? Saying there is nothing to debate is a view but you seem to have taken a view and are forcing a round peg in a square hole.
R; You both have different views , but you are not as far apart as it seems
Yes the stick was in the wrong position but the point I'm making is that the error the pilot makes is not driven by any technique that is taught
Comment; Plenty of technique, not enough knowledge.
Many point to gyro glider time as a potential solution and I've no experience on them so can't really take a view specifically but what you can be sure of is that if the technique is not as per the one used on your final aircraft I'm not sure how that translates.
R; The technique may transfer in varying degrees, according to type, but the knowledge of rotor management acquired will apply to any machine.
Yes I fully understand the sentiment that suggests you can feel the rotors / onset of blade sailing but if the technique being taught on the ultimate aircraft is - pre-rotate to 200 and pull the stick back, start the ground roll.... you can not sail the blades that way.
R: With a strong enough headwind, you can. One guy did it in the UK. A toss-up as to whether it was blade flap or he just levered it off, either way, the machine laid down for a rest.
We an spin our wheels around which manages that error - feeling the blades or just making sure you pull the stick fully back - but beyond an intellectual chat in 2019 in the UK as others have said training on gyro gliders etc just isn't going to happen. Why? Not because anyone has any particular hatred of them or doesn't think it would be of purpose BUT now we introduce other issues, like...
Which gyro glider?
R; Bensen, single seat or dual side-by-side. On a towline, not a tow-boom.
What regulations or maintenance exist?
R: No regulations. While on the towline, it doesn't rate as an aircraft.
[I can tell you none exist and the big accident at Kemble highlighted that issue].
R; If you can leave four critical bolts out of a rotorhead, no amount of regulation will help. (Shirley could brief you on that one, but be careful, it is still raw with her). Also it was one of the only two fatal gyroglider accidents I know of, the other being equally weird.
Where can you get one?
R; Easy. Build one.
Who trains the trainer on one?
R; Shirley, for one, probably Tony Melody, for another. I would venture to suggest that almost anyone who has flown one will do fine. Even me, although I have no desire to instruct.
Where do you operate it from?
R: Anywhere flat and 600 metres long will do. The longer the better.
What is the maintenance?
R; Make sure the rotor bearing and wheel bearings are good, and all bolts fitted and tight.
How do you credit time on a gyro glider into the licence application?
R; The two hours allocated to rotor management should cover it.
[Current UK guidance document has this wording:- f Crediting of experience:
I The exercises “Wheel Balancing” and “Rotor Management” may only be counted up to a maximum of 2 hours for credit towards the flight time requirements for licence issue.
R; This low credit resulted from people 'milking the system'. Five hours would be more sensible, in my opinion.
Training in an authorised gyro-glider, under the supervision of an instructor can only be counted up to a maximum of 2 hours.
R; I wonder what an 'authorised' gyroglider is.
Don't shoot the messenger I didn't invent this stuff and indeed if you are attending the US meeting you could ask someone who did the question.
R; No one is shooting anyone, and I fully agree re the meeting.
With this wheel balancing/gyrogliding is a great benefit as may well be why not have much more time available to be credited?
R; Fully agree.
Then you may move to single seat aircraft and again in the UK its another tale of woe in many areas. First of all if you learn on a single seat aircraft then currently in the UK you are limited to flying a single seat aircraft.
R; Limited? Surely you meant privileged!
Secondly as with a gyro glider where do you get one from because the old ones are limited by the very fact they are 30-40 years old and if you damage the rotors the regulatory process in the UK puts you in a spot right now because replacements are a big point of debate in terms of what blades and from who right now.
R; No regulations on gyrogliders. It isn't an aircraft officially, unless you release the towline, when it magically becomes one. So fit whatever hand-startable rotor is available to you.
We have what we have and in many ways EI-Gyro hits the nail on the head with the human factor point.
R: The human factors would be less of an issue if the rotor management training/practice was properly addressed.
As a group wishing for times past and in some ways not all was a rose garden.
R; It was a great adventure, and lots of fun, if you were patient and careful.
I really enjoy Shirley's books but some of the antics whilst entertaining are pretty shocking at times and maybe in those days you don't talk of sailing blades but you do talk of filling tyres with grass, cable ties, no check A and conversations with St.Peter.
You mean we shouldn't have straightened out our blades by running a 4x4 over them?
Here are links to AAIB reports of some similar UK accidents.
https://assets.publishing.service.g...5e2b0e/Rotorsport_UK_Calidus_G-CIYU_04-18.pdf
R; I rest my case.