May I scream yet? or "FAA Medical Division..."

[Tyger]

You can't even have an instructor like that with you in a GA 2 seat trainer airplane with full fuel. Most gyroplanes are designed to take 1232 pounds gross weight. Usually to have proper structure you can only achieve 45-55 split. That means useful load max in any light sport aircraft will be 45% of its gross weight. And that is the best one can get. Most of the time you only get a 40-60 split. In reality what you are asking your gyro to do is to lift its own weight or more in flight. That is a tall order. It can be done with composite structures and things like that but that increases the cost. Every pound extra costs $$$ in flying. There is no way around it. I at 145 pounds as an instructor on east side of the US can get away with an AR-1 with a 912ULS as even a trainer if I restrict my students to be 225 lbs or lower. But if I was also heavy I would have to pay $13k more to get at least a 914. All costs $$$

I would say that's all basically accurate, but I thought I would point out that I am 195 and my CFI was near 250 and we always managed fine in my Magni, with a full tank and just the 912 ULS. The 914 really only gives an extra 15 HP, and only for five minutes (of course at higher field altitudes the turbo will matter more).
Last summer I took off with a guy who was more like 260, on a hot day. I took only a half tank of fuel and I decided to take off from the county airport, instead of my home turf runway, but again, no problem.
I will say it definitely helps to have the prop pitched to achieve near max RPM (5800) on takeoff. That means I can't go quite as fast in cruise anymore (risk of overspeed), but I'm happy to have that extra zip for takeoff, especially when near max gross (what would be really great is one of those DUC click-adjustable props, but I can't really justify that expense at the moment.)

 

[500e]

By chance was the 300 moved around, repositioned before you sumped it? If the line guys pulled my aircraft out of the hanger and pulled it up front for me I didn't bother to sump because it would be sloshed around and wouldn't show up. If the aircraft sat there for a half hour or so I would sump then.

No stood overnight outside

 

[querist]

The new report needed by the FAA is now (as of Friday afternoon) in their system. I'm already making arrangements to begin flight training with Craig McPherson in October and I'm looking at gyro ownership options. At this point I just want to get in a gyro and even if my medical is denied, I'll at least have spent some time flying one.

The closest dealer is a two hour drive, which is great, but currently the closest instructors (other than my friend who is a gyro CFI but doesn't have a gyro) are at least three hours away. I want to bring Gyros to East Texas. It's not fair that the southern part of the state has all the cool aircraft.

 

[Sv.grainne]

The new report needed by the FAA is now (as of Friday afternoon) in their system. I'm already making arrangements to begin flight training with Craig McPherson in October and I'm looking at gyro ownership options. At this point I just want to get in a gyro and even if my medical is denied, I'll at least have spent some time flying one.

The closest dealer is a two hour drive, which is great, but currently the closest instructors (other than my friend who is a gyro CFI but doesn't have a gyro) are at least three hours away. I want to bring Gyros to East Texas. It's not fair that the southern part of the state has all the cool aircraft.

Hopefully you will get everything sorted out soon. I've not trained with Craig but been up to his facility twice and going up again on the 9th.

My instructor was 2.5 hrs away then later 4 hrs.

I was able to fly almost every day last month, today I'm doing maintenance and mounting the bracket for the prop balancer.

 

[Vance]

The new report needed by the FAA is now (as of Friday afternoon) in their system. I'm already making arrangements to begin flight training with Craig McPherson in October and I'm looking at gyro ownership options. At this point I just want to get in a gyro and even if my medical is denied, I'll at least have spent some time flying one.

The closest dealer is a two hour drive, which is great, but currently the closest instructors (other than my friend who is a gyro CFI but doesn't have a gyro) are at least three hours away. I want to bring Gyros to East Texas. It's not fair that the southern part of the state has all the cool aircraft.

That reads to me like a more positive attitude. Good to see.

Isn’t Anahuac in east Texas.

Last I heard they have a very active gyroplane club and at least one active instructor.

I encourage you to become a flight instructor.

I have learned more about flying gyroplanes from being a flight instructor than I ever would have learned just flying around.

Being a CFI encourages me to continue learning and I feel that has had a positive effect on my cognitive ability as I age.

I learned to fly in Buckeye, Arizona that is a thousand mile round trip from Santa Maria.

The wind lives there and on many days we could only get one flight in the morning per day.

 

[querist]

That reads to me like a more positive attitude. Good to see.

Isn’t Anahuac in east Texas.

Last I heard they have a very active gyroplane club and at least one active instructor.

I encourage you to become a flight instructor.

I have learned more about flying gyroplanes from being a flight instructor than I ever would have learned just flying around.

Being a CFI encourages me to continue learning and I feel that has had a positive effect on my cognitive ability as I age.

I learned to fly in Buckeye, Arizona that is a thousand mile round trip from Santa Maria.

The wind lives there and on many days we could only get one flight in the morning per day.

Hi Vance,

Thank you for your encouragement. Coming from you, that means a great deal to me.

Anahuac is in the eastern part of Texas, but is further south (by Houston). The part of Texas called "East Texas" is actually the north east corner of the state, where there is only one gyro dealer (Tom Duncan) who is just starting out and no gyro CFIs. The closest are Craig McPherson (with whom I am scheduling my initial training for October during our Fall break) and the famous Captain Ron in Arkansas, with Craig being an hour closer and I've already been down there once.

I agree that teaching improves your skills, which is one of the reasons I enjoy teaching as a profession and I also teach martial arts as a hobby.

My long-term goal is to be a "regular" CFI, but given that the hours for that and a Light Sport CFI are almost the same ("regular" needs 25 more, plus night flights) and that most gyros currently sold in the US are "Light Sport" anyway, I will probably head down the Sport / Sport CFI route first so I can get in the air more quickly and then while doing that I'll rack up the hours and be able to get the other experience (night flight) to get my Private and Commercial, which are prereqs for the "Regular" CFI. For me, at this point flying at night is more of a safety thing (like instrument rating, except you can't do that in a gyro) than anything I really want to do much, sort of like driving at night. I do it just fine but I don't enjoy it.

My wife is building a fixed-wing and starting an EAA chapter here in Longview, so I hope that we can start spreading gyromania here in East Texas. (I know some people have had problems with local EAA chapters, but the other area chapters here are interested in gyros and except the one guy who is an aircraft engineer and actually designed gyros as well as acrobatic planes for a living most of them know pretty much nothing about gyros.)

 

[querist]

Hopefully you will get everything sorted out soon. I've not trained with Craig but been up to his facility twice and going up again on the 9th.

My instructor was 2.5 hrs away then later 4 hrs.

I was able to fly almost every day last month, today I'm doing maintenance and mounting the bracket for the prop balancer.

Prop balancing... a tedious but necessary exercise. I've done it with the rotors on my RC collective-pitch helicopters.
I wish you success and minimal frustration.

 

[Abid]

I would invite you to start a PRA Chapter there later when you get a gyroplane as well.

 

[querist]

I would invite you to start a PRA Chapter there later when you get a gyroplane as well.

Un cam ar y tro... one step at a time, but yes, I'm thinking about that too once I actually (a) have my medical and (b) have a gyro. I currently am waiting for Craig to respond to the email I told him I was sending when I spoke with him on the phone Saturday in which I am trying to schedule a 3-4 day weekend of training. (Fall break is a Monday and Tuesday in October, and the rest of the week break is W-Th-F at Thanksgiving, so the students get a week off just like in the Spring semester).

 

[Vance]

Hi Vance,

Thank you for your encouragement. Coming from you, that means a great deal to me.

Anahuac is in the eastern part of Texas, but is further south (by Houston). The part of Texas called "East Texas" is actually the north east corner of the state, where there is only one gyro dealer (Tom Duncan) who is just starting out and no gyro CFIs. The closest are Craig McPherson (with whom I am scheduling my initial training for October during our Fall break) and the famous Captain Ron in Arkansas, with Craig being an hour closer and I've already been down there once.

I agree that teaching improves your skills, which is one of the reasons I enjoy teaching as a profession and I also teach martial arts as a hobby.

My long-term goal is to be a "regular" CFI, but given that the hours for that and a Light Sport CFI are almost the same ("regular" needs 25 more, plus night flights) and that most gyros currently sold in the US are "Light Sport" anyway, I will probably head down the Sport / Sport CFI route first so I can get in the air more quickly and then while doing that I'll rack up the hours and be able to get the other experience (night flight) to get my Private and Commercial, which are prereqs for the "Regular" CFI. For me, at this point flying at night is more of a safety thing (like instrument rating, except you can't do that in a gyro) than anything I really want to do much, sort of like driving at night. I do it just fine but I don't enjoy it.

My wife is building a fixed-wing and starting an EAA chapter here in Longview, so I hope that we can start spreading gyromania here in East Texas. (I know some people have had problems with local EAA chapters, but the other area chapters here are interested in gyros and except the one guy who is an aircraft engineer and actually designed gyros as well as acrobatic planes for a living most of them know pretty much nothing about gyros.)

Thank you for the Texas geography lesson.

I love Texas when I get off the interstates.

Less than five percent of my clients require what you refer to as a full CFI.

I do not care for the elevated risk of a night cross countries and require a bright moon and clear skies to fly at night.

I do take pride in my commercial pilot rating and make an effort to fly to commercial standards.

I will encourage and support you any way I can on your gyroplane adventure quirist because I feel you background is well suited to being a CFI and it brings me joy.

Just last night I was on the phone for an hour and a half helping a friend I have never flown with in Texas prepare for their Sport Pilot proficiency check ride.

It was a pleasure to guide him around some of the pitfalls of communication with the FAA in relation to the practical test standards.

 

[querist]

Thank you for the Texas geography lesson.

I love Texas when I get off the interstates.

Less than five percent of my clients require what you refer to as a full CFI.

I do not care for the elevated risk of a night cross countries and require a bright moon and clear skies to fly at night.

I do take pride in my commercial pilot rating and make an effort to fly to commercial standards.

I will encourage and support you any way I can on your gyroplane adventure quirist because I feel you background is well suited to being a CFI and it brings me joy.

Just last night I was on the phone for an hour and a half helping a friend I have never flown with in Texas prepare for their Sport Pilot proficiency check ride.

It was a pleasure to guide him around some of the pitfalls of communication with the FAA in relation to the practical test standards.

Thank you, sir. I already have a spreadsheet that will automatically track my progress toward the various certs when I enter logbook entries. (I know there are websites that do that for you, but it is more fun my way.)

I figure that most people (unlike myself) have the day off, so I expect Craig will get back to me tomorrow about the proposed training dates. I'll keep folks posted on the progress and my search for a gyro I can afford that will also be suitable for training (dual controls, etc.).

 

[Vance]

Thank you, sir. I already have a spreadsheet that will automatically track my progress toward the various certs when I enter logbook entries. (I know there are websites that do that for you, but it is more fun my way.)

I figure that most people (unlike myself) have the day off, so I expect Craig will get back to me tomorrow about the proposed training dates. I'll keep folks posted on the progress and my search for a gyro I can afford that will also be suitable for training (dual controls, etc.).

There are lots of details to track with the FAA.

I use spread sheets a lot.

I feel tracking progress has value.

I hope Craig is a good match for you.

He knows and understands flying gyroplanes well.

 

[Sv.grainne]

Thank you for the Texas geography lesson.

I love Texas when I get off the interstates.

Less than five percent of my clients require what you refer to as a full CFI.

I do not care for the elevated risk of a night cross countries and require a bright moon and clear skies to fly at night.

I do take pride in my commercial pilot rating and make an effort to fly to commercial standards.

I will encourage and support you any way I can on your gyroplane adventure quirist because I feel you background is well suited to being a CFI and it brings me joy.

Just last night I was on the phone for an hour and a half helping a friend I have never flown with in Texas prepare for their Sport Pilot proficiency check ride.

It was a pleasure to guide him around some of the pitfalls of communication with the FAA in relation to the practical test standards.

Vance:

Was it that long? Seemed like maybe 30 minutes! Enjoyed the hell out of our discussion and first thing this morning I updated my study notes.