In response to the initial question, I take the liberty of quoting the following exerpts from a chapter written by Miss Jennings. Ab initios should take heed.
'A word or three about starting the rotor blades in strong wind conditions, as it can be tricky and requires patience. It’s a common misconception that a strong wind blowing up your disc is a good thing – and in the right place at the right time it certainly can be advantageous - but not necessarily when you want to start the blades. These days, the majority of gyrocopters wear pre-rotators which makes life considerably easier, but it’s good (what am I saying - it’s essential!!!) to know how to start the rotors by hand, as it gives you that extra in-depth understanding that’s otherwise lost by relying on the mechanical drive. Hand starting in a strong wind is an excellent illustration of how autorotating blades behave, and shows you exactly why they can’t be forced to fly before they’re ready. Although the machine is stationary, the airspeed is already high – say 15 mph for example, because of the wind strength, so the danger is that the rotors will be taking too much air before they are spinning fast enough to cope with it. You must get the blades turning as fast as you can with the stick held forward before attempting to open them up to the wind, even then bring the stick back very carefully and be ready to put it forward straight away should the rotors threaten to sail.
I always attempt to demonstrate incipient blade sail in a static lesson with the machine chocked on the runway, so the student can learn to recognise the symptoms and take appropriate action to stop things escalating to the drastic stages. Often I’m foiled by the gentle mannered RotorHawks accepting the abuse, and riding out the extra buckets of air I’m trying to force through them - while my student sits there wondering what all the fuss is about! Don’t be fooled I say: even these placid old blades have their moments, and should they decide they’re not happy, you’re soon going to know all about it if you’re not paying proper attention to them.
It starts with a small kick back through the stick about once per second, accompanied by a knocking sound from the rotor head. Normally, I’d correct it straight away by putting the stick forward and letting the blades settle before attempting to open them up again, but I want to show you a little more of the potentially destructive power we have turning above our heads, and so I do the wrong thing and bring the stick back a bit further, sending more air into the rotors. The advancing blade rises up steeply and forces its partner down; the stick kicks harder in your hand and the rotors bang loudly against the head stops. And this is just the beginning. Already it takes both hands to get the stick forward and kill off the wind – and we’re just parked up here, going nowhere. Believe me, you DO NOT want this to happen when the machine is moving.
Never try to force the blades up to speed, and never ever, ever try to fly before they’re ready to go – always wait for that nosewheel to lift. It’s a natural fail-safe. Unless you’re flying an enclosed machine (in which the cabin reduces sensory contact with the blades), forget rev counters, tachos, fancy instruments that simply add another element for potential error - the rotors themselves will tell you if they’re happy or not, and you need to know how to read them. There is absolutely no reason why you should let your rotor blades bite you.'
'A word or three about starting the rotor blades in strong wind conditions, as it can be tricky and requires patience. It’s a common misconception that a strong wind blowing up your disc is a good thing – and in the right place at the right time it certainly can be advantageous - but not necessarily when you want to start the blades. These days, the majority of gyrocopters wear pre-rotators which makes life considerably easier, but it’s good (what am I saying - it’s essential!!!) to know how to start the rotors by hand, as it gives you that extra in-depth understanding that’s otherwise lost by relying on the mechanical drive. Hand starting in a strong wind is an excellent illustration of how autorotating blades behave, and shows you exactly why they can’t be forced to fly before they’re ready. Although the machine is stationary, the airspeed is already high – say 15 mph for example, because of the wind strength, so the danger is that the rotors will be taking too much air before they are spinning fast enough to cope with it. You must get the blades turning as fast as you can with the stick held forward before attempting to open them up to the wind, even then bring the stick back very carefully and be ready to put it forward straight away should the rotors threaten to sail.
I always attempt to demonstrate incipient blade sail in a static lesson with the machine chocked on the runway, so the student can learn to recognise the symptoms and take appropriate action to stop things escalating to the drastic stages. Often I’m foiled by the gentle mannered RotorHawks accepting the abuse, and riding out the extra buckets of air I’m trying to force through them - while my student sits there wondering what all the fuss is about! Don’t be fooled I say: even these placid old blades have their moments, and should they decide they’re not happy, you’re soon going to know all about it if you’re not paying proper attention to them.
It starts with a small kick back through the stick about once per second, accompanied by a knocking sound from the rotor head. Normally, I’d correct it straight away by putting the stick forward and letting the blades settle before attempting to open them up again, but I want to show you a little more of the potentially destructive power we have turning above our heads, and so I do the wrong thing and bring the stick back a bit further, sending more air into the rotors. The advancing blade rises up steeply and forces its partner down; the stick kicks harder in your hand and the rotors bang loudly against the head stops. And this is just the beginning. Already it takes both hands to get the stick forward and kill off the wind – and we’re just parked up here, going nowhere. Believe me, you DO NOT want this to happen when the machine is moving.
Never try to force the blades up to speed, and never ever, ever try to fly before they’re ready to go – always wait for that nosewheel to lift. It’s a natural fail-safe. Unless you’re flying an enclosed machine (in which the cabin reduces sensory contact with the blades), forget rev counters, tachos, fancy instruments that simply add another element for potential error - the rotors themselves will tell you if they’re happy or not, and you need to know how to read them. There is absolutely no reason why you should let your rotor blades bite you.'
