Dead forum
Dead forum
Guest
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This seems to happen to this forum at frequent intervals. I think we should be grateful to Lu Zuckerman for at least waking it up! But I agree; there must be something we can talk about apart from the safety or otherwise of R22s.
Whirly
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To fly is human, to hover, divine.
Whirly
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To fly is human, to hover, divine.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Right, managed two new topics while waiting for the fog outside to clear so that possibly I can go flying. Visibility is still crap, but maybe I'd better shut up now before I bore you all to distraction. It must be someone else's turn.
Flood Control says I'm overdoing it anyway
Whirly
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To fly is human, to hover, divine.
Flood Control says I'm overdoing it anyway
Whirly
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To fly is human, to hover, divine.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Dead Board? I'll try - want to get into recreational flying. Have studied some of the ground school books, now have to take flight training. Wondering about learning to fly an autogiro as well as a helicopter. Think they cost less to operate/own than rotary-wing, but nobody I know flys one. Any idea what the flying characteristics are like? [I acknowledge it can never hover].
Cheers.
Cheers.
Guest
Posts: n/a
hover lover, I had two trial lessons in a gyro about a year ago. That hardly makes me an expert, but possibly more than most others on this forum! They are fairly easy to fly; I was managing circuits and landings by the second lesson, though not the take-off, which is a bit complicated for reasons I can't now remember. It's a little like a cross between flying a fixed wing aircraft and a helicopter, so if you've flown both it probably helps; having said that I haven't that many hours on either, and I'm slow to learn new things anyway.
Gyros are fun! They may not take off vertically, but manage it in a very very short distance, especially if there's any headwind at all. They land almost on the spot. They are very responsive and manoeverable, and will fly very slowly if you want to. Practice engine failures are easier than for either f/w or helos - the rotor keeps on turning as it's not powered, and you just glide gently down to earth - no stress at all.
They are cheap to buy and run, and also very safe. The only snags as far as I can see are the following:
Most of them are single seater and open cockpit, which is fun but a bit limiting in a cold climate. The only exception (in the UK) is the RAF 2000, but it's relatively expensive, and reputed to be very difficult to fly (not sure I believe that though!)
In the UK there are only seven instructors, so it may be hard to find one in your own area. May not be the case in the US.
In the UK they only come in kit form or secondhand, and you have to buy one, can't hire them. Also, as there are very few gyro pilots, mechanics etc, you need to do virtually everything yourself - again, may be different in the US.
They are extremely noisy - though probably no worse than helicopters. That, and an unjustified reputation for being dangerous, means you may have difficulty keeping one at a local airstip or farmers field - I was told I probably couldn't for this reason.
And of course they can't hover
Having given it some thought, I never went on with gyro flying. But I may some day, as I find them fascinating.
I hope this helps at least a bit.
Whirly
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To fly is human, to hover, divine.
Gyros are fun! They may not take off vertically, but manage it in a very very short distance, especially if there's any headwind at all. They land almost on the spot. They are very responsive and manoeverable, and will fly very slowly if you want to. Practice engine failures are easier than for either f/w or helos - the rotor keeps on turning as it's not powered, and you just glide gently down to earth - no stress at all.
They are cheap to buy and run, and also very safe. The only snags as far as I can see are the following:
Most of them are single seater and open cockpit, which is fun but a bit limiting in a cold climate. The only exception (in the UK) is the RAF 2000, but it's relatively expensive, and reputed to be very difficult to fly (not sure I believe that though!)
In the UK there are only seven instructors, so it may be hard to find one in your own area. May not be the case in the US.
In the UK they only come in kit form or secondhand, and you have to buy one, can't hire them. Also, as there are very few gyro pilots, mechanics etc, you need to do virtually everything yourself - again, may be different in the US.
They are extremely noisy - though probably no worse than helicopters. That, and an unjustified reputation for being dangerous, means you may have difficulty keeping one at a local airstip or farmers field - I was told I probably couldn't for this reason.
And of course they can't hover
Having given it some thought, I never went on with gyro flying. But I may some day, as I find them fascinating.
I hope this helps at least a bit.
Whirly
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To fly is human, to hover, divine.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Your reasoned response is a big help, Whirlybird. All the info I was able to get at the Pennsylvania airshow came from factory reps who wanted to sell me a kit for $10,000+. The Pitcairn autogyro was an impressive sight but nobody manufactures or sells an 80 year old design. After getting my recreational pilot's liscense, next stop is to buy + build a gyro. Takes plenty of investigation, anyone can set themselves up as a manufacturer of gyro kits, they're so easy to fabricate. The RAF2000 is a honey of an aircraft but too dear for most of us, including me.
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