Almost every flight I take in my gyrocopter…the thought goes through my head how these wonderful machines have got to be the best kept secret in aviation.
I mean….everyone….this is absolutely heaven on earth just cruising around looking at the terrain roll slowly under me…or fast if I want to go somewhere.
I just added a variable pitch propeller and does that little beauty ever expand the capabilities of this gyro. I can fly much faster at lower rpm’s…putt around at very low rpm’s. Everyone is commenting how much quieter it is now. Plus…I am saving on my engine and my fuel budget……translation….more flying…<G>.
Merry Christmas to all…..
Stan
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Great pics! What does one of those gyrocopters cost?
You can get a good used....open frame single seat gyrocopter from $5000 to $10000. These have no cabin...single place...kind of like a flying lawn chair.
Stan
Stan,Let's say a person has no experience in aviation - what's the learning curve to get started from square 1 with a gyrocopter? You buy a good used machine (or build your own if you're mechanically inclined, as you did), and then what? Can you just start flying? I know there's an FAA "leash" until you have a certain number of hours, but do you have to have official flight training, or is it pretty much learn-as-you-go? How do you certify the number of hours you've logged (for FAA purposes)? How fast do they go, and are there any flight rules you have to follow??
Cool Stan...so it's kind of like those Superman dreams I used to have?
The landscape here in Maine is varied--ocean, mountains, lakes...do you know if that affect the gyrocopters at all?
Keep on climbin' and turnin',
Mike Maines
That sunset is just to cool..Stan is your outside air temp a little brisk? some great pics. Your prop modification has really improved performance, maybe someday the public will be introduced to this method of effiecent transportation. stinky
Stan - I was working Friday (Oxford/Covington GA - small, uncontrolled airport just a mile away) and a red, I swear, Sparrowhawk came right over and buzzed me while I was on the roof.
Thought it was you checking up on me!
Forrest - not a billionaire
Forrest: I will get to work on it and see if I cant locate that red SparrowHawk. By the way...it could have been an RAF2000 like I used to have....most people that arent into gyrocopters know the difference.
Stan
Forrest: Here it is ,......Randy Stiles...Rick Abercrombie is the instructor that flies it....I even have a picture in flight. Arent I good?
I know practically every SparrowHawk guy in the country.
Sorry...the picture doesnt come up.
Stan
Edited 12/17/2006 11:05 pm ET by StanFoster
Stan - that's amazing! I figured you guys were a close-knit community. I'll look him up and give him a hello.
As a kid, dad used to take us to that airport and we'd watch planes (nothing else here in late 60s) take off on nice Saturdays.
There used to be an active skydiving club until a few years ago, and even in the house you could hear the 'chutes pop and rustle on still days.
Spent some time Sunday with my oldest (9 & 6) learning to fly a tiny electric RC plane over at the college athletic field. They had a ball, especially when real light planes would come over.
Keep flying -
Forrest
Forrest: I tell you what...go for an introductory ride...I think it is around $50. You will have the time of your life.
Stan
Do you ever fly up over Stark County, Illinois?ANd, BTW, what is the difference between your machine and a helicopter?
ANd, BTW, what is the difference between your machine and a helicopter?
A helicopter spins its top blade really fast until it is able to lift the craft.
A gyro is more like an utralight. You start rolling down the runway and the top blade gets pushed by the wind and starts to spin. As you roll faster, it turns faster and eventually turns fast enough that you get lift from it.
The power from a gyro is the prop on the back pushing it foward. The power on a chopper is the prop on top.
And to confuse you further, I think fancy gyro's like Stan flies have mechanisms to pre-spin the top blade... not to make it take off like a helicopter, but rather to shorten take off distances.
So while a helicopter can take off straight up, a gyro will take off like an airplane. Although my understanding is that a gyro can land nearly like a chopper.
Stan will probably be along shortly with a better explaination.jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
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That's what he says!
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From:
[email protected] View ImageAdd to Address Book View ImageAdd Mobile Alert
Date:
Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:45:07 EST
Subject:
Re: Your Sparrowhawk
To:
[email protected]
Thank you for the compliment!! Come out sometime and fly with us.
Happy Holidays!!!Randy StilesAmerican AutoGyro of Atlanta, Ga.770-788-0182
And you're not out there because...?
;)
A free flight or a $50 intro flight... either one would be a blast.
jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
Stan:
I know that I shouldn't be envious, but I replaced a curved handrail with a pitch change and don't feel qualified to sweep your shop.
Now you're flying gyrocoptors. Geesh. How do you kind of guys do it? Please write a book and tell us.
Please, do not post a picture of your wife.
I'm green,
Kowboy
how do you adjust the prop pitch on your gyro? on fixed wing it's done usually with oil pressure... your?
just so you know... i go to lunch a few times a week at a few places just so i can drive past the small airport where i learned to fly...
p
ponytl: Its electric adjust.
Stan