Gyro-tech carbon fiber blades/RAF
- Thread starter eddie
- Start date
eddie
RAF, turbo subaru 230hp
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- Jan 19, 2011
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- Polvadera,nm 87828
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- 8,000 plus
I have been reading Chuck's posts and it reminded me of something I think he said some years ago that all vibrations are not just in the rotor system.
The other day I had to tighten my prop drive belt up and after I had finished it was started up to see how it was running,standing sideways to the prop
I noticed that the prop tips were not tracking very good,one blade was aft and one was forward,I readjusted the blades and really made sure that they were
exactly the same pitch,I also put a large screwdriver and applied pressure on the back of each blade to make sure they were seated properly and sure
enough one of the blades was in about 1/16" of an inch.Today I took it out for a test flight and to my amazement the slight cabin vibration that was left
after installing the new Gyro-Tec blades was gone.I am now a very happy camper.The moral of this story is believing people like Chuck Beaty with an
excellent reputation is a good thing, believing some of the other people on this forum can be very misleading and perhaps even dangerous choose your
information here very carefully. I forgot to say, my prop is a 5 bladed Warpdrive.
The other day I had to tighten my prop drive belt up and after I had finished it was started up to see how it was running,standing sideways to the prop
I noticed that the prop tips were not tracking very good,one blade was aft and one was forward,I readjusted the blades and really made sure that they were
exactly the same pitch,I also put a large screwdriver and applied pressure on the back of each blade to make sure they were seated properly and sure
enough one of the blades was in about 1/16" of an inch.Today I took it out for a test flight and to my amazement the slight cabin vibration that was left
after installing the new Gyro-Tec blades was gone.I am now a very happy camper.The moral of this story is believing people like Chuck Beaty with an
excellent reputation is a good thing, believing some of the other people on this forum can be very misleading and perhaps even dangerous choose your
information here very carefully. I forgot to say, my prop is a 5 bladed Warpdrive.
Last edited:
- Joined
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I love a story with a happy ending Eddie.
Thank you for a good reminder.
I forget because I have a fixed pitch propeller on The Predator. Most of my clients do not.
Spinning propellers scare me.
Thank you for a good reminder.
I forget because I have a fixed pitch propeller on The Predator. Most of my clients do not.
Spinning propellers scare me.
Brian Jackson
Platinum Member
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- GyroBee Variant - Under Construction
eddie;n1132037 said:
Skepticism is a hard thing to apply in this day and age. I highly recommend googling Carl Sagan's Baloney Detector Kit.
Kolibri
FW and Gyros
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- 1000+
a) I don't recall you ever previously divulging ANY "slight cabin vibration that was left after installing the new Gyro-Tec blades"
b) How long were your prop blades out of alignment?
Regards, Kolibri
Kolibri
FW and Gyros
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- Total Flight Time
- 1000+
Hey, folks, don't hold your breath . . . what could he say after that?
Shake (i.e., 2-rev) and vibration (at higher freq. than 10-12Hz) are two different things, with generally their own unique causes.
Where these are felt (stick, pedals, cabin) also matters. With a free tablet app as Mike G has recommended, you could have analyzed
the frequency of these sensations. A passenger could have touched the tablet to stick, pedals, and cabin and notated the data.
You could have learned over a year ago that they were much higher than the 10-12Hz range, and thus not 2-rev shakes caused by rotors.
The vibration freqs might have made you think of prop imbalance.
You'd have saved yourself many futile hours of chasing the trouble, you'd have saved the forum from your uncalled-for Sport Rotor bashing,
and my many posts trying to make sense of your bizarre odyssey which you reported in a vague, disjunctive, and even contradictory manner.
Meanwhile, I was accused of "sidetracking" your thread with "toxic rants" and creating a "tangle" when it was your tangle that I was trying to unravel!
So, although not in the way you meant, I agree with your recent statement:
In my book, the moral of this story is:
At any rate, I'm glad that you at last replaced your OEM <2004 RAF hub bar and blades. Good for you.
____
It seems that Gyro-Tech rotors/bar/towers are the economy answer for many RAFists, and their quality seems superior to OEM RAF.
Do not forget, however, that owners are still relying upon the RAF rotorhead, torque tube, gimbal arm, pop-riveted mast plates, and trim system.
None of those components are renowned for quality of material or design, so please keep a very close eye on them.
Please at least go to Aurora CAM-6 control rod ends (only $13@) and replace the rusty dog-collar trim chains with some galvanized steel links of 300bls tensile strength.
Modifying your RAf to directly pull down on the rear of the torque tube is an excellent precaution, easily done.
One must not run trim forces through the control system as RAF did. It's bad engineering, and risky.
Safe flying!
Kolibri
Shake (i.e., 2-rev) and vibration (at higher freq. than 10-12Hz) are two different things, with generally their own unique causes.
Where these are felt (stick, pedals, cabin) also matters. With a free tablet app as Mike G has recommended, you could have analyzed
the frequency of these sensations. A passenger could have touched the tablet to stick, pedals, and cabin and notated the data.
You could have learned over a year ago that they were much higher than the 10-12Hz range, and thus not 2-rev shakes caused by rotors.
The vibration freqs might have made you think of prop imbalance.
You'd have saved yourself many futile hours of chasing the trouble, you'd have saved the forum from your uncalled-for Sport Rotor bashing,
and my many posts trying to make sense of your bizarre odyssey which you reported in a vague, disjunctive, and even contradictory manner.
Meanwhile, I was accused of "sidetracking" your thread with "toxic rants" and creating a "tangle" when it was your tangle that I was trying to unravel!
So, although not in the way you meant, I agree with your recent statement:
In my book, the moral of this story is:
Call things by their correct name.
Prefer objective/accurate data over subjective descriptions.
ASK for help, privately and publicly.
Mess Up -- Fess Up.
Don't conceal what you've done, and then maintain coy vagueness.
Don't bash a quality mfg. unless you've really got your facts straight.
Don't malign a fellow gyro owner if he questions a suspicious story.
Apologize if you've unfairly wronged somebody on the forum.
Finally, correct the record with a concise summary of what really happened, and what you've learned.
There cannot be EGO in Aviation. It will eventually kill somebody.
Share even the embarrassing, as it can save lives.
Prefer objective/accurate data over subjective descriptions.
ASK for help, privately and publicly.
Mess Up -- Fess Up.
Don't conceal what you've done, and then maintain coy vagueness.
Don't bash a quality mfg. unless you've really got your facts straight.
Don't malign a fellow gyro owner if he questions a suspicious story.
Apologize if you've unfairly wronged somebody on the forum.
Finally, correct the record with a concise summary of what really happened, and what you've learned.
There cannot be EGO in Aviation. It will eventually kill somebody.
Share even the embarrassing, as it can save lives.
At any rate, I'm glad that you at last replaced your OEM <2004 RAF hub bar and blades. Good for you.
____
It seems that Gyro-Tech rotors/bar/towers are the economy answer for many RAFists, and their quality seems superior to OEM RAF.
Do not forget, however, that owners are still relying upon the RAF rotorhead, torque tube, gimbal arm, pop-riveted mast plates, and trim system.
None of those components are renowned for quality of material or design, so please keep a very close eye on them.
Please at least go to Aurora CAM-6 control rod ends (only $13@) and replace the rusty dog-collar trim chains with some galvanized steel links of 300bls tensile strength.
Modifying your RAf to directly pull down on the rear of the torque tube is an excellent precaution, easily done.
One must not run trim forces through the control system as RAF did. It's bad engineering, and risky.
Safe flying!
Kolibri
Last edited:
eddie
RAF, turbo subaru 230hp
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2011
- Messages
- 1,683
- Location
- Polvadera,nm 87828
- Aircraft
- 230 HP turbocharged RAF
- Total Flight Time
- 8,000 plus
I had replied to Kolibri's comments earlier and I have since deleted it after I realized that I have fell to his level of
nasty comments and retaliation on this forum. I am a better person than that and am sorry if I have offended anyone.
other than him.
nasty comments and retaliation on this forum. I am a better person than that and am sorry if I have offended anyone.
other than him.
Kolibri
FW and Gyros
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2014
- Messages
- 1,636
- Location
- Wyoming
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152, 172, 172RG, 177, 206 -- Piper 180 -- RV-7A -- Calidus -- RAF2000 -- Sport Copter II and
- Total Flight Time
- 1000+
eddie, I'm deafened by all your virtue signalling.
If that's your version of getting in the last word, fine, have it.
