Welcome Mat

Welcome Mike. With your experience I think the first order of business should be to promote you to a rank higher than newbie. Let's hope the forum can live on long enough for you to convey what I am sure is a vast collection of knowledge.
 
Hi All, my name is John Heffernan from County Clare, Ireland and have just joined the forum.
I fly an ELA07S 914 turbo gyro and am restoring a Bensen B8M gyro. I have been lucky enough to have flown other gyros including MTO3, MTOSport, Magni M24 and Magni M16. This forum has been a great source of knowledge and inspiration for me with respect to all aspects of gyro flying, training, maintenance and design. I have met the most interesting and diverse people through gyro flying. I very much appreciate the work of the forum owners, administrators and contributors. I really hope this forum continues to operate.
Safe flying, John H.
 
Hello and thank you for the approval. Currently PPL SEL SES and working on PPL Rotorcraft Gyro.
Live in Satellite Beach, FL
Currently fly a Flight Design CTLS hangared at KMLB
I have ordered a Magni M24 with the 915 and have been training with Mark Sprigg in Gulf Shares, AL.

Gary C.
 
Hello and thank you for the approval. Currently PPL SEL SES and working on PPL Rotorcraft Gyro.
Live in Satellite Beach, FL
Currently fly a Flight Design CTLS hangared at KMLB
I have ordered a Magni M24 with the 915 and have been training with Mark Sprigg in Gulf Shares, AL.

Gary C.
Welcome Gary! I've spent time with Mark as well down there in Gulf Shores. Great instructor!
 
Hi All, my name is John Heffernan from County Clare, Ireland and have just joined the forum.
I fly an ELA07S 914 turbo gyro and am restoring a Bensen B8M gyro. I have been lucky enough to have flown other gyros including MTO3, MTOSport, Magni M24 and Magni M16. This forum has been a great source of knowledge and inspiration for me with respect to all aspects of gyro flying, training, maintenance and design. I have met the most interesting and diverse people through gyro flying. I very much appreciate the work of the forum owners, administrators and contributors. I really hope this forum continues to operate.
Safe flying, John H.
Welcome!!
 
Hi, and thanks for the approval. Been reading the site for over a year, took a while for the approval. I'm glad the site will apparently not be shut down. I've been interested in obtaining a gyro rating for several years (had planned to do it last spring 2020!), possibly acquiring a gyro after learning to fly one. I hope to attend some gyro events this year. Background: retired fed gov S/A Pilot, CFII, more helo time than S.E.L and M.E.L. fixed wing with a few turboprop type ratings.
Helo time includes R22, H369C,D,E, AS355F2, B206B,L3, BO105CB,LS, B412SP,EP. I know just enough to know that I don't know enough.
I'd love to have the knowledge and tools to build like Dick McGraw! However, I know my limitations, so my building experience is limited to the 1/2 RV6 in the late '80s and the Murphy Moose I finished in 2008 and still fly. Assembling a kit is not out of reach for me, but making major parts and anything related to fast spinning things, nope. I know just enough to know that I don't know enough!
 
Welcome to the Rotary Wing Forum Darryl.

I wish you all the best on your gyroplane adventure and hope to see you at one of the events.

Remember to look all the way down the runway on round out like you do in a fixed wing when landing a gyroplane.
 
Introduction and semi relevant history:
Greetings, I joined this forum awhile ago, but had been caught up in other aircraft projects and have not returned my attention
to rotary things yet!
I have been flying radio control for almost 50 years. I immediately gravitated towards sailplanes and started building my own designs
when I was about 12.
I have lost track of how many aircraft I have built and tested. (Over 500 including test iterations)
Some as small as 3.2oz. GTOW and others with 16' wings and 25hp 4 cyl. engines.
There were many pauses in my aviation dabbling while I did
other things like construction, boat building, professional musician, etc.
But eventually I started an RC slope glider company in 1996 when I discovered the flexible EPP foam.
I really started the biz. to write off my vice, but it took off...(Pun intended).
I had 7 successful designs and one series got noticed by some Govt. Lab guys and after 3 years of hobbyist work, I started doing DOD work
for various groups. One thing led to another and they are not use to anyone being on time and under budget, so my foot got totally wedged deeply into that door.
I never kept a log, but I probably have well over 3000 hours flying things from the ground.
In addition to testing a developing my own designs, I have been a test pilot for other companies aircraft
and an external pilot for projects at places like YPG, White Sands, Melros BR. etc......
The best thing about being an external pilot is that we get to walk away from EVERY landing! (even if it is still smoldering)
The other aspect is that we get to fly in flight envelopes that no full scale pilots would attempt, because they are often failures.
You can learn a lot from failures if you live through them....
In 1995 before I was in the airplane biz. I designed and built a 32" RC tractor gyro with a delta 3 rotor head.
In the RC world, autogyros were either side by side twin rotor, coaxial stacked, or fully articulated helicopter heads.
I think I may be the first one to pull off a working RC teeter bar design in the US, but I don't know that for sure...
A great RC autogyro guy in Phx. put together an international fly in in 1996, I think we had over 40 people from all over the globe.
Most crashed due to trying to take off like a fixed wing aircraft.....but I have been wanting to get into gyros ever since.
I recently acquired an old AC 447/503 and am going through it to filter out some of the things that don't sit well
with my sense of structure. I am looking forward to the next steps.
I have 10 take offs and landings in a towed Benson 2 seater on a gusty quartering wind day.
The Benson was frightening, but not because of the flying, more because it was a sketchy aircraft
that I had low confidence in. I probably wouldn't do that again without sending the rotor head out for deep analysis...
I plan to find an instructor and a good place to do taxi exercises with the AC.
The gyro has 90 hours on the 503 after a pro rebuild. It had been flown seasonally for the last 11 years.
The prop had some fairly deep nicks which I am repairing now and it looks good.
One ETG is not working and I am suspecting a crappy looking splice in the wire to the front.
The seat belt looks like it is out of a B-52 and there are a couple undersized plates on the keel that I should re-fab.
It does have the upgraded mast and horizontal stab.
If anyone has a list of what to change on an old AC 447 please let me know.
There are a lot of questions and I don't want to reinvent the wheel on this project..
Any info is appreciated.
 
Welcome to the Rotary Wing Forum Aerofoam.

Please get training before you even just go out to get the rotors up to speed.

Many people have come to grief exploring gyroplanes without flight instruction and did not get to go home after the mishap.

My recollection is that a Rotax 503 needs to be rebuilt every three hundred hours or five years; whichever comes first. I am not a Rotax enthusiast so you should look this up for yourself.

I wish you all the best on your gyroplane adventure.
 
Welcome to the Rotary Wing Forum Aerofoam.

Please get training before you even just go out to get the rotors up to speed.

Many people have come to grief exploring gyroplanes without flight instruction and did not get to go home after the mishap.

My recollection is that a Rotax 503 needs to be rebuilt every three hundred hours or five years; whichever comes first. I am not a Rotax enthusiast so you should look this up for yourself.

I wish you all the best on your gyroplane adventure.

Thanks, I am not a fan either, but have heard the 503 is one of the better versions...
I don't like the upside down installation, oil collects in the plugs....
I am looking for an instructor, I talked to someone up in Buckeye Az. a couple of years ago....
Might have to go for a road trip out of state...
I am in the Tucson area....
 
Howdy, I worked at YPG for years in T&E.
Was there the day Schiebels flying peanut bit it in the minefield....ahh good times;)
Look up Britta Penca at San Manuel Airport.
If I recall correct she was a CFI and is very familiar with Air Commands.
 
Hi Aerofoam- have you ever flown a RC gyrocopter? Sounds like really cool background!
 
Hi Aerofoam- have you ever flown a RC gyrocopter? Sounds like really cool background!

Well, it's honestly a strange background, but entertaining to say the least!.
Snipped from my intro letter:
"In 1995 before I was in the airplane biz. I designed and built a 32" RC tractor gyro with a delta 3 rotor head.
In the RC world, autogyros were either side by side twin rotor, coaxial stacked, or fully articulated helicopter heads.
I think I may be the first one to pull off a working RC teeter bar design in the US, but I don't know that for sure...
A great RC autogyro guy in Phx. put together an international fly in in 1996, I think we had over 40 people from all over the globe.
Most crashed due to trying to take off like a fixed wing aircraft..."

The tractor gyro was interesting, I had Steve T do the maiden because he had a lot of gyro time with his coaxials
and I had none..
He later on started Arizona Autogyro Co. and markets a line of 3 bladed gyros. Someone figured out the secret was
semi flexible hinges, I think the first ones were plastic from a 2 liter pop bottle. "Viola", simple rotor head.....
His aircraft are great, I think he still sells them.
Once it was flown, (it was very easy, uneventful) we put it through more difficult tasks.
I finally had the nerve to climb into a half loop and let if fall backwards on the rotor, bringing it to a complete stop.
I let it dive and in about 50 to 75' the rotor came to life and off it flew.
It could roll (not very axial) loop and do ridiculous maneuvers. The delta 3 teeter head was difficult because I built it with hand tools and a drill press.
I bought a "hobby king Dura Flight" gyro a couple of years ago and had some issues with it. It has a great pre-rotor, but seems to have a narrow envelope
of rotor RPM for flight. It would take off normally, but when I would try to turn back, it generally quit flying. I think the blades may need tip weighting
because it seems to lose a lot of RPM during turns. I watched videos of successful ones and most people had no issues, but the videos were a few years old and it makes
me wonder if there were later MFG issues that are common with chinese junk....
I never encountered flight issues like that with the ones I built from scratch.
The big RC gyro fly in was a great learning experience. RC pilots SOP on take off is fire-walling the throttle down the runway
and then lifting off radically....
Needless to say, with the gyros, many of which were debuting maiden flights at the event, didn't fair well.
They would scream down the runway, spin up and lift off prematurely, then tank to one side, or spin up sufficiently
with too much airspeed then lift off too abruptly presenting all that surface area and immediately violently PIO into the ground.
I had noticed on my gyro that a smooth application of throttle, followed by waiting for the rotor to load up, would result in just flying off the runway...
The rotor condition was easily recognized by the aircraft slowing a bit at the point it had good lift and you could hear it.
That is something I noticed with the Benson gyro kite when I was doing take offs. I don't think it was set up right because it took a huge
amount of forward pressure on the stick to keep it from lifting prematurely. I could tell when the rotor was at speed because the sound began
to get the characteristic thumping of an approaching helicopter, I noticed that on the first take off and afterwards I would hold the nose
down until the blades sounded right, then ease back a bit and it would smoothly fly off the deck..
Do other full scale gyros require a lot of forward stick force to prevent early rotation?
 
Greetings. I guess I can throw an introduction in here.

I'm a lawyer by training, but an aviator at heart. I've been a flight instructor (CFI, CFII, MEI) for 42 of my 45 years of flying. While still a licensed attorney, my current "Day Job" is a sim instructor training the next generation of airline pilots to fly the CRJ900 which I enjoyed flying for a few years for a regional airline out west. When not in the sim I am also the chief flight instructor for a small, but busy 141 flight school. And I have a few freelance students on the side.

This summer, while waiting for a multi-engine student taking his checkride, a little blue Magni M24 pulled up. I asked the owner if I could take a peek at it. He said, "Would you like to go for a ride?" He didn't have to ask twice. After that flight I was hooked and booked three days of training with Paul Salmon at Cape Copters. I flew down to Cape Girardeau, MO and between Paul and his CFI niece, I logged about 10 hours in their fun little Magni M16, then flew back home on day three with my Sport gyro endorsement. I am shopping for a gyro to build some time/experience in, then plan to add my commercial and CFI-gyro so I can share the fun with others.

I recently discovered Gyro Technic was only an hour away from me, so I'm hoping to catch up with Denis soon to check out his kits. I enjoyed reading Leigh's thread on the build of his VX2.

I look forward to learning more about the projects represented here, as well as learning everything I can about safely flying gyroplanes.

Loren
 
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Welcome to the gyro community Loren!
I look forward to hearing about your adventures and gleaning valuable information from another potential CFI.
I'd like to get there myself one day... but I'm not pushing the envelope to make it happen.

Any thoughts on what you may end up purchasing?
 
Welcome to the gyro community Loren!
I look forward to hearing about your adventures and gleaning valuable information from another potential CFI.
I'd like to get there myself one day... but I'm not pushing the envelope to make it happen.

Any thoughts on what you may end up purchasing?

I have been impressed by the Magni gyros and really enjoyed the M16 I trained in. A friend has one he's considering selling (in anticipation of the M26 coming...he also has an M24...and an ELA!) That would ultimately be used as a trainer, hopefully. The low hours and price is compelling. But I also want a GT-VX1 (or 2!) as a pure play machine. Hoping to connect with Denis soon to check them out.
 
Gotta love those M16s, especially if you hope to do training! :)

Agree....but my only concern is I live up in the cold part of the country! I'm afraid it might be relegated to 7-8 months of use. We do have some pretty hardcore snowmobilers who seem to do just fine during the cold months, so perhaps there's hope!
 
My M16 lives in upstate NY, and I have flown it in every month of the year.
As with those snowmobilers, and with all winter sports, really, you just have to dress properly!

On the flip side, think of how hot some of those enclosed machines might get on the most beautiful flying days of summer.
 
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