3rd lesson

[cloudhopper]

I had my 3rd lesson today and my instructor said that I was doing very well. I am now to the point of feeling able to safely fly my Bensen. I think that I will continue so that I can get my license. It is expensive and I have to struggle to pay for each lesson but I have a strong feeling telling me that I belong up there. I am finally fulfilling a dream that started years ago when I had seen a gyro in one of the mad max movies.

 

[Vance]

Glad to hear it Vernon.

I caution you against deciding when you are ready to fly your Bensen.

You don’t know what you don’t know.

Your instructor will let you know when he thinks you are ready carefully transition you into your aircraft.

Hopefully he will have the opportunity to watch your first flights and help identify and correct your weaknesses.

Your Bensen will not feel as stable as the Magni and it is easy to over control a Bensen.

 

[eddie]

When I started flying n 1968 the cost of the plane and instructor was $15.00 per hour,I had to get another

job to pay for them and then could only afford 1 hour a week. It has been the best investment ever.

 

[cloudhopper]

What I was trying to say is that I know when the time comes I will be ready. My plans are to eventually be able to bring my gyro to his location, have him inspect it and possibly take it up before I do. He does not know that yet so don't tell him lollollol.

 

[Vance]

What I was trying to say is that I know when the time comes I will be ready. My plans are to eventually be able to bring my gyro to his location, have him inspect it and possibly take it up before I do. He does not know that yet so don't tell him lollollol.

Good Plan Vernon!!!

We all want you to have a fun, safe gyroplane experience.

 

[Space Cadet]

Your plan sounds similar to mine. I will only fly solo when my instructor knows I'm doing good enough to go up myself. However I have piddled around with motorcycles and hot rods all my life. I'm a pretty good wrench on the OLD Stuff that you could actually work on. I currently have a TRUE 66 Nova S.S. that I've had for years and completely restored. It's in Mint condition and not for sale ! But I want to maybe purchase the type of Gyro that will serve the purpose for the type of flying I will be doing. Than I want to learn Everything that makes this thing FLY. Engines, I'm ok with most, but it's all the other different pieces and components that I will be learning about Rotors,,props Stabilizers and everything else. But most of all ,I want a SAFE and Reliable Gyro that I can Fly and it will take care of me and I can give it back the same TLC. Never too Old to Learn !

 

[All_In]

Way to make it happen!!! Good job!

 

[perbgyro]

One question, does your instructor own or have hours in a single place?

Magni to Bensen transition is one of the most challenging mainly due to stick pressures, rotor energy and stability changes. I trade hours between a Magni and Air Command. The Air Command is centerline thrust, so going to a Bensen is yet another step with a high thrust line, no tail and most susceptible PPO and PIO. You'll need to recognize the onset of those conditions because I don't believe you can even simulate them in a Magni.

 

[Vance]

Don, Vernon's instructor, has time in a Sport Copter Paul.

Vernon’s Bensen appears to me to be near centerline thrust although I would like to see it with more horizontal stabilizer volume.

It would be interesting to find out.

 

[cloudhopper]

I have been studying this stability issue for some time now. Static And Dynamic and the forces that act upon a gyro. The Bensen I have has centerline thrust. It has a low horizontal stabilizer which does not do it good because of its position. This gyro is stable at lower speeds but at higher speeds but at higher speeds PIO AND PPO can be an issue especially for an in experienced pilot. If the rotor becomes unloaded and if the nose pitches up an automatic reaction for a beginner would be to push the stick forward and then the rotor could hit the stops , prop and even the tail. If this happens there is no chance for recovery. What the pilot should have done is pull back the power and ease the stick back gently. Before I fly my gyro I am going to add a large horizontal stabilizer up high in the prop thrust and remove the lower one. My instructor is very safety conscious and he is teaching me the difference between the Magni and my Bensen. Bensen , Brock and wallis claimed that an experienced pilot should not have an issue with a horizontal stabilizer but now there is proof through studies that even an experienced pilot can have a PPO if there is no horizontal stabilizer. I found an article showing the number of fatalities from an unstable gyro and it is scary. Most of these were hidden from the public. I am no expert by no means but I am learning and I am lucky to have a good instructor.

 

[Vance]

No Title

I feel like you are on the right track Vernon and making progress.

I will take this opportunity to express some slightly divergent thoughts on stability.

In my experience the only way to find out how close to center line thrust your Bensen is to do a double hang test. You need to do a hang test anyway to see if the rotor head is in the right place for your weight.

If your Bensen is center line thrust in my opinion by definition a PPO (Power Push Over) is not possible.

PIO (Pilot Induced Oscillation) is possible and an effective horizontal stabilizer will help with that.

In my opinion the reason your horizontal stabilizer is not effective is because it is too close to the center of gravity. A horizontal stabilizer is described with the term volume. That is the area of the horizontal stabilizer times the distance from the center of gravity to the twenty five percent chord line. In my opinion moving the horizontal stabilizer further back and making it larger is the key to stability.

In my opinion no horizontal stabilizer is effective at low speeds and its effectiveness goes up by the square of the increase in the speed. Things happen faster the faster you go and that accounts for the instability at higher speeds.

I feel Don has a good understanding of all of this and good at explaining it.

All the best on your gyroplane adventure and thank you for sharing your progress. It is fun to be on the journey with you.

 

[cloudhopper]

Thanks for the info Vance. I did the hang test and it was at 3 degrees. That was hanging with me in it and the rotor in the center position. My book says it needs to be between 2 and 5 degrees. I really appreciate your time and knowledge. I did not get my lesson last week because Don had important business but I will be getting my next one Sunday.

 

[cloudhopper]

My instructor has been out of town for 2 weeks now. All that I can do is sit in my bensen and read gyro articles. I feel like a kid riding one of those planes in front of a grocery store only I do not have any quarters.

 

[Donnier]

I know how you feel. I recently became certified to fly last June and have about 15 hours in now on my gyrocopter. I will be 75 years old this February 22nd. When I started, my age was a concern to me but I have to say that so far it is one of the best things I have ever done. Flying that thing is is the most fun flying I have ever experienced and I have scared myself a few times attempting new maneuvers.
I bought a piece of crap gyrocopter called the Behemoth; amateur built by Gabor Kovacs in Port Orange, Florida. It is heavy at about 410 pounds empty weight. He did a good job in designing it. It is strong probably to the point of overkill but his craftsmanship left a lot to be desired. I spent the first winter of 2015 replacing most of the bolts as they were too short. The lock nuts barely covered the threads at the end of the bolts. A lot the holes he drilled are not square through the tubing. A lot of things were kind of jury rigged. The Pre rotator bendix teeth barely meshed with the prerotator ring teeth. You could hear them ratcheting during prerotation when my instructor flew it the first time.

 

[Donnier]

Sorry, for some reason the rest of my former post did not get posted. I will try again later.

 

[Vance]

Congratulations on becoming a gyroplane pilot Don.

I am glad things are working out for you.

Thank you for sharing your story.

I had wondered what happened to that gyroplane.

 

[All_In]

I had my 3rd lesson today and my instructor said that I was doing very well. I am now to the point of feeling able to safely fly my Bensen. I think that I will continue so that I can get my license. It is expensive and I have to struggle to pay for each lesson but I have a strong feeling telling me that I belong up there. I am finally fulfilling a dream that started years ago when I had seen a gyro in one of the mad max movies.

Way to make it happen!!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[cloudhopper]

I am still grounded. My instructor called me and said that the temp there was 29 degrees. He said that we would not last more than 30 minutes flight time before we would have to land as a human icesickle .It is supposed to be sunny on Saturday and I can not wait. I have been reading all the material available. I locked up my Bensen and gave my wife the keys to hide. It is so hard having this gyro and not being able to fly it yet. It is all Vances fault lollollol.

 

[Vance]

I am very pleased with your progress Vernon and am proud to be a part of your gyroplane adventure.

I felt bad dampening your enthusiasm for self-training but would feel worse if you had rolled up your beautiful machine or hurt yourself and I had not made an effort.

Unless I have a compelling reason to fly I don’t fly when the temperature dips below freezing in an open gyroplane. It is thirty one degrees (-.6 c) at SMX as I write this. It should start warming up soon. We are expecting fifty six degrees (13 c) by 1:00 so it should be a nice day to fly. Winds are supposed to be 300 degrees at 15kts gusting to 20kts. A little high for a low time student but straight down the runway.

 

[cloudhopper]

I had my fourth lesson today and it was quite challenging. I flew in 25 knot winds and it was tough keeping the gyro where I wanted it. The wind changed direction and at times the gyro seemed to drop and get pushed up. My instructor had me follow a river at 1500 feet keeping straight over it. There were some tight turns and one time I could swear that we were completely sideways. Landing in the wind was harder than I expected. I think that this was my best lesson yet at least it was the most challenging.