About to Begin

[FJRDavid]

Hello Everyone,

After much thought and research (eighteen months), I’ve decided to enter the aviation world and fly a gyroplane. I always wanted to fly and thought FW was the way to go. Then, I learned about gyros and how far they have come. I’ve never operated an aircraft, but have been interested my whole life. I’m an avid motorcyclist (my username is a giveaway) and want to fly for the joy of flying. I’m 61 years old, in good health, retired, and can afford to purchase a gyro within about six months.

My training starts in two days. I’m stoked! I wanted to go Sport Pilot, but my CFI suggests I go PPT and I’m thinking he is right. My goal is to get a Magni M24 (used). I intend to continue my training as far as I can go. My father was an A&E mechanic for an airline which may explain why I’ve always been interested in aviation. Sadly, he passed away a few months ago and I’ll certainly miss him, but I’ll continue his legacy by becoming a gyro pilot.

Any words of encouragement, advice, or anything else is welcome. I’ll update this post throughout my training if there is interest.

 

[GyroChuck]

Welcome to the forum and the world of Gyros. Magni is a good gyro along with a few others.

Keep us informed how your training is coming along.

 

[Gyro-nut]

Welcome to this little club David. I look forward to hearing about your training and watching your progress.

 

[Sv.grainne]

Welcome and good luck. Who are you training with?

 

[FJRDavid]

Welcome and good luck. Who are you training with?

I would like to ask his permission before posting his name, but if he agrees, I’ll be happy to share. When I first started contemplating training I spoke on the phone with Greg Gremminger (sp?) who I think is well known in this community. Alas, he isn’t training new gyro pilots anymore. Note, edited twice since I got Greg’s name wrong twice…

 

[FJRDavid]

I just had my introductory flight and beginning of training. It was quite a bit different than I expected. The stick was far heavier than I expected and the movements were far smaller than expected. I was able to keep strait, turn, keep heading, and generally get a feel for the controls (stick only). I never adjusted the throttle as the CFI took care of that. Any pitch adjustments were very minor. At first, I inadvertently pulled back on the stick, but after my instructor corrected me I didn’t do it again. I was over correcting against the minor buffering/perceived yaw but eventually was able to just do left/right movements to keep course using by thumb and index finger only. The instructor took care of all trim settings. Winds were 4-8 (I assume mph at surface) and we flew with crosswind, headwind and tailwind. I’m very much looking forward to the next session. My new logbook shows 1.8 hours now.

My CFI gave permission to name him. He is Jon Shadduck and is on this forum. He’s a super nice guy, and I get along with him well. The craft was his new Magni M24 with 915is power and Dynon Avionics panel. He demonstrated slow flight, vertical descent, steep approaches, and tight turns which was exhilarating. I am confident I made the right choice in choosing to fly a gyroplane, and my CFI. Training continues next week, so at least I wasn’t so horrible that Jon had to tell me to go away.

 

[Abid]

I just had my introductory flight and beginning of training. It was quite a bit different than I expected. The stick was far heavier than I expected and the movements were far smaller than expected. I was able to keep strait, turn, keep heading, and generally get a feel for the controls (stick only). I never adjusted the throttle as the CFI took care of that. Any pitch adjustments were very minor. At first, I inadvertently pulled back on the stick, but after my instructor corrected me I didn’t do it again. I was over correcting against the minor buffering/perceived yaw but eventually was able to just do left/right movements to keep course using by thumb and index finger only. The instructor took care of all trim settings. Winds were 4-8 (I assume mph at surface) and we flew with crosswind, headwind and tailwind. I’m very much looking forward to the next session. My new logbook shows 1.8 hours now.

My CFI gave permission to name him. He is Jon Shadduck and is on this forum. He’s a super nice guy, and I get along with him well. The craft was his new Magni M24 with 915is power and Dynon Avionics panel. He demonstrated slow flight, vertical descent, steep approaches, and tight turns which was exhilarating. I am confident I made the right choice in choosing to fly a gyroplane, and my CFI. Training continues next week, so at least I wasn’t so horrible that Jon had to tell me to go away.

Good luck. You will enjoy it immensely. Gyroplanes are plenty safe. Take good training and keep current

 

[GyrOZprey]

Wonderful - always exciting to hear of a new gyro pilots first lessons! ...takes me back to those heady days in August 2011 - when I started my flying journey! Bridgeport Texas with Desmon Butts in his MTO sport with 100 HP 912 ULS. He had one of the first two MTO sports - newly entered the USA market that year. Jim met him at Oshkosh & came home saying - we have our flight instructor!

A flashback to those old days.... my first flights & reactions! - https://www.rotaryforum.com/threads/baby-steps.31821/

 

[Sv.grainne]

I just had my introductory flight and beginning of training. It was quite a bit different than I expected. The stick was far heavier than I expected and the movements were far smaller than expected. I was able to keep strait, turn, keep heading, and generally get a feel for the controls (stick only). I never adjusted the throttle as the CFI took care of that. Any pitch adjustments were very minor. At first, I inadvertently pulled back on the stick, but after my instructor corrected me I didn’t do it again. I was over correcting against the minor buffering/perceived yaw but eventually was able to just do left/right movements to keep course using by thumb and index finger only. The instructor took care of all trim settings. Winds were 4-8 (I assume mph at surface) and we flew with crosswind, headwind and tailwind. I’m very much looking forward to the next session. My new logbook shows 1.8 hours now.

My CFI gave permission to name him. He is Jon Shadduck and is on this forum. He’s a super nice guy, and I get along with him well. The craft was his new Magni M24 with 915is power and Dynon Avionics panel. He demonstrated slow flight, vertical descent, steep approaches, and tight turns which was exhilarating. I am confident I made the right choice in choosing to fly a gyroplane, and my CFI. Training continues next week, so at least I wasn’t so horrible that Jon had to tell me to go away.

Good deal!

 

[Gyro28866]

Welcome to the Gyro Flyers club

 

[Burrengyro]

Hi FJRDavid,
You are at the start of a great adventure! Enjoy the hours of training with your CFI. Train slow and steady and often. Don't be in a rush to buy a gyro until you have plenty of hours of training done. Do some training flights in several different gyros before you make any decisions on buying a particular gyro type. There is loads of great advice to be had on this forum. Just ask! Best wishes from Ireland and fly safe! JH

 

[FJRDavid]

Hi FJRDavid,
You are at the start of a great adventure! Enjoy the hours of training with your CFI. Train slow and steady and often. Don't be in a rush to buy a gyro until you have plenty of hours of training done. Do some training flights in several different gyros before you make any decisions on buying a particular gyro type. There is loads of great advice to be had on this forum. Just ask! Best wishes from Ireland and fly safe! JH

You live in a beautiful country! I had the pleasure to visit for 12 days (guided tour, went around the periphery of the land) back in 2011, and loved it. I WILL be returning. I’m 1/2 Irish (really, not just claiming).

Great advice, and I’m in no rush because proficiency is much more important than getting certified. The M24 is what I want, but I’m open to any side-by-side with a similar performance envelope. The motorcycle in my profile is a machine that took years of progressive experience to be able to ride safely to 9/10ths of its potential. I wouldn’t trade a day of those decades of experience riding to keep me safe(ish). I feel it is even more important for my gyro flight training.

 

[rcflier]

The stick was far heavier than I expected and the movements were far smaller than expected.

Hi and welcome to this world wide web club...

Yes, I read the Magnis are very, very stable but pay the price in having a heavy stick.
Before you take the plunge of buying a machine, maybe you could try out different brands...?
Unfortunately I have only flown my own (and a bit of a Calidus), so I don't have much advice to give.
As I understand it, the rules are a bit strange in the US. You may build 51% of a kit and then you can
service it yourself. Or buy a factory built machine - but maybe not service it yourself?
Or buy a used machine and somehow be allowed to service it yourself?
Sorry to hijack your thread - but well, you might want to know it as well...
Abid, can you clarify?

Cheers
Erik

 

[Capt'n Gator]

Hi and welcome to this world wide web club...

Yes, I read the Magnis are very, very stable but pay the price in having a heavy stick.
Before you take the plunge of buying a machine, maybe you could try out different brands...?
Unfortunately I have only flown my own (and a bit of a Calidus), so I don't have much advice to give.
As I understand it, the rules are a bit strange in the US. You may build 51% of a kit and then you can
service it yourself. Or buy a factory built machine - but maybe not service it yourself?
Or buy a used machine and somehow be allowed to service it yourself?
Sorry to hijack your thread - but well, you might want to know it as well...
Abid, can you clarify?

Cheers
Erik

Hi Erik, I see you live in Denmark, I live in North Carolina and work for Novo Nordisk. I fly my brand new Gyro Technic VX-2 which is a pure work of art by Denis Schoemaker and his team. I might be the only gyro flyer working for Novo Nordisk in the U.S.

 

[rcflier]

Hi.
Yes, Novo Nordisk is huge in Denmark.

Insulin production and now the diabetic medicine -
that accidentally works well for weight loss.

Now they sell two nearly identical products for different markets.

Congrats on your Vx-2 gyro.

Cheers
Erik

 

[FJRDavid]

Today’s lesson was awesome. Partial control (I needed a lot of assistance) with takeoff and landing. Basically, I only participated about 10% or less of control inputs since I’m such a newbie. I probably did far less than that and merely followed his control inputs. Flew at relatively low level over a levy with turns to follow it. More practice with altitude adjustments using throttle, a little work on trimming, and a few turns. As my CFI stated, I’m in the “familiarize with flight controls” stage.

Jon told me I’m over adjusting, and he’s so right. I knew I was doing it, but I just need more time. It’ll come in time. Jon is a very talented instructor and lets me learn by doing, but is always immediately there if I’m not doing it right. I knew this was going to be hard to learn, and it is. But I think I’m doing OK and am thoroughly enjoying the experience. When Jon takes the controls, it feels great to experience his flying ability showing how cool gyroplane flight really is. He saw a bald eagle on a tree, slowed down, descended, and circled so I could get a clear view out of my window. My lack of ability is so obvious when he takes control. I’ll get there one day, but many hours of training will be necessary.

Kudos to Jon for a great training day!

 

[GyrOZprey]

How exciting - yes over controlling is absolutely a tense /ham-handed newbie "thing" .....I see you are checking out my early lessons thread! We all started there! It seemed to take quite a few hours until my CFI clapped me on the shoulders( - tandem) ...saying "That one was all you" - on the landing! I fatigued quickly in those early lessons ...at the 40 minute mark we always had to go cruise & do air-work & take a break from the intensity of pattern work!

 

[FJRDavid]

Thank you. I enjoyed reading your thread. It’s absolutely exhausting in these two-hour lessons! I’m focusing very very hard, and still miss lots of stuff. But, I know it’ll come so I just enjoy the learning and the time in the air. Unfortunately, I’m gonna have to wait a few weeks for the next lesson due to scheduling, but I’ll use that time for reading the FAA material and the ASA tutorial that Jon recommended. That written, nothing beats the flyin even though it’s stressful.

 

[MikeBoyette]

My Instructors (my Father and Steve Graves) both believed that a half hour was the length of time for each flying lesson. Their experience after many years of teaching showed that after that the mind becomes saturated and mistakes take over and not much is learned. They had no problem doing several 30 min sessions with ground school and hangar flying in between.

 

[Roundwing]

A two hour lesson for a beginner is too much.
You do not realize how exhausting it is to concentrate so much until you are done with the lesson.
One hour at most and the last half of that the learning retention goes down quickly.
If you are commuting for lessons you would be better served if you do one hour in the morning, take a long break and another hour in the afternoon. You need time to decompress and think about what you did in the lesson to improve on the next.
That is what I did when I added my helicopter rating last year, and with Steve M. in the Black many years ago.

Rick