Updates

Doug,

I would love to do that. If I am not mistaken though, Mentone is in early August? Sadly I will be slaving away under the hot African sun...at work :(
 
Doug,

I would love to do that. If I am not mistaken though, Mentone is in early August? Sadly I will be slaving away under the hot African sun...at work :(

So can you think of anyone else that might be able to represent the Company and come share some information with us?

Doug Barker
PRA Pres.
 
Doug,
Unfortunately not. Everybody is involved with and extremely busy working on the certification process.
We understand the desire for information on the Phenix and appreciate everybody's patience. That is why we are making a concerted effort to publish updates regarding our progress and changes to the design, that we think folks will find interesting.

As soon as we have an aircraft, even a mockup available, we will show it publicly at an appropriate venue.

Until then, keep checking in on our Facebook page, our Twitter feed, the blog and here on the RWF :typing:
 
Better tail-feathers for the Phenix. A completely new horizontal stabilizer, fewer moving parts, a simpler construction method and a stronger bonding process. Well done, guys!

This is another item on our list of improvements we have realized will make the Phenix better. Everything over the last few years we discovered we wanted to improve, is being done in the certification process.
 
First run of PHENIX t-shirts being printed, check out the Facebook page for pictures!

...and the next certification update coming on Friday...
 
Good luck, keep us posted!
 
Gentlemen and gyroplane pilots,

A fellow gyronaut posted on our Facebook page earlier, expressing his frustration at the long seemingly never-ending wait for a PHENIX to arrive in the USA.

In responding to his post, I realized there might be many other interested pilots or prospective PHENIX owners who might share his frustration. These folks might not know why it is taking so long to get the PHENIX over here, even thought I thought I had explained the behind-the-scenes situation before.

So, here is the post I responded with, I hope this might clear up the misconception that the PHENIX is under perpetual development like some other aircraft.

I understand your sentiment and you are right. It has been a very, very long time. Serial #001 was a proof-of-concept aircraft. We flew it for a while and changed a few things to create Serial #002, the pre-production aircraft. That PHENIX flew for many years, without mishap, doing demonstrations while we searched for an investor/ funding during some very bleak economic times in Spain and Europe. The guys went through many hardships including having to downsize houses to keep our dream alive. After a few false starts, we eventually found that investment in 2013 and started in earnest with the next steps required BEFORE we can bring the Phenix to market ANYWHERE, which is getting it certified, SOMEWHERE. That somewhere turned out to be Germany, for various reasons, including a very strict certification process which we wanted, in order to prove the PHENIX' quality. Only once the certification is done, can we bring it to market with confidence. While we are undertaking the certification process, it makes sense in terms of finances, time and logistics to make improvements to the aircraft NOW, instead of having to go through another certification process later with an improved model. This all so we present, YOU, the flying community, with the best autogiro we can. The delays haven't been because of never-ending-development of something that wont ever make it to market like some other aircraft, it was simply because we didn't have any money. Nobody had the capital required for this process to continue, which is why we had to wait until we found an investor, which we did. Now the guys are busting their behinds to get the PHENIX certified and into the marketplace. Through some very hard times financially and personally, the PHENIX TEAM did not loose hope in ourselves or the PHENIX and you should not either.
 
We noticed, as did a few lucky folks who experienced a demo flight on the PHENIX, that it is very easy to drag the tail fins on the ground, during take-off or landing.
So we had a stinger put on, and it worked, but there is a better solution.
How do you get better ground clearance on the tail end of the Phenix? By trimming the vertical fin size of course!
 
Breaking news !!!

Breaking news !!!

Carlos has just informed me, that the PHENIX passed the Structural Load-bearing Testing Phase of the Certification program with flying colors!

Not only did the PHENIX meet the entire and very strict load bearing requirements, but also this wonderful aircraft EXCEEDED the requirements in every single test that was done. Not by a little either. Some requirements were exceeded by a factor of almost seven times!

This is a major milestone and hurdle crossed for the PHENIX and we are very pleased to announce this information.

We will carefully inspect everything, but there isn’t much to correct or fix. Next step is an airworthiness inspection for the 50 hour test flying program.

In Carlos’ words:” We have moved more than 7 tons of sand bags and are all exhausted, but very happy! So we must congratulate all the team for our common effort, the PHENIX is some masterpiece!”:yo:
 
...oh, and we have tons of pictures, but we want to complete the certification officially and then we will post them.
 
Since we realized the tail fins (vertical stabilizers & rudders) can scrape the ground on rotation (mostly on take off), we trimmed the height to eliminate the problem.

Any ideas on how we keep the same or better rudder authority?
 
If one can not increase the height of the vertical stabilizers because of the probability of a rotor strike and/or contact with the ground, the only other alternative is to increase the fore and aft horizontal length of the vertical stab, thus increasing the volume of the total area. Another trick is to go from a twin rudder setup to a tri-rudder set up.

Wayne
 
That is exactly correct, Okikuma. WE did have a three fin setup originally on Serial #001, but found that was too much stability, so we went to a two fin setup. Now we are modifying these two vertical stabilizers in the manner you describe, by increasing the fore - aft length of the stab and rudder itself.

There is another modification we are doing...rudder-related, that we will post in the next update. Anybody have any ideas of additional yaw control or rudder authority modifications that one could add?

Here's a hint, nobody else has done this either...
 
One can effectively move the hinge point of the rudder forward on the vertical stab (decreasing the area of the fix forward part of the vertical stab but increasing the area of the rudder - keeping the total combined area the same) for better yaw authority.

One can also increase the degree of "throw" (side-to-side deflection) of the rudder.

For P-factor, there are several methods for correction:

Vertical stab offset from the thrust centerline.

A non-symetrical airfoil on the vertical stab effectively creating greater "lift" on one side of the vertical stab compared to the opposite side, thus "pushing" the tail in the opposite direction for correction of P-factor force.

The third method used by ERCO to correct for P-factor on the Ercoupe was to "cant" or offset the thrust line of the engine several degrees to the right from the centerline. Probably the most preferred and effective method in correcting for P-factor on a front engine, tractor style, gyroplane.

Wayne
 
That is some good information right there. All excellent examples of what can be done.

As far as my knowledge goes right now, we did not move the rudder hinge, but increased the 'trailing' part of the rudder. I'll post more when I hear back from Carlos on this.
 
adding ventral fins to the fuselage may help
 
Thats an awesome idea. Making an F16 looking PHENIX :plane:

Ha. We might use that idea in a new model later...more on that in a future update.

Still not the modification we are looking at though. I think I'll spill the beans on the next PHENIX tweet...
 
Why do designers fill the cockpit with a huge binnacle cutting vis out by 50% + Even worse with screen based instrumentation.
Regarding stab maybe a slat in cabin would help just a thought.
Have yet to fly a machine that appears to have ANY thought to switch instrument lay out, also conformity from one to another, & that's in certified machines
 
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500e, not exactly sure what you mean in your questions? The PHENIX is a tractor design, so the engine is in front and will obstruct your forward visibility in some form never mind what you do to the cabin design/ layout. You will not have the same unobstructed forward visibility like you do in a helicopter for example.

Having flown the PHENIX I can tell you that the forward visibility is in fact pretty good. The nose slopes in a manner that keeps the engine cowling out of your line of sight when seated naturally and flying the aircraft. Out the sides the visibility is fantastic due to the rounded fuselage; you can almost see underneath the ship with the doors on. And of course you can take the doors off if you want to.

As far as the instrument panel, if it wasn't there you'd be looking at the back of the firewall, so you might as well make a nice panel and use good glass instruments like the MGL and Kanardia. Which we are doing.

If memory serves, the switches were laid out in groups according to function, so electrical together, lights together, fuel together, CB's together etc. I am not sure of the 'post-certification' layout, since we aren't there yet, but I trust Carlos will do things properly. The pictures on the website Gallery will give you some idea of how we would like the cockpit to look, but it is preliminary design sketches and subject to change.

Regarding stab maybe a slat in cabin would help just a thought.
Don't know what you mean with this...
 
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Just having a bad day ignore comments:sorry:
 
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