I Wanna Build an Aeroplane

In article , Ken Sandyeggo
says...
I snipped the earlier replies for brevity - KO

I'm not a real technical bug, but you're right, I should have said
"power-pushover." I've seen photos of it.

I haven't (seen photos) but I've read enough NTSB gyro accidents, and
"aftermath" photos from the
British AAIB, that my mind's eye fills in. Ya know what I mean.

RAF says
that it "stabilizes the rotor."

It's still pretty experimental, I think. They had it on a gyro in the tent at
OSH and I could not get a
coherent explanation. Everyone said talk to Duane. However, at Fond du Lac Duane
was busy as
hell doing demo flights. I spent one half day there -- all I could -- and never
got the chance to
talk to him. His gyro had the rotor stabilator on it. As Dofin explained it, it
serves to both return
the rotor to its position/trimmed speed, and also -- and this, in my opinion, is
the more important
use -- to provide asymptotically increasing stick force with stick displacement.
In other words, the
more you move it, the more it resists being moved. This might be very
beneficial for a novice RAF
driver -- as you well know, and as I am slowly learning, it's a fingertip
airplane, not something
where you throw the stick around with wild abandon.

But even Dofin said, "talk to Duane," so until I do, I can't say with 100%
certainty what his goals
with the stabbed machine are. He clearly is pretty confident with it because he
flies pax in it on
demo flights, but then again he's got a bunch of gyro hours.


The gyro forum is down right now.

Where can I find that? Might be an educational place to lurk.


As far as I know, they only have 3 dealers left in the
U.S.

I heard only two, and Jim Mayfield is going hard after them. I have seen this
with my own eyes!
Mayfield has a different concept of dealers, or maybe it's fairer to say he is
going further along in
the direction RAF was trying to go with full-service dealers (sales, service,
builder assistance, and
especially training).

There were four left, but the one in Florida got all his tickets
suspended for a year.

I have flown with that guy and while he enjoys the capabilities of the RAF, I
didn't think we were
ever within hailing distance of "unsafe." I have been plenty scared in fixed and
rotary wing aircraft,
and with him and the RAF, I wasn't. FWIW.

He is still a dealer and provides all the services he can while suspended. I
personally doubt that his
DE will be returned to him, but the other licences should be after a year on the
bench. He is not by
nature a super patient man, and I think this is a very frustrating year for him.

AAI has a dealer in the greater Tampa area. Nice fellow.

(They had around a dozen just a few years ago.
They lost their New Zealand and Australian dealers also.)

There were a couple of South Africans looking for the franchise for their
homeland. Had a good
time talking politics, etc., with them ("We can live with it... it's the least
****ed up country in all
Africa!" was the sentiment). They flew both machines, back to back. I have no
idea which way they
went, if any.

FWIW to get to the RAF tent you had to walk past the AAI tent. However, both
groups were bending
over backwards to make sure that someone who came to Fondy specifically to fly
one gyro or the
other got to the right guys.

The RAF people believe that AAIs stress on safety and stability & control is a
direct attack on them,
and they are defensive about the safety of their machine. I think that the basis
for this is largely
emotional: who wants to believe that his design has contributed to the early
demise of people who
trusted him?

Unfortunately the aerodynamic research is in AAI's favour. Dofin told me, which
is apparently the
RAF party line, that there has been no new gyro stability & control stuff
published since NACA in
the thirties... unfortunately, that's not true; the University of Glasgow did
(and is still doing)
extensive S&C work, now with a Magni that has been modified to have an
adjustable thrustline,
Center of Mass, and control surfaces... and they concluded that the most
important things were (1)
centerline thrust, and (2) a stab. The centerline thrust is of overriding
importance.


instructing in an illegal gyro,

As I understand it, he didn't wait for a registration on a customer machine.
Foolish, but like I say,
he ain't a poster boy for vulture-like patience.

but he's the one that had about 4
students and a passenger die in unstabbed RAFs after taking lessons

Now, when I flew with him we discussed this, and he said that he would recommend
the stab for
students... he thought it was unnecessary once a pilot got experience.

I think that they needed to get him on
the ground for awhile someway.

I think if they really believed he was unsafe, they wouldn't pussyfoot around
with a suspension.
FAA are not shy about seeking revocation, and an excuse can be as good as a
reason with them.

My converted gyro flies like a dream now. It was a great investment
on the conversion. No more pitching and yawing all over the place.


A couple questions:

1) did it cost you anything in cruise speed? Or rate of climb?

2) How bout crosswind capability? RAF says the conversion hurts this, But it
sure seemed to my
inexperienced feet to have more rudder authority, not less.


Here are some comments by Doug Riley, a

Thanks, Ken... these were interesting. Like I said, where is that rotor forum
at?

cheers

-=K=-

Rule #1: Don't hit anything big.