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#12
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In article , Ken
Sandyeggo wrote: ust a point of curiousity. Accepting payment for flight instruction in an experimental has been illegal unless it was a gyro with the PRA exemption. I believe the rules have changed recently, but how did Rotorway get away with giving lessons at their factory for all those years in experimental helicopters? Did they say it was "free" if you bought and built a kit? This confusion is because you are thinking of the rules for Experimental/Amatuer-Built. Obviously Rotorway couldn't get by with calling their training ships Amateur-Built, so they are in one of the other Experimental categories. http://www.landings.com/ shows three N numbers that are registered to Rotorway which I was able to easily find. These are N904, N906, N907. The first two are Experimental/Market Survey, while the third appeard to be a number they have reserved for future use. The Market Survey registration allows the company to give demo rides and flight training in an aircraft that has not gone through the FAR 23 certification process. Steve |
#13
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I flew solo with a sign off from the CFI It requires renewing every 90
days. In fact the first time he signed me off he forgot to put the 90 day thing in and I flew for awhile longer than 90 days. I would sure be careful and keep the Scorpion at a hover until you get at least 40hrs. successful. The inital hover time on a completed Safari is 20hrs. before it is flown in the pattern and the Safari doesn't have some of the funny drive package you have in the Scorpion. The first pattern flite involved an auto to insure that there was enough down pitch to get proper blade speed. Good luck (luck is better than skill) Stu. wrote in message ... Most of the problems with the one I have are due to age. A lot of the aluminum parts have surface oxidation that must be hand removed and polished. I am planning on having all the aluminum parts hard anodized so that they don't do that again. The tail rotor slider mechanism was rusted and I had to work it pretty hard to get it going again. I am planning on having the TR shaft hard chrome plated so that it will wear better. The steel frame is actually in remarkable shape. I'm not sure what they used to paint it, but I hope to get something that good to repaint it. The only components that I am really worried about are the blades. They only have about 25 hours on them, but also have age cracks in the composite. I haven't contacted BJ about the Scorpion One. I don't think he would have time to talk to me since he is very busy with his helicycle project. I have the blueprints for the Scorpion 2 and was considering getting those for the One, but the One is almost identical to the 2 so I'm not sure if I should bother. The bent cable is for the collective. Its a nutty way of doing things, but it does work. Its just not as good as a regular system. The only real problem with the bent cable rotor head is that it does not use elastomeric bearings. It uses unsealed thrust bearings instead. However, because of the way the cable head works, they only move when you actually move the collective. I'll probably have to spend a bit of time every few hours of operation greasing them, but a friend showed me a trick where I can grease them easily with a hypodermic needle. Hopefully that will make operating it more manageable. I'm still not sure what to do about the license. Dennis H. "Stu Fields" wrote: I had two Scorpion ones and sold them to a guy who had an A&P try to get them going. They still have not been in the air. He had a lot of trouble with slipping tail rotor belts. There are some problems with the old rotor head. B.J Schramm, the designer should be contacted about those problems. I believe I heard him tell one person not to fly the version with the looped cable in the head. I used to fly a Benson gyro with a McCullough engine. It was a quiet sewing machine compared to the sound of the Evinrude engine in the Scorpion. Be very careful. Stu Fields wrote in message ... "Gig Giacona" wrote: You will have to be signed off by and instructor for that aircraft. Do you already own a flyable Scorpion? You will most likely have to get back in the R22 for your check ride. My scorpion is a single seater and is not completely restored yet. I checked with Rotorway, but it does not seem that there is any way to get instruction in a scorpion one. I wonder if a scorpion 2 is close enough. The scopion 2 and scorpion one are basically the same helicopter with the 2 being bigger and wider. It is starting to look like I'm going to have to get my certificate by soloing in the R22 and then just switch to the scorpion afterwards. It seems like thats a waste of money though since I will have to relearn everything in the scorpion. I have all the parts to the scorpion one, but I am not sure what to do with the rotor blades. It looks like there are fine cracks in the composite. I wonder if simply recoating them with new resin will be good enough or if I have to rewrap them. They only have about 25 hours on them. I will also say that the scorpion 1 was definitely not designed for people with normal length legs. Its a real pain getting in and out of it. Dennis H. Dennis Hawkins n4mwd AT amsat DOT org (humans know what to do) "A RECESSION is when you know somebody who is out of work. A DEPRESSION is when YOU are out of work. A RECOVERY is when all the H-1B's are out of work." To find out what an H-1B is and how they are putting Americans out of work, visit the following web site and click on the "Exporting America" CNN news video: http://zazona.com/ShameH1B/MediaClips.htm Dennis Hawkins n4mwd AT amsat DOT org (humans know what to do) "A RECESSION is when you know somebody who is out of work. A DEPRESSION is when YOU are out of work. A RECOVERY is when all the H-1B's are out of work." To find out what an H-1B is and how they are putting Americans out of work, visit the following web site and click on the "Exporting America" CNN news video: http://zazona.com/ShameH1B/MediaClips.htm |
#14
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Dennis,
Do yourself (and your family) a favor and throw away all the Scorpion junk. I'm sory, but if you want to take ridculous risks, try tightrope walking. Seriously. For some reason most here using this forumn are obviously kit chopper hobbysts and won't face the music and tell you that you're gambling with your life fooling around w/ this junk. Try Robinson. Schweitzer, Bell ect. |
#15
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Just two cents from an old gasser who has survived over 40 years of
helicopter flying PLEASE think twice about old components Robinson's 12 year limit is intended to do a lot more than sell overhauls Airplanes can tolerate age (and inevitable corrosion) on nearly everything except wing spars and control cables Helicopters/Gryos cannot tolerate corrosion without fatal results on nearly anything |
#16
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Well, "junk" is in the eyes of the beholder I guess. I do have plans for upgrading the Scorpion's rotor head and control systems at some time. It currently uses the old cable-in-shaft system. Upgrading the power transmission system to a transmission/shaft system will be a little longer. The first upgrade on the list is the landing gear. Scorpions have a low (and thus dangerous) landing gear. The gear needs to be more like an R22 so that the steel will cushion an impact with the ground. There are several upgrades that I will be doing before I take it more than a few feet up. The ignition system on the evinrude motor needs attention. Its a solid state electronic module made in the late 60's. I have heard rumors that this unit can fail. I want to convert to some sort of makeshift dual ignition system like the one that the R22 uses. And the list goes on. Don't worry about me and my bird. I also plan to eddy current test or magnaflux all the critical components. Speaking of which, does anybody know if x-ray is a better test than eddy current when testing aluminum parts? Dennis H. (helicopterandy) wrote: Dennis, Do yourself (and your family) a favor and throw away all the Scorpion junk. I'm sory, but if you want to take ridculous risks, try tightrope walking. Seriously. For some reason most here using this forumn are obviously kit chopper hobbysts and won't face the music and tell you that you're gambling with your life fooling around w/ this junk. Try Robinson. Schweitzer, Bell ect. Dennis Hawkins n4mwd AT amsat DOT org (humans know what to do) "A RECESSION is when you know somebody who is out of work. A DEPRESSION is when YOU are out of work. A RECOVERY is when all the H-1B's are out of work." To find out what an H-1B is and how Congress is using them to put Americans out of work, visit the following web site and click on the "Exporting America" CNN news video: http://zazona.com/ShameH1B/MediaClips.htm |
#17
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#18
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Man. Your messages about flight training and your experimental
helicopter just give me cold chills. I'd have to agree with the others who've suggested that you give this another thought. Do you have kids? A family? It's not worth it, guy. I'm not trying to disparage your helicopter in any way. And it's not my intent to hurt yer feelings. I think it's great that you're enthusiastic about rotary wing flight. But I read your words about the equipment you're using, and how you're trying to shave the costs off of your training by earning some of your solo time in your homebuilt. Okay, first things first: 15 hours is a tiny slice no matter what. You will not be proficient at 15 hours. You will not be proficient at 30, and probably not 45. Even if you're amazingly talented, you will not be ready to handle an emergency in that thing at 75 hours. And the type of failures you're likely to encounter will be more severe, unpredictable and vastly more difficult to counteract than in an R-22. Is your life really worth this? Rent an R-22! If it takes twice as long and twice as much moolah to get your ticket, so be it! Plus you can bring a passenger. Side note. Forget the Scorpion for meeting solo requirements. (You do realize you need an endorsement for that specific helicopter, right?) No sane instructor would sign you off to solo that thing. Lord have mercy. -Ryan (CFII, airplanes and helicopters) |
#19
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The R22 is a fine helicopter. However, there are those that fly jet rangers that would call the R22 a "Death Trap". You suggested that the Scorpion is not safe. However, you did not specify 'why' you don't consider it safe. I don't mean to sound argumentative, but I need cold, hard facts and not general rumors that the ship is dangerous. What is specifically bad about the Scorpion? I realize that there are many unorthodox things being done, but is that really bad? Take the cable-in-shaft control head for example. The entire rotor head tilts on a U-Joint rather than cyclicly changining the pitch as does a traditional helicopter. You might look at that and wonder why BJ Shramm did it that way. Here is the answer. At the time, the patent on elastomeric bearings was still in effect. BJ could not use them. He elected to use traditional thrust roller bearings. The problem with using these bearings is that if they are under a load and are used cyclicly (rocking back and forth with every revolution), the grease rolls out of the way after a few minutes of operation and the bearings have to operate without lubrication. This results in a failure. To avoid this problem, BJ tilted the entire rotor head rather than changing the pitch cyclicly. In fact, the pitch on the blades only changes when the collective is moved and not the cyclic. This results in the grease being retained for a longer period of time. It still needs frequent regreasing, but at least you don't need a new set of bearings after each hour of flight. But getting back to the main point, I really do want to hear about specific problems with the Scorpion. I want to correct these problems as much as possible. Dennis H. (Ryan Ferguson) wrote: Man. Your messages about flight training and your experimental helicopter just give me cold chills. I'd have to agree with the others who've suggested that you give this another thought. Do you have kids? A family? It's not worth it, guy. Side note. Forget the Scorpion for meeting solo requirements. (You do realize you need an endorsement for that specific helicopter, right?) No sane instructor would sign you off to solo that thing. Lord have mercy. Dennis Hawkins n4mwd AT amsat DOT org (humans know what to do) "A RECESSION is when you know somebody who is out of work. A DEPRESSION is when YOU are out of work. A RECOVERY is when all the H-1B's are out of work." To find out what an H-1B is and how Congress is using them to put Americans out of work, visit the following web site and click on the "Exporting America" CNN news video: http://zazona.com/ShameH1B/MediaClips.htm |
#20
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wrote in message ... To avoid this problem, BJ tilted the entire rotor head rather than changing the pitch cyclicly. In fact, the pitch on the blades only changes when the collective is moved and not the cyclic. This results in the grease being retained for a longer period of time. It still needs frequent regreasing, but at least you don't need a new set of bearings after each hour of flight. OK - silly question. On the face of it, it seems to make a lot of sense to do it this way - simple connection - you could probably lose the swashplate somehow too - fewer cyclical forces on components - less chance of mast bumping What are the downsides other than potentially odd handling? I should imagine that the control forces would be enormous and pushing the rotor head forwards would cause the fuselage to pitch backwards for a start-off. Regards Andrew -- Inweb Networks. Quality internet and telecoms services Sales: 08000 612222 Support: 08704322222. http://www.inweb.co.uk E1 call share - 65%. 0800, 0845 and 0870 numbers - best rates. Resellers welcome |
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