A new take on ultra-light gyroplane

I think you need to look towards floats for a motor hang glider.
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Floats designed for motor hang gliders are more suitable for a gyroplane than floats designed for an airplane.
A motor-hang glider / gyroplane can change the angle of attack of the wing / main rotor during take-off, without changing the fuselage pitch, unlike an airplane.
It is important to correctly position the main float redan relative to the center of mass.
 
Thanks a lot for your comments JonSu, you have a flair for design. I am presently in the middle of a large home project, but once that is done, I am gonna build the SkyRotor, first as you have designed, then on to floats. I will post the build progress here on the forum for all to enjoy.

OBTW, every time I read your posts I learn something new. The tape measure function on Edrawings is something new I am slowly learning, and will redraw the SkyRotor to have a dimensioned set ready to build and to also fully understand each part and its relationship with adjoining parts.
I really thought this ultralite would quickly become popular and suspect over time it will.

I guess a Rotax 582 would be overkill, but really the only option that can be had new, and imho would be a nice option for float operations.
 
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Here’s another example of the convenience of ultralite regs; An experiment that I had no intention of flying any higher than I was prepared to fall and was able to skip the hassle of registration.

A Rotax 447 provided ample power.

The hingeless 3 blade rotor had 6” blades of Boeing VR-7 airfoil with laminated birch spars, balsa afterbody and fiberglass cover.

The hingeless rotor hub was connected to the rotorhead via 3 rubber shock absorber bushings.

I skipped a horizontal stabilizer because I wasn’t sure of flight angle and didn’t want to crowd the rubber hub bushings.
 
Wish I knew about gyros back in the 80’s. Would have been a fun hobby.
How did you rotate the 3 blades?
 
Dave, it had a conventional prerotator; ring gear, Bendix and drive shaft from the engine. An aluminum drive shaft is a good bit lighter than the usual Morse flex cable drive.

Wolfy, that contraption was flown a couple of times, 30 years ago so my memory isn’t all that great; however, I still have it including rotor blades, tucked away in a barn.

It would have weighed ~ 250 lbs and the blades of 6” chord were, I think, 10’ long. So the rotor diameter was ~ 22’. With me on board at 160 lbs and a couple of gallons of gas, AUW would have been ~420; no more than 450 lbs. So even with a Rotax 447, power to weight ratio wasn’t all that bad.
 
I believe that floats will add at least 50 kg (110 pounds) of weight.
That will require 25 kg (55 pounds) more propeller thrust than without them.
Rotax 503 develops 150 kg (330 lbs) of propeller thrust.
The take-off weight of a gyroplane can be 300 kg (660 pounds).
I think that with a disk load of about 7-8 kg / m2 (1.43-1.64 lb / ft2) - it will fly.
 
I have high hopes the floats will come in considerably less than 50kg. I did a quick survey and it looks like a Puddle Jumper style fits the requirements. Air Creation also has a nice set.
Maybe a target weight of 70lbs for the set with rigging and rudders. That will require S glass or Carbon, and alot of hot wire work.

JonSu, a valid point has brought to my attention about the need for training. Nobody has experience in a Tractor. It will be hard to sell the SkyRotor without offering training in a tandem version.

Will the SkyRotor scale up to a tandem version?
As your time permits, would you consider designing a training version?

Personally, I would just hop in the SkyRotor and take her for a spin, but I realize that is not a valid approach for the masses. I ride a Suzuki Bandit 1200S back and forth to work so I am building many flight hours, lol.

Thanks for all you do
 
Personally, I would just hop in the SkyRotor and take her for a spin, but I realize that is not a valid approach for the masses. I ride a Suzuki Bandit 1200S back and forth to work so I am building many flight hours, lol.
Thanks for all you do

Please don't self train, it makes everyone involved with gyroplanes look bad when you ball it up.

I road raced motorcycles professionally for 23 years and did not try to self-train in a gyroplane because I had learned something about risk mitigation.

I try to learn from others mistakes because there is not time to make or pay for all of them in a life time.

For the next several days I will be training a high time helicopter pilot to fly a gyroplane because he is smart and experienced enough to recognize what he doesn’t know. I have trained airline transport pilots and fighter pilots for the same reason.
 
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I do not think that the tractor is different from the pusher in control.
I think it's easier.
Unfortunately, I do not fly a gyroplane and cannot give advice.
Dear visitors of our forum can suggest something.
Tip - Contact Ron Heron, Little Wing Designer.
I think he will respond to the features of controlling this type of gyroplane.
I can think of a double version later on vacation, since I already went to work.
I hope so.
 
Vance
Thanks for imput, informative, but please, this thread is not about training.
Because of your imput I have asked JonSu about a tandem version to conduct training, if he is willing that will be great. If not then that will be great as well. I only asked as training is a valid concern and will allow more trained pilots to be able to safely enjoy flight.
I take full responsibility for my own actions because I was taught by my parents to be a man.
Now if I want to go out and fly a gyro it’s damn well my right. That’s exactly what I did with my Air Creation trike. I don’t need a CFI. While I am responding to your comments, who is to say you are not flying on the edge of the envelope and be totally unaware?
A piece of paper issued by the FAA?
How many Airborne Infantrymen have you trained?
 
With that attitude, you have the absolute right to go out and prove Darwin right. The rest of us who want the respect of lawmakers and insurance companies to make our lives a little easier will not appreciate how much harder you will make it for us.
 
I do not think that the tractor is different from the pusher in control.
I think it's easier.
Unfortunately, I do not fly a gyroplane and cannot give advice.
Dear visitors of our forum can suggest something.
Tip - Contact Ron Heron, Little Wing Designer.
I think he will respond to the features of controlling this type of gyroplane.
I can think of a double version later on vacation, since I already went to work.
I hope so.
I have not flown a tractor but talking to someone who has, he said in the air they are much the same as a pusher.
The take off technique is slightly different, but he said the biggest thing to get used to is while in the take off run once the rotors get some speed and start making lift and drag. At this point the rotor thrust is behind the main gear so steering straight down the strip needs to be done with the rotor but the rotor is behind the mains so lean rotor to the left to steer right and vice versa.

wolfy
 
JonSu you certainly are adept at CAD! The renderings are excellent! Of the control designs, the overhead stick with the yoke via push pull cable looks the best to me. Very simple and light. My only question is whether to have the stick right in front of your face which could obstruct view, or might it be less obtrusive if you did a bend around the center of viewing? I know someone that flies an O/H stick that says you get used to it and don't notice it after a while and that it gives a vertical reference for roll, but with the yoke design, that wouldn't be necessary since the yoke controls roll and the stick would always be straight up and down.
I also particularly like the simplicity of the front gear with suspension.
 
When we look into the distance, vertical flat objects in the middle do not interfere with the view.
As well as a mast pipe located in the middle of a gyroplane project.
 
Vance
Thanks for imput, informative, but please, this thread is not about training.
Because of your imput I have asked JonSu about a tandem version to conduct training, if he is willing that will be great. If not then that will be great as well. I only asked as training is a valid concern and will allow more trained pilots to be able to safely enjoy flight.
I take full responsibility for my own actions because I was taught by my parents to be a man.
Now if I want to go out and fly a gyro it’s damn well my right. That’s exactly what I did with my Air Creation trike. I don’t need a CFI. While I am responding to your comments, who is to say you are not flying on the edge of the envelope and be totally unaware?
A piece of paper issued by the FAA?
How many Airborne Infantrymen have you trained?
A statistic just waiting to happen! Another one......seen many before with an attitude like that.....hmmmmm.
 
BarryK Could you give an example of the many before with my attitude? Were they all failures? How is flying a tractor gyro that hard. The master said in his manual that if you can ride a bicycle, you can fly a gyro. I think I will take his word over all that have added their grave cautions on this forum.

I think I will trust Mr. Bensen over the other posters here. Riding the Suzuki Bandit 1200S, takes considerable skill if you ride it to even half its potential.

Please name some failures, please be specific.
 
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