Re:Why the "Flames"?
[quote author=skyflea73 link=board=6;threadid=75;start=0#msg1740 date=1070920757]
I also just purchased "The FAA's Rotorcraft Flying Handbook" for $15.00. I wish I would have known sooner.[/quote]
Hey, Darren. It's kind of handy to have the paper book. In fact, I printed the .pdf off and put it in a loose leaf binder.
Any other books, videos, websites you might recommend.
I wish that Jim Mayfield would put some of the stuff on the AAI website like Greg does. Jim gives a fantastic "chalk talk" on gyro stability. You know about Greg's site... do you know about rotorcraft.com? This forum actually started as an alternative to a forum there.
There was a magazine called "Fly GYRO!" in the UK that was great. Unfortunately Mel Morris-Jones fell ill and the mag folded. But the website is still there and still has a lot of good info.
There is an internet newsgroup, rec.aviation.rotorcraft. Signal noise ratio a little weak, but many knowledgeable people post there. Mostly helicopters.
I will try to think of some more sources of information. I believe (and I think that Chuck E. will back me on this) that knowing fixed wing and helicopter aerodynamics will help you with learning gyro aerodynamics. SOME of the skills of flying transfer, some do not transfer, and some have negative transfer, meaning, if you react in the gyro the way you would in a fixed wing, we'll be posting a memorial thread! I believe you need to understand every machine you fly... but there's knowing and then there's knowing. You can only go so far in aerodynamics without a good grounding in physics. (the more physics the better). However, you can go far enough to fly safely with a shade-tree-mechanic's understanding of how forces act on "stuff," and no "book physics" at all.
On the bright side, if quantum physics puzzles you, that's OK, cause it's no help in a gyro.
I just purchased a Magni M-16 trainer and getting started on the build.
Excellent choice, excellent machine. How about keeping us posted on the build?
cheers
-=K=-