PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Gyrocopter involved in murder charge
View Single Post
Old 10th Mar 2009, 20:50
  #34 (permalink)  
ChrisVJ
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Kelowna Wine Country
Posts: 509
Likes: 0
Received 26 Likes on 12 Posts
As a minor contribution, I am under the impression that unless they are actually on their take off run or landing run out gyrocopters generally taxi with the rotor blades static or nearly static. It takes flying speed to rotate the blades at a rate that would be dangerous.

On a taxi way a pedestrian could be struck by the body or the propulsion blades and I guess in the wrong circumstances could be killed by either. It would be terrible to learn that the piloit had played chicken with a protester on the ground, on the other hand the brakes on my aircraft, (not a gyro,) are not of the order of auto brakes. From 40 knots it take me maybe 50 or 60 yards to stop, if confronted by someone while moving I might not be able to stop in the kind of distance they might expect.

There have been several instances of accusations of low or 'less than 500'" separation, some of which have cropped up on Pprune, but mostly they have ended up being put down to mis-perception by inexperienced or agenda driven viewers. Part of the problem these days is that people seem to think it is OK to 'stretch' the unmeasurable when it suits their purpose.

Just a comment on the world in general, I was not there, and I just don't know. Why can't these people (both sides) get worked up about global warming and go out and buy some carbon credits!
ChrisVJ is offline