Anyone here built a GyroBee?

rcflier

rcflier

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Hi guys.

I have this old dream af building a gyroplane - a GyroBee, specifically.

And I have all the expensive parts, I just need to get some aluminum.

But I need drawings of a rotor head for the McCutchen Skywheels rotor blades
and a kick in the butt to get me started - it's already taken 25 years.

The last few years I've had both lathe and mill plus I know a certified alu welder,
so I really have the means to build it.

Cheers
Erik
 
Well, it ain't gonna get done by talking about it. There's only one way to get through a project like that, and that's to start building it. There are lots of parts that need to be made for a project like that. You didn't say if you had plans for the rest of it. Without plans, that type of a project is nearly impossible to build. If you do have plans for some parts, start making parts.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Get to steppin!

Marcel
 
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Is the Gyrobee the same as the one in the James Bond movie"You only live twice",gussied up with props of weapons and a bit of fuselage?
 
I downloaded the plans years ago. It's a proven construction with many built.

From the start I wanted to build the BumbleBee by Martin Hollman, but he burned me (sort of).

The GyroBee is the same kind and size of autogyro as the BumbleBee, so all my parts will do.

George, "Little Nellie" from "You Only Live Twice" is a (Ken) Wallis Autogyro. Very nice.

I have the McCutchen Skywheels 23" blades with center piece and a Rotax single carb 503 engine.

Plus a propeller and a few instruments. I'll have to go through the plans and text very carefully
and translate both. Maybe the plans for the rotor head is there somewhere. But I believe different
blades required different head construction.

I think getting the material and smaller components is the hardest part of the build. It's not something
you buy in a normal store.

Cheers
Erik

PS: J. Mark Wolf, you've built a beautiful helicopter.
 
Soooooo, did you start on your Gyrobee. I'm doing the beginning research to do the same thing in year or so.
 
Hey fellow Gyro folks...

I am in the middle of restoring a Dominator single, with a Subbie EA-81 on the back.
Mine has the RFD rotor head that lowers the 2X rotation shake... and a pair of 12' dragon wings.

Hope to get mine put together and solo this fall. I have a FW PP-SEL license... yet am not current at the time.
 
Hi John. Like I wrote somewhere else, I finally got the go-ahead on my Gyrobee.

Last year I was told (more or less between the lines) homebuilt gyros were not possible.
Maybe in theory yes, but a build would not be approved. Then someone lost his post,
and after waiting most of a year, I finally had the guts to ask the new materials manager.

And I got an overwhelmingly positive answer. And the one who has to oversee my build,
is an old hand at building - he flies an Air Command low rider and is positive also, of course.

So now I need to find suppliers of what I need. Tubing, wheels etc. And although we have
a very high weight limit on a gyro in Denmark, my rotor, engine and wanted performance
makes me consider a very light build. True to the original, but not with all the bells and
whistles one could ask for. Per the law I do need some instruments, but that's it.

I need to translate drawings and instructions. And to get my build approved my gyro needs a
handbook describing its performance envelope etc..

Cheers
Erik
 
Hey Eric,

Sounds like you are back on track with your project... it is indeed an undertaking to build an aircraft... regardless of the type.

The GyroBee is a good design... in the USA we call those 'part 103' machines... they must be 'less than 255#' dry weight (without the pilot). In the USA... you are exempt from registration or pilot training with a part 103 machine... however it is a VERY basic machine. Most folks, if they start with a part 103... move forward and build/buy something larger.
Having said that... the better pilots started out with small and light machines... one learns to fly more precisely on a light machine... Think of the difference between driving a small sports car (Miata) vs a full size pickup truck.

The most important thing, as a pilot and builder, I can stress to you: You MUST have some experienced gyro folks help you with your build.
While this is not rocket science... it IS considerably more complicated than auto engineering.
Now when I say complicated... I am not saying tedious detailed machinery, like a clock...
Rather subtle engineering stuff... like choosing the proper metal to make the parts...
*Too heavy... it weights down the aircraft, affecting performance... and maybe your legal limit weight.
*Too thin... and it can develop stress cracks... which you may not find until that 'one last flight'... the one you never come home from.
Not meaning to be a jerk with that... just trying to instill some serious thought.

If it were me... I would BUY the roterhead... rather than build one. It is by far the most complex part. And remember... your life is hanging on it.
It is hard to inspect a rotorhead for stress cracks at every pre-flight... just too hard to see all the places where they start.
So folks get sloppy... and we can imagine the results.

There was a guy in Texas a few years ago... he was one of the masters... everyone knew him.
He rebuilt his rotorhead... yet he assembled the head upsidedown... he DID know better...
Long story short... it came apart around 300 ft AGL (above ground level)... I think you can figure out the rest... :(

If it were me, I would BUY the rotorhead... the rest you can build...
Please read this carefully:
Build under the supervision of seasoned gyro folks who know their stuff.
They will probably pop your enthusiasm bubble... that is part of bringing a new aviator into the folds of a SAFE aviator.
Otherwise... you may well become a statistic that hurts the sport.
So listen to them, let them lead, and do as they say...

Looking forward to hearing about your project, and hearing you solo-ed and fly!
There is nothing like flying... it just 'is'... :)
BTW: One of the other mods here was a helicopter 'crew chief' during a war... guy has a LOT of cool stories!

Here is a link to our gyro club:
www-peachstaterotorcraft.org

Google rotorcraft forums...
You will find a couple of gyro forums...
Read, read, read...
And ask, ask, ask.
 
Hi John, thank you for your advice.

I have been a member of both RWF and Skywolverines for quite some time.
And I bought a NOS rotor head off Darren (Flying Wolverine). I asked Joe Souza and it's one of his old heads.

I have an (old) BsC in Mechanical engineering and have read and asked all that I have been able to since the early 80's.

In Denmark we have a limit of 560 kg. for an ultralight gyro. In fact, all gyros in Denmark are ultralights. But they have to be individually certified by the controllers of our "Gyro Union" and you have to earn a license. Ground school is the same as a PPL (with some extra stuff, of course).

Having really no weight limit when you build a single seat gyro makes it possible to build safe. The limits I have are: The weight range of my Skywheels and the power of my engine/prop combination. Yes, I read about the upside-down rotorhead. In fact, when you arrive at RWF, the first post you see is someone asking, if his rotor head is assembled correctly.

I am not alone building this. Like in the EAA, someone is overseeing my build and I have to present what I will be building before I start. My controller is a very old hand at building (I believe we have only two, and the other is the one, who won't certify any homebuilt) and flying and I can get all the help I need.

We decided on a Gyrobee instead of a Dominator because of the low, wide stance of the Bee. Earlier I asked on RWF what gyro I should choose, Dom, Bee or Hornet, but of course that's an individual choice. The Bee is old and simple, Hornet is improved and the Dom is more complicated and can be upgraded. A Bee can't - not when I'm already using a 503.

I do like Gabor's Behemoth, and he'll give me the drawing for the asking. But that would require a larger engine.

Having a quite modest income, I plan on sticking with what I have: NOS Rotax 503 (SCSI) that can be upgraded with one more carb, NOS 23' Skywheels, NOS Rotor Hawk rotor head, a wrong propeller and some instruments.

I'm looking at propellers and there are no easy choices. They all damage easily, except the Warp Drive. But that one is noisy, and that could be a problem. Right now I'm looking at a propeller made in Ukraine (so is my favourite UL plane, the Aeroprakt 22 - wow). It has a scimitar blade and a 3 blade 160 cm version cost the same as the 60" Warp.

But first, I need to make my shop useable, well-stocked and clean. Assemble my lathe and buy what I need (like inch reamers for the AN bolts).

Cheers
Erik
 
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