Parsons configuration

SandL

Active Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
1,390
Location
Royal Wootton Bassett... UK
Aircraft
Bensen Merlin dragon wings Rotax 532
Total Flight Time
400hrs (4,000 instructional launches) gliding, 200 fixed wing, 100 gyro
I have recently come across a parsons with suspension and a pod for sale
it has a 532 and 23ft mcutcheons.
I dont love the parsons rear seat , mats and side stick arrangement but, at about £5,000 it seems like an attractively priced very cost 2 seat machine.
I am I weigh apx 100kgs I fly at sea level, and it's rare to have any hot days.
I fly from a rough grass strip and most often do a soft field take off.

so my question is is this machine feasable ? can I take another 100kg person? it seems like a nice idea but I am concerned that there will simply be not enough horse power to sustain flight. I believe most people fit a 618. Current owner used the rear seat simply as a cargo compartment (that tells me something). the gyro has not flown for several years so will need a thorough overhaul, however it has been dry stored and I am told it has been started up and run till warm every quarter.

low cost way to fly friends, or a non starter ?
 
I have recently come across a parsons with suspension and a pod for sale
it has a 532 and 23ft mcutcheons.
so my question is can I take another 100kg person?

Short answer NOOOOOOO.
I have plenty of videos uploaded to youtube with two o.b with my Parsons tandem but, even with a 27' McCutchen blades you need to have thousands of hours of exp.
A video here.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QRZb-fZMd8
 
"532 and 23ft McCutchen's" That's what I have on my single place Air Command and I don't think it would fly two people very well. I have never tried it though. lol
 
The horsepower is a bit puny, but much more serious than that is the size of the rotor. You'd want a 27-28-foot rotor IMHO, especially with that low power.

For comparison, I had a 28-foot DW rotor and (at first) a Rotax 618 on my tandem Dominator. Climb was OK with passengers up to 200 lb., and me at 180.

By switching to a Rotax 912S, I gained the ability to fly 250-pounders, though I still wouldn't do it on a summer day at noon, nor with full tanks. I live in a part of the country where an engine failure on takeoff will usually put you into trees. One wants to limit one's time lingering in that risky situation.
 
thanks to contributors , ... you know how you like an idea then you get the feeling that the holes are lining up, well I'm not comfortable about that rear seat position, slightly under powered, slightly short rotors, previuos own stating he only used it as a cargo carrier... if it went wrong I would say ... "I never felt good about it" I am starting to get a few crosses in a few boxes where ticks should be, so I think, I will can the idea, even if I make sure I have the right rotor length and if I was able to find and fit a 618 I would still have the mast and side stick. hind sight is great but foresight is so much better, no matter how tempting.
 
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