Any aviators here?

All good developments IMO. Focusing on one type of flying, as you learn to fly, makes good sense for sure. And, starting out flying an aircraft that is currently flight worthy is also good. Pilot decision making is such a big part of flying... you're well on your way in that area...

 

I got a PPL in 17 and in 18 I got most of my CPL hours. You’re right about the ground school. The commercial exam makes the private exam look easy. I went start to finish in a 150 with a tailwheel conversion in 28 days. Was a big relief when the passing mark came up on the screen.

 

I’m on my way home with this gyroplane. The thing is a beast with that Yamaha engine (with no muffler) and sounds awesome.

 

... ... looking forward to re-assembling pics...

 

Thanks. Thats just the rotor box on the trailer deck under it.

This morning I had my first 1 1/2 hours of gyro CFI. What a blast!!

 

That kind of enthusiasm says it all Brian. Good luck with the flight training. Was it in the CFI's gyro, or your's?

 

His. Mine is a single seat open cockpit design. I ended up getting 6 hours of flight instruction with him while I was there.

 

How do you feel about the air time you've got so far? Any idea how many hours you'll need to get signed off?

 

I’ve enjoyed my 8 logged hours in a Cessna 172 and learned much about the basics of flight. I don’t like flying the Cessna though. Mainly because it’s such a limited sight picture. It difficult to see what’s around you. Since I’m tall I sit higher in the seat, making it very difficult to see out under the wings.

But flying in a tandem open cockpit gyroplane was exactly what I’ve been looking forward to. The view / sight picture is spectacular.

The control of both aircraft is very similar in the air. I had no trouble transitioning from the Cessna to the gyro in that regard.

But take off and landing the gyro bears no resemblance to the Cessna. Take offs require the rotor to be prerotated to anywhere from 120 to 250 rotor rpm depending on the type of prerotator. The rotor is tilted backwards at first, so as the gyro moves forward the rotor catches the passing air so rpm increases. (Some modern gyros have a powerful enough prerotator system that gradual ground speed increase is not necessary to get rotor rpm up.)

Once the rotor rpm is up to speed, the rotor is titled level so the engine and pusher prop can increase ground speed. When the front wheel gets light and take of speed is achieved the rotor is tilted back slightly and the gyro leaves the ground. But you continue down the runway ten to twenty feet off the ground for a while to continue to build airspeed by increasing the throttle to then gain elevation towards the end of the runway.

Landings are completely different too. Fixed wing aircraft have a much higher glide ratio. Gyros drop fast due to a much lower glide ratio so the ground comes up much more quickly. And it’s not a traditional flare in a gyro like a fixed wing, and it occurs much closer to the ground.

I still need a ton of take off and landing practice.

The sport pilot certificate, for both fixed wing and gyro, requires 20 hours of CFI minimum, but it often involves more hours to satisfy the CFI that you’re proficient.

I doubt I’ll be ready to mine solo after just 20 hours.

 

I'm with you on all things open ultralight, that's for sure. I trained in a 150 and got as far as soloing. I never looked back. Slow ultralight flight was my addiction. As far as how long it'll take for you to feel confident piloting any aircraft... you'll know it when you feel it. You obviously are fine with it taking whatever time it takes. The perfect zone. And, once you do, the learning never stops... that's the fun part.

 

Since I fell into the “perfect” gyroplane for me, at a simply amazing price, I’m not going to attempt to fly it until I’m absolutely certain I’m proficient at gyroplanes in general.

I don’t want to take any chance at balling this one up. It’s a very well regarded model and a (more than!) big enough engine for my big size, a hot rod really.

It's all sorted out and ready to fly with an active registered Experimental N number. It really needs nothing except a hang test with me and fuel aboard, and a thorough inspection by someone who knows gyros inside and out.

 

Yeah, bending a new (to you) aircraft is not fun. You've got a good approach and, as you get more time with your instructor, your confidence will increase, and flying your gyro won't seem so new. Any chance your instructor, or someone experienced you know in the gyro community, could take it up to wring it out... after it's ready? If not, could you arrange to do your first solo flight in it, with your instructor there, on the ground? Always helped me to have good support for those first few flights. No matter what, you'll figure it out...

 

Yes, there are plenty of accomplished gyro pilots who would like to fly this thing.

I’ll need to solo in it. Since gyros are not certificated aircraft you have to solo in your own gyro with rare exceptions.

 

And even though I sold my Kolb Ultrastar ultralight, I haven’t given up on fixed wing ultralights either.

I’m working on a crazy idea with a friend and fellow gyroplane owner who is a military drone developer.

I had mentioned on a gyroplane forum the idea of taking an old “barn find” gyroplane and converting it to a fixed wing ultralight, essentially replacing the gyroplane’s rotor and rotor head with a stubby wing. He had already been contemplating the idea too so we’re developing it. He has built a quarter scale remote control prototype version.

He’ll be experimenting with it and making design changes to it over the next two months, and based on his tests we’ll be building a full scale version this winter.

The wing will have a low aspect ratio, one that’s only a little wider side to side than it is from front to back, and loosely based on the Nemeth Parasol. This plane was developed and flown successfully in the 1930s and much of modern day delta wing and flying wing aircraft design were built on Nemeth’s ideas:


The wing itself is shaped like a pancake or an umbrella - or a UFO. But ours will have an octagon or hexagon shape, with a cut out at the rear for the propellor to pass through, and behind that the rudder with a horizontal stabilizer.

The wing will be about 14’ wide and 12’ front to rear and should have a very low stall speed, stable in flight and very easy to learn how to fly.

The wing itself will be mostly made from rigid xps foam insulation and carbon fiber so it will be very light. Since it doesn’t have wide wings it’s not subject to the forces that the leverage of wide narrow wings cause in flight, and a circular wing design is inherently strong.

If it’s successful we’ll make the plans open source so others can build it.