The pride of Chuck Beaty’s real job

[WaspAir]

The guidance systems in US military aircraft and missiles were switched over to GPS and laser mostly in late 80's and early 90'sk.

Laser ring gyroscopes for inertial guidance were big back then, pre-GPS. I did some litigating for Litton against Honeywell back then on patents for such things. It was very clever stuff, with no moving parts other than beams of light, and sensing for a phase shift (interference pattern change) to detect acceleration/rotation. It was a big leap over mechanical gyroscopes (I had to spell out the whole word because saying "gyros" on this forum means something else).

I think the EF-111 Raven used such a system.

 

[okikuma]

Laser ring gyroscopes for inertial guidance were big back then, pre-GPS...

This technology is still with us. It needs to be when all the GPS satellites are knocked out of commission during a many prong first strike attack again us.

Wayne

 

[Aerofoam]

It got miniaturized, I have seen small camera gimbals with stabilization that used these.
Not cheap, a 3" turret with color and IR was over $85k 15 years ago.....

 

[Gyro_Kai]

I had the pleasure to meet Chuck at Ernies company many years ago. We tried a Segway and I failed miserably. We 3 talked gyros for hours, I think it was a big loss for RFD that day. He and Ernie are being missed (I know Ernie is well and alive, but very quiet).

Kai.

 

[MikeBoyette]

I had the pleasure to meet Chuck at Ernies company many years ago. We tried a Segway and I failed miserably. We 3 talked gyros for hours, I think it was a big loss for RFD that day. He and Ernie are being missed (I know Ernie is well and alive, but very quiet).

Kai.

Yes sir he is enjoying his retirement. He and my step mother bought a piece of property in North Florida and created a little ranch. They enjoy driving their Mules on two wheeled carts that Dad designed and built. He tells everyone his life has slowed down. His excitement happens at 3 mph looking at a Mules ass.

 

[okikuma]

Yes sir he is enjoying his retirement. He and my step mother bought a piece of property in North Florida and created a little ranch. They enjoy driving their Mules on two wheeled carts that Dad designed and built. He tells everyone his life has slowed down. His excitement happens at 3 mph looking at a Mules ass.

When my Dad had to stop driving, I told him that I was going to get him a horse and a buckboard. He was all in for that.

Tell your dad don't go for a candlelight ride at night.

Wayne

 

[WaspAir]

a Mules ass.

Is that redundant?

 

[MikeBoyette]

Is that redundant?

Exactly!!!

 

[okikuma]

Exactly!!!

Well, not exactly. A mule is a hybrid horse and donkey. A donkey is an ass.

Honestly, I haven't seen a mule pull a two wheeled cart. I have seen asses though.

Then there's the famous 20 Mule teams transporting borax from Death Valley to Mojave, CA.

To keep this thread in direction about Chuck, I'm sure he would give us an eloquent description on the history of mules being used to haul material and goods in this country.

Wayne

 

[WaspAir]

No doubt.

Just don't covet your neighbor's mule, or something like that.

 

[MikeBoyette]

Well, not exactly. A mule is a hybrid horse and donkey. A donkey is an ass.

Honestly, I haven't seen a mule pull a two wheeled cart. I have seen asses though.

Then there's the famous 20 Mule teams transporting borax from Death Valley to Mojave, CA.

To keep this thread in direction about Chuck, I'm sure he would give us an eloquent description on the history of mules being used to haul material and goods in this country.

Wayne

He had plenty of stories of using mules for plowing fields when he was a kid. His family were all strawberry farmers. He was the first in his family to get a higher education.

 

[MikeBoyette]

No doubt.

Just don't covet your neighbor's mule, or something like that.

The funny thing is Dad tells everyone they have four mules on the property and that only three of them have four legs. His wife doesn’t appreciate being called a mule.

 

[okikuma]

The funny thing is Dad tells everyone they have four mules on the property and that only three of them have four legs. His wife doesn’t appreciate being called a mule.

I think on the old TV show Green Acres, Mr. Ziffel often said it was his wife that pulled his plow.

Wayne

 

[Jerry_Forest]

I think on the old TV show Green Acres, Mr. Ziffel often said it was his wife that pulled his plow.

Wayne

The funny thing is Dad tells everyone they have four mules on the property and that only three of them have four legs. His wife doesn’t appreciate being called a mule.

The funny thing is Dad tells everyone they have four mules on the property and that only three of them have four legs. His wife doesn’t appreciate being called a mule.

Mike! You have to write us a book about your Dad and Chuck (and the SSRClub) with all the anecdotes like this one! I couldn't help breaking out with a laugh in the middle of the night (much to my wife's chagrin). to go

I met Chuck at a SSRC get-together in central Florida in the 70's where we had a great discussion at a local restaurant. He agreed with me that it would be really great to have collective pitch control for our gyros, even without a prerotator. Many years later I came up with a simple hub bar design to get pitch control but I have yet to build one.

 

[Doug Riley]

Chuck did try collective on his gyro (the one with 3 blades and a "spider" in place of a regular swashplate). He described being able to pull collective in cruise, making the gyro perform a mid-air jump. I don't know if he got to true jump takeoff. Dick DeGraw and Ernie Boyette nailed jump takeoff, though.

Obviously, adding collective introduces a more urgent need for the gyro pilot to manage RRPM.

 

[MikeBoyette]

Chuck did try collective on his gyro (the one with 3 blades and a "spider" in place of a regular swashplate). He described being able to pull collective in cruise, making the gyro perform a mid-air jump. I don't know if he got to true jump takeoff. Dick DeGraw and Ernie Boyette nailed jump takeoff, though.

Obviously, adding collective introduces a more urgent need for the gyro pilot to manage RRPM.

That particular head had Chuck’s own version of pitch cone coupling so it was pretty fool proof. He got pretty good at using it on landing and was able almost completely vertical landings.

Before that one he made a two bladed collective head. He had been flying it for a good while. It used some homemade wood blades that he built. We were at a monthly SunState fly-in in Immokalee Florida. Immokalee used to be a B29 training field so it’s huge and plenty of room for Dad to fly it. Dad at the time had almost no Helicopter time and wasn’t comfortable using the collective. Chuck had fashioned a friction lock for it out of a block of wood using it as a pinch clamp. The clamp was tightened with a bolt and a nut making it was lily adjustable. Chuck came back from flying and did a normal run on landing. When he got out of it he said ok Ernie your turn. Dad hopped in and Chuck said don’t touch the collective I have it set perfect for regular gyro flying.( turns out he forgot to ensure the friction lock was tightened enough) Dad had been flying for maybe 10 minutes when all of a sudden he jumped midair about 30-40 feet. At the top we heard the engine go to an idle and him let out a little scream. Then he grabbed the collective and pushed it all the way down and dove. Just before he hit the ground he stood it up on its tail and pulled the collective. He made almost a perfect landing. He got out and was shaking. He told Chuck he would never fly anything again with a control device he didn’t have complete understanding of and control over.