This years PRA's official Educational purposes Open Source Projects lists.

All_In

Gold Supporter
Joined
Apr 21, 2008
Messages
16,105
Location
San Diego, CA. USA
Aircraft
Airgyro AG915 Centurian, Aviomania G1sb
Total Flight Time
Gyroplane 70Hrs, not sure over 10,000+ logged FW, 260+ ultralights, sailplane, hang-gliders
The 1st college has turned in our first pre-rotator project using a ball transmission. = https://www.rotaryforum.com/threads...t-is-done-and-ready-for-more-testing.1144536/ PRA 31 will be testing it.

This year we have 5 projects with now 3 colleges asking for projects = S.D.S.U., S.D.U, and U.C.L.A. has reached out but they are 1.5 hours from San Diego. They would have to come to us for testing.

1) State of the art high-speed (at least 220 RRM with 30' blades) lightweight prerotator using a brushless motor, lithium batteries, and controller. With all things lightweight and powerful it will be expensive.
2) G'force impact fuel-cut-off-switch.
3) Test-stand to test pre-rotators, drive systems, and different manufacturers rotor-blades with data-logger.
4) Lightweight stop and drop landing gear with anti-tip-over (self-leveling on impact).
5) Jump-take-off system to retrofit the fleet. Adapting a helicopter rotor head to be an off-set gimbaled with teeter block gyro rotor-head and add an electric drive system for jump-take-off capability. (without my personal friendship with Gyro Jake this would not be happening)

Now I have 3 colleges fighting over PRA projects.

But PRA can only pay for the parts for one project at a time. May ask for donations to run all 5 at all 3 colleges is the only way we could let them all try at the same time and pick the best solution.

Looking for other gyro safety projects. I'm out except would like to produce a true ultra-light with pre-rotator like the Butterfly but use Chuck Beaty round tube design. It is a statement in the simplest terms and a work of art to me.
 
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This year I have one professor who is reaching out to the electrical engineering department asking if they would like the electronic portion of the projects. This will help assure state of the art in both areas we need and it is getting fun.

Time-consuming but I have helpers here in S.D. so you all need to really thank Chuck Tucker and David Bacon and some experts on the forum here like Gyro Jake helping me personally as a friend.
We hope it is worth it. So far so good.
 
You go, John !!!
Push the envelope !
Brian
 
You know Chuck Beaty is a hero of mine as a great engineer of course but as a great and sharing person too.

But he should BEAT me for always misspelling his name. Beady instead of Beaty. Dyslexia sucks but you would think I would check my hero's names for spelling as this is not the first time. Sorry, Bro you never say a word.... You know what would suck if the Chuck Beaty award was spelled as Beady. I'd have to hide from the community not to be stoned. I did it again here but I fixed it.
 
John your idea of reaching out to Colleges, and competing/competition is brilliant.

With regard to our senior members who are invaluable reservoirs of hard won practical application, we sadly see less and less of them on the Forum.

The period where the Forum went into the doldrums didn’t help, but it seems to be up and getting back to where it used to be. Hopefully in time to be able to hear again from the likes of Chuck Beaty, Doug Riley and the others who contributed so much to those who were trying to get airborne, reached out and were shown the way.
 
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