Got the Helicycle home

baronpilot

Newbie
Joined
Apr 17, 2012
Messages
544
Location
Auburn, IN
Aircraft
Baron B55, Bonanza V35, Brantly B2B
Total Flight Time
2500
Finally decided to pick up the machine. The former owner was a Vietnam Huey pilot and a super nice guy. I felt bad leaving his place as I know it is the end of his flying days. He claimed that his skills diminished enough that he was no longer safe and he had some other issues also. He did a great job building the machine.

He also had a Kenny Hot Rod Helicopter with a Subaru engine in his shop.

Should be interesting flying this little thing. I really like the way it is built and suspect that it will fly very well.
 

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Todd,
Glad to see another Helicycle will be getting back in the air. Do you have to do any work to it or is it ready to go?

Mike 5-12
 
I envy you guy's with the Helicycles. Maybe one day I'll be able to have one. :violin:
 
ahh yes, I was drooling over that one on homers website as well, If you paid what was listed, it seems like you got a great deal.. By showing off of course, you owe us an in-depth picture/story thread!!
 
What really completes the machine is the trailer. It was built specifically for the helicopter with special ramps, tail stand, lightened suspension, hold down for the rear skids, etc. I pulled it home between 55-60 MPH and I hardly knew it was back there.

It needs a little work. The fuel controller is leaking fuel badly, it needs the second battery installed along with bigger wires, backup battery for the governor, and some smaller items like the RF terminal strip installed and new style hub bearings replaced. I will probably install a manual governor as well.

I will be painting the cabin and tail feathers flat black, strip the main and tail rotors to a polished look, and change the seat and cyclic material.

I will also be putting on a guard for the main fuel switch.
 
...I felt bad leaving his place as I know it is the end of his flying days. He claimed that his skills diminished enough that he was no longer safe and he had some other issues also. He did a great job building the machine...

I'm sure it had to be tough for him, too. We may all reach that point, even with driving our cars. I hope I can face that day with the honesty your seller did.

We look forward to seeing the photos and accounts of your mods and flights!
 
Congratulations

Congratulations

It needs a little work. The fuel controller is leaking fuel badly,

I will also be putting on a guard for the main fuel switch.

If you want to save yourself some big bucks, make sure you get Blake to send you his box with a little jig to secure the fuel controller when you ship it to Eagle to be overhauled. The arm on the controller will break if you don't and it will cost you about $750. Don't ask me how I know. :eek:
 
Jerry, thanks for that information. Actually, I am trailering the machine to Doug S and he will be going through the whole machine including the fuel system, so I should not have to worry about shipping damage. I then intend to fly it back if the machine is operating correctly. About a 240 NM trip going around Chicago. Of course, I could shave 70 miles off by going over Lake Michigan:eek:
 
Todd- it would "probably" make it over Lake Michigan. :eek: I probably would fly the scenic route also. Looking forward to your experiences. Hey, going to that #2 starting cable made a big difference. It had much more ooommph winding up the turbine, and it doesn't hardly get warm. I started mine several times yesterday when I went to a fly-in and was asked to demonstrate various maneuvers. Love that machine the more I fly it! Stan
 
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Stan,

Definitely going to #2 cables especially since mine has #6 on it now which is way too small.

I was kidding about going across the lake. I will not go over it in anything less than a twin.

It is also good to read. I did not realize the collective should be lifted a couple of inches on startup to reduce the stress on the elastomeric bearings. I have never flown a helicopter that permitted lifting the collective until full rpm was reached, let alone one that requires it. It also appears that the the factory does not recommend any maneuvers that require extensive cyclic inputs like the quick stop since it will shorten the life of the bearings. Interesting.
 
Todd- I knew you were kidding about crossing the lake. I flew down the east side of Chicago at night in an R22, followed the shoreline and wouldn't even think about going out over the lake further than I could autorotate back to shore. The collective is preset at 5-6 degrees to better use the operational range of the collective and minimize wear of the elastomeric bearings. I know several others besides myself that practice quickstops frequently,some every flight. Sure, it may shorten the life of the elastormic bearings a bit, but I would rather have my quickstops down pat than not practice them. Stan
 
10 hours of driving today delivering the machine to Doug in Wisconsin. I truly hate Chicago. $40 in tolls, crappy roads, too much traffic, and the most expensive gas in the country. The trailer did just fine. Ran 55 MPH there and 75-80 on the way back. I intend flying the machine home. Trailer will most likely sit from here on out.
 
And the bastards closed Meigs field.
I loved flying into there when I was a kid.
 
10 hours of driving today delivering the machine to Doug in Wisconsin. I truly hate Chicago. $40 in tolls, crappy roads, too much traffic, and the most expensive gas in the country. The trailer did just fine. Ran 55 MPH there and 75-80 on the way back. I intend flying the machine home. Trailer will most likely sit from here on out.
Congratulations Todd on picking up your fine ride!

Been to Chicago many times. CA has few toll road and Chicago is more expensive in that regard. However, CA is the only state with higher smog standards than the EPA. It is the only state that forces refiners to add extra chemicals to the fuel. CA can not buy fuel from any other refiners and our fuel is the highest price in the nation. Every state I visit is cheaper!

This allows the refiners to manipulate the prices when there is a large supply of crude oil they just shut down one or two refineries to reduce the supply of refined fuels and our prices go up when Chicago the the rest of the states go down.
 
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Todd- Looks like you will be on schedule to fly it to Mentone. I have a free enclosed hanger to share with you at Rochester where they sell JetA .

Looking forward to seeing yours and hopefully some other Helicycles at Mentone. :yo:

You will love the cross country flight from Wisconsin.

Stan
 
And the bastards closed Meigs field.
I loved flying into there when I was a kid.

I agree Gary. I am not so upset as to them shutting down the field as I am the way they did it. They did it on a Sunday night in the middle of the night with nobody knowing. The airport employees showed up only to be escorted away by police. Many planes stranded there with some of them unable to leave because their insurance would not allow a departure from a closed airfield.

To make it all worse Daley said he did it to "protect" the city from another Terror attack? Really? I can still fly my airplane VFR under the class B right up the shore line.

In reality, he hated the airport since it did not put cash into his pocket like casinos and parking meters do. The Daley family was as corrupt as it gets. The day he tore up the airport made my mind up. No more trips to Chicago. As a family we would go there about once every two months and stay the weekend. Meigs was a 45 minute flight and then we would take a cab to the hotel. Ate out 3 times a day and basically spent about $1000 in the city every visit. Yea, I know, Daley stole more than than out of parking meters every hour, but it is the point. I no longer have any reason to go back and will not. That city can fall into the lake as far as I am concerned.
 
Congratulations Todd on picking up your fine ride!

Been to Chicago many times. CA has few toll road and Chicago is more expensive in that regard. However, CA is the only state with higher smog standards than the EPA. It is the only state that forces refiners to add extra chemicals to the fuel. CA can not buy fuel from any other refiners and our fuel is the highest price in the nation. Every state I visit is cheaper!

This allows the refiners to manipulate the prices when there is a large supply of crude oil they just shut down one or two refineries to reduce the supply of refined fuels and our prices go up when Chicago the the rest of the states go down.

John,

I could not live in CA - even if the home was given to me. For one thing, I would be an instant fellon. They do not like my machine guns or even my simple AKs and supressors. You guys need a revolution IMO.
 
Todd- Looks like you will be on schedule to fly it to Mentone. I have a free enclosed hanger to share with you at Rochester where they sell JetA .

Looking forward to seeing yours and hopefully some other Helicycles at Mentone. :yo:

You will love the cross country flight from Wisconsin.

Stan

Stan,

I appreciate that and may take you up on the offer. I want to make sure the machine is 100% and that my skills are also. I figure the 3.0 hour flight home should determine a lot. I'm ashamed of how the machine looks. Not only are the colors pretty tough, I do not think the paint job itself was very good. There is a lot of paint missing, etc. I think I will repaint it this winter. I am hoping that I can take it to our local body shop, remove the cabin and then paint the rest as it sits with particular attention paid to covering up the sensitive stuff.
 
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