 500' by ~30 ft. visual
3. Gregory T. wins climb from 20' to 1000', by ~30 ft. est.

We'll do this some more, hopefully, as it was a real crowd-pleaser to those who caught the inaugeral, impromptu, unannounced, "Shootout of Champions".

Might need to tweak the agreements and "rules" a bit, but all-in-all I think it was an awesome competition. I might even siphon off a few gallons of fuel before TO next time, lose that 18# SS muffler and backpack filled with stuff. Hell, that's a good 50# alone right there I could leave on the ground! Plus I had my cruiser prop on, not my climber. Didn't even bother to bring the other 2 props along.

Video link below:

1000' Climb: Barry Thigpen vs Greg Mills 2024

Here are some screen shots from it:

 

[N962GT]

13 seconds into the vid is when the two gyros are airborn and the race begins. This frame at 27 seconds is where the Gunslinger is clearly gaining on Barry, the Barnstormer's laughter dies and the video abruptly ends. When I was back on the ground, the only thing anyone wanted to talk about, or hear about, was the warm up lap. Like going to Indy and leaving before the checkered flag drops, Oh, well. That's to be expected.

CHEERS! Play it again, Sam. No one does it like a Carolina Barnstormer. We're a big deal.

 

[Resasi]

At 700' AGL I was looking straight and level, right across at him as we climbed together into the stiff 15-20 MPH wind currents. I never saw him again, and was pleasantly surprised that my Yamaha had just beaten the best of the best, in any class.

Sorry Gregg, not a chance.

Watched the race, from start to finish. At no time did you ever catch or lead Barry, from start to finish.

 

[Resasi]

my Yamaha had just beaten the best of the best, in any class.

I will add however, that for the two seater class, you have an extremely good rate of climb.

 

[N962GT]

Sorry Gregg, not a chance.

Watched the race, from start to finish. At no time did you ever catch or lead Barry, from start to finish.

Resasi:

Thanks for writing what you saw from your perspective on the ground, just as I wrote what I saw from my seat as one of the two participants who can speak to the point with any degree of accuracy. Our front-to-back gyro separation and your perspective from 1000' away seems to be one that makes it too difficult for ground viewers to estimate altitude separation with the naked eye.

The only other person who can say with any accuracy what happened at 700 feet would be Barry Thigpen, and we're still working out the kinks on how to make the TO better, since he rotates to 250 RRPM with PTO while I can only get to 135. We're goign to do this at AFP again for sure, I'll put on a helmet cam for more post-flight fun.

Bottom line: Enjoy your joke, guys. Just got off the phone with Barry Thigpen and he agrees with me, saying "Stick to what you wrote" [paraphrased]. We both got a kick out of the race, love the buzz, enjoyed it greatly, and will be doing it again at Barnstormers Spring Wing Ding. Come one, come ya'll, and catch the action!

Parting word: Look again at the frames above and judge altitude (not distance fore-aft) separation starting from the frame titled "And they're off!", where we are at the same AGL, through the last frame and tell me you honestly do not see me gaining on Barry. By my measure, Barry climbs to ~25 ft higher than I, but by the last frame that is cut to 10 feet - indicating that had the video extended longer it would have shown me abreast, passing, then higher than Barry.

Hasta la vista, baby! Yamaha rules, the rest y'all drools. LOL

I love you, man. I love you...Can I have that Budweiser?