Seeking McCulloch J-2 Owners

Cresco750

Newbie
Joined
Jan 14, 2012
Messages
43
Location
NZ
Aircraft
McCulloch J2
Total Flight Time
12000
Hi all

Ive just become the proud owner of a J2 and I’d really like to hear from other owners so that we can share tips and experiences.

My aircraft has not flown for about a decade so I’ll be spending some time going over it thoroughly before presenting it for airworthiness inspection. This will be the perfect opportunity for me to carry out any additional inspections or modifications that are not already covered in the maintenance manual, so if anyone knows of any such items I would be most interested to hear.

Thanks in advance
Neil
 
I owned Super J-2 N4362G for a number of years and put in quite a bit of time in it. They're a very loud aircraft and I received complaints from neighbors of the airport whenever stayed in the area for very long. Not sure if there is a muffler mod for it, but that would be nice. Tom Milton knows quite a bit about J-2's.
 
Thanks for that, I’ll most certainly be in touch further down the track as I progress with bringing mine out of hibernation.

Any other J2 owners lurking out there?
 
Anybody know how many active airworthy J-2 remain ?
 
Not a jump takeoff Jason, but you do spin the rotors up to 520RPM then pull collective and start your takeoff roll. the back end of the gyro lifts up and you go to full throttle down the runway. I did have mine jump off one day when i was by myself, it was light on fuel and about 30 degrees out. Came off about 2 feet off the ground.
 
GyroCFI;n1136024 said:
Not a jump takeoff Jason, but you do spin the rotors up to 520RPM then pull collective and start your takeoff roll. the back end of the gyro lifts up and you go to full throttle down the runway. I did have mine jump off one day when i was by myself, it was light on fuel and about 30 degrees out. Came off about 2 feet off the ground.

This has me thinking about the aerodynamics that come into play when a gyro, not necessarily a J2, does a jump takeoff? For a jump to occur the blades need to be spun up and pitched in such a way that they create lift, ie the airflow is downward through the rotor disc. Then, during transition phase where the downward airflow (like a helicopter), must become upward flow through the rotor disc (like a gyro) there must be a short period where the craft is not totally under control by the pilot, until such time as the craft is propelled forward or drop back down in order to get that airflow reversed? Granted we’re only talking perhaps a second or two? Does this sound right or have I missed something here?
 
Lack of control would not be the right description.
You retain yaw, pitch, and roll control in a jump, and you never, in any gyroplane, really have any direct control over purely vertical axis motion. Instead, in a jump design you will also have some sort of collective pitch control and you influence vertical motion with that.
You use collective control to shift from spin-up (flat) pitch to jump (high) pitch to get airborne, but you don't continue with that high pitch. Eventually, you need to go down to a cruise (intermediate) collective pitch. In the A&S18A, pitch-cone coupling automatically reduces the collective setting from jump to cruise mode as the rotor cones, so no pilot action is needed. The J-2 doesn't even have a high/jump pitch position and goes directly from spin-up to the cruise setting when the spin-up lever is released. That, combined with relatively low rotor blade mass, is why it does only anemic hops and then only with suitable load and winds, rather than robust jumps. It was never really meant to leap up off the ground from a standstill.
Jumping in a gyroplane typically means going up and forward, because you will typically have substantial thrust at the prop as you rise. Airspeed is gained during the process, and that makes the transition easier than it might otherwise seem.
 
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P.S. There is considerable variation in the exhaust systems on J-2s, some having straight pipes and some muffled. The noise perceived by those on the ground as a muffled ship passes is more unusual and distinctive than offensive. The combination of a three bladed prop passing four exhaust pipes, blended with rotor noise at an independent frequency, can make for some odd patterns.
 
WaspAir;n1136095 said:
Lack of control would not be the right description.
You retain yaw, pitch, and roll control in a jump, and you never, in any gyroplane, really have any direct control over purely vertical axis motion. Instead, in a jump design you will also have some sort of collective pitch control and you influence vertical motion with that.
You use collective control to shift from spin-up (flat) pitch to jump (high) pitch to get airborne, but you don't continue with that high pitch. Eventually, you need to go down to a cruise (intermediate) collective pitch. In the A&S18A, pitch-cone coupling automatically reduces the collective setting from jump to cruise mode as the rotor cones, so no pilot action is needed. The J-2 doesn't even have a high/jump pitch position and goes directly from spin-up to the cruise setting when the spin-up lever is released. That, combined with relatively low rotor blade mass, is why it does only anemic hops and then only with suitable load and winds, rather than robust jumps. It was never really meant to leap up off the ground from a standstill.
Jumping in a gyroplane typically means going up and forward, because you will typically have substantial thrust at the prop as you rise. Airspeed is gained during the process, and that makes the transition easier than it might otherwise seem.


Interesting, thanks Jon.
 
Ok, so not an overwhelming response from current J2 owners! A search of the FAA registry shows only nine still in the system: one is in the Phillipines and two are hanging in museums. From what I can tell none of the original J2’s that were imported into Australia are still flying, nor those in the UK. So, that makes only seven or eight examples still registered and potentially airworthy world wide if I include mine?
So where did the other eighty-odd that were produced end up? Bent? Museums? Parted out? Sitting in the back of hangars / sheds collecting dust?
And why are they no longer flying? Was it maintenance? Parts availability? Newer machines entering the market?
 
Hello to the group! I owned and flew McCulloch J-2 N4320G for 120 hours back in 1986. I never forgot the fun I had flying the J-2, so a few months back I bought N4315G and should have it back in the air pretty soon. I am located in East Texas and have had a bit of difficult finding an A&P/IA to work on the J-2, but I have at last found one who is enthusiastic about the work. Technically, my machine only needs an annual inspection, but it has not flown in eight years, so it is getting a thorough check-out. I am excited about flying a J-2 again, and I look forward to hearing from other J-2 owners and discovering how many machines are still flying. If memory serves, I believe I gave Don Randle his first ride in a J-2 from Skylakes Airport in Waller, Texas, where I kept my machine.
 
J-2 Skyfarer;n1137586 said:
Hello to the group! I owned and flew McCulloch J-2 N4320G for 120 hours back in 1986. I never forgot the fun I had flying the J-2, so a few months back I bought N4315G and should have it back in the air pretty soon. I am located in East Texas and have had a bit of difficult finding an A&P/IA to work on the J-2, but I have at last found one who is enthusiastic about the work. Technically, my machine only needs an annual inspection, but it has not flown in eight years, so it is getting a thorough check-out. I am excited about flying a J-2 again, and I look forward to hearing from other J-2 owners and discovering how many machines are still flying. If memory serves, I believe I gave Don Randle his first ride in a J-2 from Skylakes Airport in Waller, Texas, where I kept my machine.

Great news! Do keep us posted on progress?
 
J-2 Skyfarer;n1137586 said:
Hello to the group! I owned and flew McCulloch J-2 N4320G for 120 hours back in 1986. I never forgot the fun I had flying the J-2, so a few months back I bought N4315G and should have it back in the air pretty soon. I am located in East Texas and have had a bit of difficult finding an A&P/IA to work on the J-2, but I have at last found one who is enthusiastic about the work. Technically, my machine only needs an annual inspection, but it has not flown in eight years, so it is getting a thorough check-out. I am excited about flying a J-2 again, and I look forward to hearing from other J-2 owners and discovering how many machines are still flying. If memory serves, I believe I gave Don Randle his first ride in a J-2 from Skylakes Airport in Waller, Texas, where I kept my machine.

Very cool to hear from you here. I live in Austin. —Having seen that there is a J-2 in Tenaha, I was considering reaching out to you in the past couple of months when I was looking at a J-2 project.
 
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