Agreed, and a very fine sight that was, though while on the subject, during training I had to complete 30 hrs with a reduction of 10 credit for having a PPL. At the time LASORS which was the FAA ‘bible’ dictated not less than 15 hrs must be done in a two seater, and in my case was all done in a block in an RAF 2000, before, I progressed to the single seat Bensen.
Wheel balancing was neither taught nor done during this two seat period. I only began wheel balancing exercises, after progressing to the single, and then only after the various exercises leading up to that, particular exercise.
Wheel balancing in a single is easier to see and comprehend, due to the lack of surrounding cabin structure, though not as easy to master as perhaps in a tandem two seater. Mastery of sustained balancing was indicated to me as an absolute must before attempting taking off from the runway in a single seat. It is not an exercise that is taught or even considered in fixed with flying, and not really much of an issue in two seat gyro flying.
In any gyro I have flown since then, it is always my intention during take off, once I have achieved sufficient RRPM so as not to risk blade sailing/flapping, (varies with the type of rotor/type of gyro), to balance on the mains.
Then smoothly increase to full power while maintaining runway centreline, compensating for any crosswind component, allow the machine to lift off, when it is ready,(this procedure will automatically take care of existing weight temp and alt), then lower the nose to remain in ground effect while accelerating to the planned/desired climb speed, then raising the nose to maintain.
This is not quite the case in some transport/airline types where exact weights, temps and density alts are used to calculate precise V1 V2 Vr for specific runways. and Vr is the point at which the nose is raised and calculated to guarantee an almost immediate lift off.
I was not completely conscious of doing this in the earlier stages of training in the RAF due unfamiliarity with the machine and the added complexities of a gyro take off compared with a fixed wing take off. But the differences became much clearer with switching to the single seat and the building up of experience.
The two types of flying machine fixed wing and gyro, do require very different techniques, and a very much greater comprehension of ‘rotor management’, a term I am well aware is sometimes suspected and being too vague.
I use it simply meaning an understanding that it encompasses, a reasonable comprehension of the aerodynamic properties, limitations and operating procedures of rotors, that differ from fixed wing lift generators.
Something that some pilots do not take the trouble to grasp fully and that can if mishandled can kill them in a heartbeat...or however many it takes to hit the ground, after they have trashed/damaged their rotors/rudder through rotor mismanagement.
In this case a very sad subject.