..........Where are you coming up with this stuff? Ha. How much time did you say you have as a helicopter pilot?....... I am glad you are finding so much wrong with the Helicycle. I am sure we will hear more!
Stan, I hope these comments were in jest, I have followed your posts since day 1 of the hatchery and I had come to think you'd be above saying things like that.
Though baronpilot may have retracted his thoughts, his point is something that is entirely relevant, I also haven't ever flown [or even seen] a [cert]helicopter without a dual tach and i was surprised to see that there wasn't even a split needle robbie-style tach in the cycle, Especially given that the belt slippage under high power is designed into it as its overpitching/overtorque prevention. The article posted in post #1 of this thread made for a good read and some definite relevant points, Just to add to that, It is not just the synchronisation of rpm that matters, but the motion of them, if they form a habit of moving away and then rejoining under power, if the engine appears to 'drag' the rotor needle down under power cut conditions**.. etc etc etc..
** this is a check that you should be doing on your startups, stan, It is not just a case of chopping the noise and watching the blade rpm float down, the engine rpm has to
drop, it cant float down, stop halfway, stutter on its way down.. it has to appear that the systems are completely disengaged, ive seen instances where the motor dragged the rotor down, not by much, but by enough that with a bit of adjustment the difference was certainly noticable.. in this case it would be severely stealing your autorotational capabilities.. something you DO NOT want to compromise, as you have already realised first hand.
Do the split-needle/throttle-chop/sprag-check test multiple times if youre not sure... I know I do... get some memetics going with your checks so you dont forget.. (think back to '22 days.. 'sprags, mags, horns....blablabla')
The parallax error mentioned in the article shouldnt be a problem.. at least its not something i have heard many complaints of in the pilot community.. the current machine i fly displays a dual tach on an LCD screen so this is not an issue for me directly, but i will keep an ear out for it.
As far as chip detectors go, thats your perogative.. if it makes you feel more comfortable, go for it,
some people may not aggree with you at times, but that will continue until you're the only one left on the planet.. we all have thoughts like this... I, personally would like to see more civilian/heli pilots wearing parachutes... but i always get into disagreeing conversations hearing that they'd be useless.. for me its the 99% chance of death vs. 100% (in the case of super-catastrophic failure).. and id happily take that 1%... Probably just a frame of mind that i picked up eons ago where it was ALWAYS flightsuit, chute, and helmet (something else i think light heli pilots are insane for being naked of, but thats just me... some people think anyone that goes near ANY aircraft without a nice gallet has a deathwish..)
Now, your last comments kind of spell out defenciveness of the cycle.. and sarcasm towards baron?... im sure thats not the true case and that I am only getting half the story by reading.. Ill preface my points by saying that i love the cycle... I want one, I want five... but they cant be immune from critisisms.. You found your own critisisms of the machine in its skid design, that you countered with the implementation of your wire pretensioners... There are things that the nit-picker in me doesnt like about the cycle,.. as well as not likeing the tacky interior panels of 206b3's, or the paint finish on any robbie, eurocopter.. bla bla bla.. Pointing them out gives an oppertunity to improve them.. as you found with your skids, and as i think baron and the writer of the above article found by putting a
proper tachometer in their helicycles.. It certainly makes the panel look a lot tidier and proffessional.. from my point of view at least..
I've been typing for too long.. what was I gonna say?.. oh nevermind..
Since Ive taken the plunge and registered with this forum I just wanna commend some of you on your helis, there are some REALLY nice toys on here thats for sure.. Loved the helicycle hatchery thread, It was exciting reading day by day, waiting for the turbine, seeing it all flying.. outstanding.. Gave me some great insight into the design of the machine that i have had my envious eye on for at least the last 5 years.
regards.
M
oh yeah.. i was gonna make a point about dual tachs and rejoining the needles on power recoverys without sending a shock through the transmission... my fingers are tired.. time for bed..