Replies

1. 
   StanFoster | Jan 24, 2004 07:54pm | #1

   This is a view of a rock quarry just east of Kentland, Indiana.  I was retunring from a three day vacation in my gyrocopter. I was packed in the cockpit like a sardine with my luggage under my knees.   The second picture is Lake Shelbyville...in Illinois. I was enroute to another gyrocopter fly-in.  The third was a groupof RAF 2000's flying over Mentone, Indiana.

   
1. 
   StanFoster | Jan 24, 2004 07:59pm | #2

   My daughter Jennifer ready to go up....I better get it out of the shop first....

   
1. 
   StanFoster | Jan 24, 2004 08:02pm | #3

   Some flying buddies...the first is a quicksilver ultralight with a 503 rotax.     The second is a Kolb with also a 503.

1. 
   xMikeSmith | Jan 24, 2004 08:58pm | #4

   stan...nice pics..

    do you ever get down to Ivesdale area..... my grandmother & grandfather left there to pioneer in Michigan... too many kids , not enough farm... had to move out for more opportunities

   hey, larry siders says he's comming east for RhodeFest, what about you ?Mike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

1. 
   StanFoster | Jan 25, 2004 12:47am | #6

   Mike:    I have been near Ivesdale enroute to a fly-in....but most of my flying is north of Champaign, Il.

2. 
   deadmanmike | Jan 24, 2004 09:35pm | #5

   Hey Stan,

   The rotors on the RAFs are frozen pretty clearly, so I know you're using fast film, but the pics are all remarkably clear. It gives me the impression that it's a pretty calm ride. I just kinda figgered it would be buzzy and vibrating.

   Nice shots at any rate, but is it as calm a ride as the pics show, or is it just really fast film?

   MikeWe do Fast, Cheap, and Reliable work.

   Just pick any two.

1. 
   StanFoster | Jan 25, 2004 01:02am | #7

   Mike Gabriel:    A gyrocopter is about the least affected by wind and thermals of any aircraft.   That is one major advantage they have.  I can go up mid afternoon on a hot day when the thermals are active.  In a conventional airplane or an ultralight...you can get bounced around hard.   In a gyrocopter ...the worst I have ever felt is like riding an ocean wave....you may start going up or down..but its more of a rolling action.  The only vibration you feel is a slight rotor shake coming through the cyclic.  If one gets the blades to tracking right...and the chordwise balance is dead on...the blades are fairly smooth. 

   What causes this two per rev shake is the aerodynamics of the rotor in relation to the relative wind.   When the rotor blade is lateral....3 o'clock/9o'clock....the sideways exposure of the blades  are creating a lot of drag because of the whole side profile of the rotor blades being exposed to the relative wind. This causes the mast to flex back slightly.   Then when the blades rotate and are for and aft..12 o'clock/6 o'clock...just the end of the rotor blades are exposed to the relative wind.  This is very minimal drag and the mast then flexes forward.  Thus creating a  two per rev shake.  My RAF has a floating mast which has high density polymer sandwiched between the upper and lower sections of the mast. This allows the mast to flex and take up most of this vibration. What little is left then is transmitted through the cyclic controls and then this is what is felt on the joystick.

   I am obsessed with rotor aerodynamics.  It is a most fascinating topic to me.  There is so much more that goes on in  a rotor.  Ask anything as I love to talk about it....more than stairways even.  

1. 
   deadmanmike | Jan 25, 2004 02:06am | #8

   Stan, thanks for the explanation!

   I understand the basics of rotor flight controls(cyclic,collective, pedals) and would love to learn to fly someday.... If nothing else, your love of it(OK maybe obsession is better :) has made me realize how attainable it is. And how pleasant an experience it is-like I said, I always thought they were shaky.

   Thanks, and keep the pics/info coming.

   MikeWe do Fast, Cheap, and Reliable work.

   Just pick any two.

2. 
   DanT | Jan 28, 2004 05:12am | #14

   Stan,

   I think that is just the coolest hobby. (gush like a school girl)   All the things built into one item.  Building, mechanical skills, creativity, something you can  primarily build alone.  To bad I hate flying.  But I really enjoy hearing about you doing it and the pictures are great!  DanT

3. 
   stefs3 | Jan 27, 2004 03:22am | #9

   Stan,

   Them thangs look like bugs-dragon flies, I think.

   Sure beats the view from 30000, don't it?

   STef

1. 
   StanFoster | Jan 27, 2004 04:01am | #10

   Stef:   Its hard to describe.  It is much different than a regular airplane. 

2. 
   JeffBuck | Jan 27, 2004 06:44am | #11

    "Number 21 is a bed and breakfast that is only visible from the air. "

   Can't ya see it if yer standing on the ground ...... next to it??

   That IS weird!

   Jeff

   
    

   Buck Construction   Pittsburgh,PA

        Artistry in Carpentry                

1. 
   StanFoster | Jan 27, 2004 02:31pm | #12

   Jeff:     Ok.....I meant to say you cant see it from the highway.  Its back in a wooded area by a winding creek. The lane going to it has electronic gates  that i dont have the password to unless I give them $200.  I have the password for the airspace above however....N500SF 

1. 
   JeffBuck | Jan 28, 2004 02:43am | #13

   Oh don;t go changing stories now ...

   this is like Beckman denying that there'a a prison in Marion ....

   You guys and yer secrets .....

   JeffBuck Construction   Pittsburgh,PA

        Artistry in Carpentry                

3. 
   darcey | Jan 28, 2004 08:36am | #15

   Stan, thank you for the great pictures! I have really enjoyed this series.

   Ever since you started posting them, I have been having flying dreams again. Heck, I haven't had flying dreams since I was a kid, and they were always my favorite! Thank you so much.

   Anyway, when I was a kid, I never had any trouble landing in my dreams. Last couple of nights though, I can't seem to figure out how to land, so I wake up instead. Got any pointers? <big grin, but I kinda really want to know>

   I think it's wonderful that your beautiful daughter participates in your hobby. What fun! Can she fly by herself?

   So thanks for the pictures, it's a wonderful vacation to see them.

   darcy

1. 
   StanFoster | Jan 28, 2004 02:37pm | #16

   Thanks guys.   I was hesitant posting some flying pictures last year in this woodworking forum...but then I "stretched" it a little and tied it in with all the "wood" I was flying over.

   These machines are really "sleepers"....meaning is that very few people know about them and how nice they handle wind. They are fantastic engine out machines as you can land practically in a rock pile.

   My daughter hasnt flown with me as I have not had this two seater in the air yet. I have to get some experience before I take her up in it. 

1. 
   butch | Jan 30, 2004 02:19pm | #17

   So how much longer do we have to wait before "we" get this thing (gyro) up?

   Inquiring minds want to know.

1. 
   StanFoster | Jan 31, 2004 04:17am | #18

   butch:   I am doing the "hang test" next week.  This involves lifting the whole machine off the ground by the teeter bolt. Thats the bolt that holds the rotor on...also known as the "Jesus" bolt.   This determines that the rotorcrafts center of gravity is in range so the cyclic controls have enough for and aft movement.   If say....the craft is nose heavy....one could run out of back stick when flaring to land.

   This is more complex of a rotorcraft than the ones I have flown.  It is a two seater...fully enclosed...twice the power....about 2.5 times the weight....etc.    Even though I "think" I could just take off in it after taxiing with it a while...I am going to ride along in some of my friends RAF2000's and get the "feel"  of it.  If I dont feel comfortable enough after that....then I will get a few hours of training.

   My other ones were single seaters and I was self taught. At the time...it was hard to find anyone close enough to train with.  You can teach yourself to fly one if you really have your heart in it and read...read...read...

   In reality...I will be taxiing it sometimes in Febuary.  I cannot legally leave the ground with it until its had is airworthiness inspection.  The federal guy has been notified and said he can come anytime to inspect it.