HobbyCAD
Homebuilt Heli Enthusiast
It's lately been very quite on the helicopter forums. Is there anyone out there still tinkering with some one-design helicopters? Bryan, Dennis, Barney, Cam, John, Rick, Don ....
Well Francois, at some point I realized I just didn't have the skill to turn my Mini 500 kit into a 2 seat machine. I ended up selling everything I accumulated to a guy in California. He seemed very enthusiastic and was a forum lurker but I don't know what ever came of it.
My next project was an old, 80's VW powered Bensen that had never flown. I got a heck of a deal when after the guy finally got it running, it ran out of gas and squeaked to an abrupt halt. Not quite seized but not quite turning over either. After completely rebuilding it (the engine and the gyro) and seeing it take flight I started taking lessons. Realized then that I really enjoyed helicopters more so up on the auction block it went. There is a video of David doing the first successful test flight at Wrens Fly-in that pops up here once in a while and still puts a smile on my face.
Then there was the Scorpoin Too. I found it hidden in a garage in Arizona for at least a decade if not two. Stripped it down to the frame and rebuilt it. I had posted a link to my you-tube video of it in a hover. If you know Rotorways you know Homer, he was the test pilot of that one. But alas, no one in their right mind will train in a cable head Rotorway these days. So that one had to go. The day it left I did some calculations and when I added up the cost of 2 Scorpions, 3 Mini 500's, and the lowly Bensen, vs. the income from sales of same, I actually came out a little ahead. Not too bad considering the first Mini 500 was destroyed in a hangar collapse. After the calculation my first call was to Homer.
Homer had an old Exec 90 that was in my price range on his site that I had been eyeing. When I called it was sold but for a few dollars more he had a guy desperately wanting to sell a 162F that he hadn't yet had a chance to list. A couple phone calls and a quick trip to Oklahoma and I am the proud owner of a half priced Rotorway 162F that no one else knew was on the market.
So I finally have an airworthy 2 place machine and CFI's willing to clime in it. I started lessons last fall and was signed off to hover solo. I didn't know there was such a thing but apparently there is. Then end of February the motorcycle season here ramped up and I was busy all summer. It just now started slowing down so I'll have a little play time. Flight instruction is just one more good reason to head down to sunny Florida.
Now a Rotorway does require a bit of constant maintenance and you could say it is always a project, but I recently came across a project Mosquito that I just couldn't resist. Was a flyer with 150 hours but hasn't run in 6 years, partially disassembled for wiring that wasn't finished??? Some other issues but dirt cheap. Can't have too many projects.
Long post but that's what I've been up to. Here's a link to my youtube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv6V3-vUtAtgwASWXdutOjQ ) if you'er interested. Nothing fancy, just to share with friends and family. Has the Scorpion, the 162F, and Dads steam engine. Thinking back, Dad and I are both wannabe builders that ended up being resurrectors of derelict machines.
Bryan here...
Update, I'm done!
My issue is not one of fear, but one of spare hands. No other enthusiasts close by, so doing it alone becomes difficult and cumbersome. This is why I'm not looking forward to it, for it will be a labour intensive task to do alone.Francois, when you said you weren't looking forward to setting up the transmission I thought is it like setting up a vehicle differential, with backlash, bearing preload and gear contact adjustment, but I read some of the information on your skeeter thread and realised it's no so straight forward. I usually find though the jobs we fear are going to be difficult turn out to be not so bad in the end.
Hey Bryan, sorry to hear about the job. Would relocating help with the job effort? Never good to post anything in social media these days, I deleted all accounts, and only talk about hobbies…Things turn around, but harder as we get older.Bryan here...
Update, I'm done! I had a great job that kept my helicopter habit nourished but my inability to avoid posting my opinions of the modern world on social media, I have been "cancelled" by a stranger in Oklahoma. He was able to get me fired with a few mouse clicks.
Now I'm 60, broke, and can't get a job in this booming job-market. I sold every toy I had. Some guy from Tacoma drove all the way to Georgia to pick up my helicopter and went straight back to Washington with it, without so much as a nap.
Now I'm a broken man who has finished the race with blisters all over my feet.
Hey Dave, thanks for the kind words. I'm really not in as bad of shape as I made it sound. The circumstances surrounding it keeps me depressed though. My roots are deep in North GA and aerospace jobs are plentiful here. It's obvious that being 60 makes hiring managers look elsewhere even though 60 is not old. Almost 100 interviews and none got much traction. I haven't had a security clearance since leaving the military in 87 and it's expensive for a company to get one done for new hires. Companies had rather hire an enthusiastic, hyper tech-savvy 20 something with minimum experience. My home and vehicles are paid for and the VA handles my medical care.
Using written tests as a tool to evaluate people for promotion in the military has been used for many years. Tests are and have always been used in many aspects of life, all over the world. I just opined that the USAF's elimination of the fair WAPS promotion tests and replacing it with a secretive, subjective "choosing-board" that is conducted behind closed doors with no transparency, is unfair and allows an opportunity for less-deserving airmen to cut in line in front of those who have invested the good judgement and sweat-equity of staying out of trouble, working hard, and studying for the tests. Two days...FIRED without warning.consider yourself a bit lucky. Social media is made to bring your unchecked opinionated self out. Specially about politics. So many people fall for its trap. You will write stuff you will never say to someone’s face. You will dig in deeper to justify your opinion even it’s not making sense in an argument that is logical. That is exactly what they know and urge you to participate in.
let me tell you your opinion does not matter to the general public. No one cares if you love Trump or hate Biden. It doesn’t make one bit of difference what you think to the general public. Only actions can bring about change not discussions with strangers spiraling downwards. Participate in the process by actions not discussions on social media. It will always bring out the most illogical and worst in us. It’s made to do that. Hard lesson to learn. I have to also try and follow this sane advice. The attraction to start a heated argument about politics and get uncivil is baked so deep in these platforms. Have to resist it.
Using written tests as a tool to evaluate people for promotion in the military has been used for many years. Tests are and have always been used in many aspects of life, all over the world. I just opined that the USAF's elimination of the fair WAPS promotion tests and replacing it with a secretive, subjective "choosing-board" that is conducted behind closed doors with no transparency, is unfair and allows an opportunity for less-deserving airmen to cut in line in front of those who have invested the good judgement and sweat-equity of staying out of trouble, working hard, and studying for the tests. Two days...FIRED without warning.