MTO Sport 2017 stick and body shake; bad!

rac3124

Newbie
Joined
Oct 4, 2019
Messages
27
Location
Tampa, FL
Greetings fellow Rotary Wing pilots. Need to pick your brain on an issue I'm having with my MTO Sport 2017:
When I'm flying, regardless of by myself or with passenger, when my rotor reaches around 380 or higher RPMs the entire body shakes and gets worse as the RPMs increase. Same goes for the stick shake but that starts getting real bad at 400 RPMs.
I've seen YouTube videos of other MTOs and gyros flying very smooth with little to no body and/or stick shake about them.
Can someone offer up some suggestions for a fix PLEASE?!
Much thanks,
Randy
 
Static balance and tracking of your rotors?
 
Hi - who set the aircraft up rotor wise? I've flown a wide variety of 2017 Sports and any variation comes almost uniquely from the amount of effort done prior to release to the customer. The fix is to call the dealer / importer and ask for them to resolve.
 
Hi - who set the aircraft up rotor wise? I've flown a wide variety of 2017 Sports and any variation comes almost uniquely from the amount of effort done prior to release to the customer. The fix is to call the dealer / importer and ask for them to resolve.
I'm the 2nd owner. I heard the aircraft was assembled at Blue Skies Gyros in TX. I'm in the process of contacting Auto Gyro USA now.
 
We had a gyro with a lot of shake ...cabin hop ...even after the rotor was balanced.... a good prop balancing job was the magic answer ... gyro now fast and smooth!
 
Would think that stick shake would be attributable to rotor issues rather than prop balance issues, especially given severity of vibration related to RRPM.

Bobby
 
No expert here, but for you to be hitting 380-400 Rrpm's when this occurs I'm guessing you are banking fairly hard as I wouldn't expect in normal straight and level flight your rrpm's to be that high even two up. Can you describe more of the conditions under which it happens?
 
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The 2017 model is a slightly heavier than the model it replaced and those rotor speeds are now normal, so that isn't a worry but sincerely (and I've no idea the people involved with the build/set up/sale) some of the hand overs of these aircraft are utterly shocking - if indeed it happens at all. If the UK is anything benchmark in no other industry in 2020 would anyone accept the level of service. I don't know the people involved in the US operation but I doubt very much if that process is any better given what I can read about the process that surrounded N198LT.
 
Would think that stick shake would be attributable to rotor issues rather than prop balance issues, especially given severity of vibration related to RRPM.

Bobby
....yes ...that's what we thought also ..... 1 ....check rotor tower aligned with marks on hub.( rotor correct orientation on head!) 2 rotor balance .... 3 prop balance ....engine/prop vibration ...also makes stick & cabin shake!
 
How was it when you flew it on your pre purchase test flight before your decided to buy it ( ie before rotors off for transportation ) - hopefully good and smoothish ?
 
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If you have to ask the question here it suggests that you don't know anything about vibration analysis. That's nothing to be ashamed it's a pretty specialized field and very few people really know anything about vibration and gyro rotor track and balance.

When I was a young engineer an old timer once told me "if you don't know what you're doing, then don't do it". That would be my advise to you.

If you follow the usual social media advice you'll probably spend a lot of time going around in circles getting nowhere and could even make it worse.

You're lucky to be in Tampa, Greg Spicola was trained to use the PB4 and I think is also based there or go to Abid at Zephyhills, I trained him as well. They should (if they remember the training;)) be able to do a simple 5 minute flight vibration analysis and by looking at the frequency spectrum they'll tell you if the problem is rotor, 1/rev, 2/rev, prop, engine or something else. They can even send me the file if it's unusual.
Good luck.
Mike G
 
@Mike G what are the costs of the PB4 examination and is there a centre in aquitaine FR
 
Jetlag03
Ring me on zerosix sixeight fournine eightseven ninefive
Mike G
 
Would think that stick shake would be attributable to rotor issues rather than prop balance issues, especially given severity of vibration related to RRPM.

Bobby
Agreed; the shaking issues are definitely coming from the rotor, not the prop. I've checked out the prop, and that's G2G.
 
No expert here, but for you to be hitting 380-400 Rrpm's when this occurs I'm guessing you are banking fairly hard as I wouldn't expect in normal straight and level flight your rrpm's to be that high even two up. Can you describe more of the conditions under which it happens?
 
Sure; with just me flying in it (205 lbs) it cruises at 380 RRPMs. Put a passenger in it, and the rotor spins at 400+ rrpms (in level flight). That's when I get the horse galloping real bad.
 
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