- Joined
- Oct 30, 2003
- Messages
- 18,357
- Location
- Santa Maria, California
- Aircraft
- Givens Predator
- Total Flight Time
- 2600+ in rotorcraft
Greg and Doug were flying cross country in a Lycoming powered gyroplane and stopped by my hangar Thursday because it was pouring rain at Whitman; their short term destination airport where they were planning on leaving the aircraft.
They had been nursing an overheating problem on their flight.
As they flew south the air temperature increased exacerbating the temperature challenge.
Before they started on their adventure they had a trusted mechanic install two new magnetos that were alleged to be timed accurately.
Despite their challenges Doug was very generous and encouraged me to fly the aircraft and I saw how sensitive it was to high cylinder head temperatures if you left the power in too long and I felt the engine was not performing well. I could not find the VSI on the EFIS and Greg told me she was only climbing out at about 650 feet per minute.
I loved the way the Sport Copter II flew and was overwhelmed by the Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) AKA glass panel. I thought Greg was going to fly but he turned the controls over to me. I flew the pattern entirely by sight picture being totally confused by the EFIS. The spindle head changed the feel of the cyclic and it took some learning to fly her smoothly. She is big, smooth and elegant.
To my surprise the landing was as nice as could be with the generous suspension soaking up any ineptitude.
At dinner we discussed the options. Greg and Doug had already used up all their weather days and needed to get back home for work on Saturday.
Doug was leaning toward shipping the gyroplane to Florida instead of taking the flight of a lifetime and things were looking dark to me.
This thought haunted me throughout the night.
On my way to pick them up at the Radisson at the Santa Maria airport Friday I stopped by to see my friends at Coastal Valley Aviation and Rick agreed to find the time to check the timing that morning. Friday is always a busy day for them. They are aviation enthusiasts on a high level and understood the challenges of an adventure well.
I reminded Doug that he would feel better if he found out what the trouble was rather than waiting for it to get back to Florida and he approved the added expense.
It turned out the timing on one magneto was sixteen degrees advanced (41 degrees before top dead center) and the other was also advanced, just not as far.
After the timing was set they took a couple of laps around the pattern and she was climbing out at better than 1,300 feet per minute with temperatures and pressures in the green and steady.
When they returned they were both so excited they began planning their flight across the country. They will leave the Sport Copter II in the Breese Aircraft Hangar till they can get back and fly her back to Florida and then Michigan.
Lessons learned once again:
Even a good mechanic makes mistakes.
Don’t give up on an adventure just because things appear to be getting dark. It will actually make for a better story if there are challenges.
Never hurry aviation.
If there is a problem land and fix it rather than pressing on.
Helping friends achieve their dreams is food for my spirit. I loved it that I was able to have a positive effect on a friend’s aviation adventure.
It is raining now and I still feel like I am basking in the sunshine as I write about our adventure.
They had been nursing an overheating problem on their flight.
As they flew south the air temperature increased exacerbating the temperature challenge.
Before they started on their adventure they had a trusted mechanic install two new magnetos that were alleged to be timed accurately.
Despite their challenges Doug was very generous and encouraged me to fly the aircraft and I saw how sensitive it was to high cylinder head temperatures if you left the power in too long and I felt the engine was not performing well. I could not find the VSI on the EFIS and Greg told me she was only climbing out at about 650 feet per minute.
I loved the way the Sport Copter II flew and was overwhelmed by the Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) AKA glass panel. I thought Greg was going to fly but he turned the controls over to me. I flew the pattern entirely by sight picture being totally confused by the EFIS. The spindle head changed the feel of the cyclic and it took some learning to fly her smoothly. She is big, smooth and elegant.
To my surprise the landing was as nice as could be with the generous suspension soaking up any ineptitude.
At dinner we discussed the options. Greg and Doug had already used up all their weather days and needed to get back home for work on Saturday.
Doug was leaning toward shipping the gyroplane to Florida instead of taking the flight of a lifetime and things were looking dark to me.
This thought haunted me throughout the night.
On my way to pick them up at the Radisson at the Santa Maria airport Friday I stopped by to see my friends at Coastal Valley Aviation and Rick agreed to find the time to check the timing that morning. Friday is always a busy day for them. They are aviation enthusiasts on a high level and understood the challenges of an adventure well.
I reminded Doug that he would feel better if he found out what the trouble was rather than waiting for it to get back to Florida and he approved the added expense.
It turned out the timing on one magneto was sixteen degrees advanced (41 degrees before top dead center) and the other was also advanced, just not as far.
After the timing was set they took a couple of laps around the pattern and she was climbing out at better than 1,300 feet per minute with temperatures and pressures in the green and steady.
When they returned they were both so excited they began planning their flight across the country. They will leave the Sport Copter II in the Breese Aircraft Hangar till they can get back and fly her back to Florida and then Michigan.
Lessons learned once again:
Even a good mechanic makes mistakes.
Don’t give up on an adventure just because things appear to be getting dark. It will actually make for a better story if there are challenges.
Never hurry aviation.
If there is a problem land and fix it rather than pressing on.
Helping friends achieve their dreams is food for my spirit. I loved it that I was able to have a positive effect on a friend’s aviation adventure.
It is raining now and I still feel like I am basking in the sunshine as I write about our adventure.