Anyone here built a GyroBee?

THX for your reply Eric,
Sounds like you are plugged into the community.
My apologies if I came on a bit too heavy... we generally 'assume' (yeah, know about that... LOL) folks do not know what they are doing, until we know better.
Sounds like you have lots of guidance available also...
You will be fine!

We had our quarterly meeting of our group today (Saturday, March 5, 2016)...
We usually have the meeting at the hanger.
And as usual... any pretty day, a few folks interested in gyro's show up.
One of them (no names or features) was particularly what one might call:
Irrationally exuberant... <grin>
Guy would be dangerous to himself... and his adolescent son...
So I talked with him for about 45 minutes to get him to understand all the details and potential dangers... he 'kinda' heard some of it.
Hopefully, after a few more visits to the hanger... he will start to think with his brain... rather than his overly exuberant emotions... :)

One of the things we take VERY seriously at our hanger... is safety... things like:
*Any time any repairs are made to any gyro, at least one extra set of eyes MUST inspect it before flight. If it is a major repair... then at least 2 sets of eyes.
*Everyone does a pre-flight every flight (not just once a day)... and we prefer a second set of eyes for each pre-flight.
*All major modifications are to be discussed with others... BEFORE they are done! Talking it out... seems to find issues before they require extra time.
And in the 10+ years of the club... there has never been an accident including bodily injury!

So sorry if I came on a bit strong.... just trying to protect a potential fellow aviator... from making a mistake.
One cannot park an aircraft on a cloud to repair it... <grin>

Have a GREAT one!

John/GA
 
Hi John. I took no offense at all, on the contrary. I'm glad you wrote like that, I might not have known.

I frequent these social media (fora), because I'm all on my own on a small island (Bornholm) in the Baltic Sea.
I had to learn how to fly my R/C helicopters by myself - with a lot of online help.

But I do know I have to go abroad to have my build certified and to take flying lessons. In Denmark
you have to buy a gyro to be able to fly solo. But fortunately, Sweden is closer and the gyro club nearby
own 3 gyros - so it should be possible to finish the practical part of the education there. And then transit
to my own gyro, which will fly differently from a MTO. Ground school I can take online. 8 tests with the
state having its greedy hand out for each. And then one have to take the radio course, with tests that are
even more expensive. We have an official airport with a manned tower here, it's near our largest city,
but it has no radar. And I live at the other end of the island, fortunately. So I have most of the island to myself,
but it's a very good idea to stay in contact with the tower.

My gyro AUW will have to be from 550 to 625 lbs., that's what Skywheels wrote. So I'll try to keep to the
lower end of that, so the rotor is loaded, but performance doesn't suffer. But that's the weight most builders
end up with anyway, trying to stay below 254 lbs. for the dry, empty aircraft. The 254 plus some pounds to
make it more safe and convenient and then the pilot with helmet and a lot of clothing.

Cheers
Erik
 
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Sounds like you are on a good track there Eric... staying in touch with TPTB is the easy way in aviation... well really the only way!

We got hit with a new restriction... errr... rule here in the USA this year... well they decided to start enforcing it:
The type certificate for a gyro... now states that only pilots specifically rated to fly a gyro, can fly it.
The rating, if I am remembering this correctly, is something like: Rotorcraft gyroplane (gyroplane is what our FAA callse a gyrocopter).
So the aircraft has a restriction on it now... Makes the older gyro's with existing type certificates more valuable... as the old certs are not having this added (yet).

I am sure there is a good reason for this... however as far as I can tell... it is just another restriction to limit EAA fun.

Oh well... just roll with it.

:D
 
On a side note...
At the quarterly meeting... one of the newbees (a different one than noted above) said he has a Cessna 170(?) in his garage (wings off), and is interested in selling it in boxes.
Gonna look at it... however it would be a HUGE project to resurrect it.
My idea would be to contact TPTB, and work out a plan to get it re-classified as Experimental (EA) rather than production/commercial... that way I can build it the way I want to.
Part of the deal... as I understand it... is the engine is timed out... In the USA, engines are time life limited (hours).
If I got it... and re-classified it to EA... I am thinking to mount a Subaru engine on it... they fit fairly easily... the major issue is figuring out how to mount a radiator on the airframe... however it is done... so mostly some research online.

Now there is another alternative... One of the guys in our group... is mounting Yamaha snow mobile (sled) engines on gyro's and fixed wing....
The engine package is 150HP, at about 150-160#... that includes the radiator. Add a 25# reduction drive... and you still have 150HP in well under 200# engine.
In a 1200# gyro with horrible wind resistance... the engine burns about 3.5 to 4 gal/hr... about half what a certified 172 with certified aircraft engine burns... and that is premium auto gas (most of us prefer to us ethanol free gas).

However here we are again... more projects than time (and sometimes $$$ if one wants to have a nicely financed retirement... :) ).

GA
 
The FAA is not really restricting you - they've just made official, what you always preach yourself: Get instruction!!

Old gyros with a grandfather clauses - wonder, if that expires with a sale...A neighbour has stopped flying his US tube-dacron plane. It has a Yamaha 440 single ignition engine.
I suppose the next owner has to change the engine, making the plane worthless, as it is. Fixed wings has to have two ignition systems, but gyros do not. Good for me, as my NOS
Rotax is so old, that it has not.

On 20/3 we have our annual Gyro meeting, and I'll hear, if my controller has some parts lying around. I need a prop, and I've dropped the idea of buying an IVO. Soft and easily damaged.
But I do want ground adjustability, as I don't want to but several propellers to find the "right" one.

To fly we have to have a UL Gyro license, not a UL Plane license. But to sweeten the pot (as Jake would probably say), the weight limit is 560kg. AUW for gyro
and 450 kg. AUW for a UL fixed wing - go figure...It must be because the gov. haven't gotten around to harmonize the weight limit with the rest of the EU - it will happen.
Like your EAA, the Danish Gyro Union has the work/privilege of controlling the gyro people. In the past two years, some limitations have been lifted/eased,
like flying home and land, when it's just gotten dark. Of course you then have to have lights mounted, but it's great for those who want to.

Cheers
Erik
 
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How about you, FreeIdaho? Have you started on your build? After all, you have easier access to parts than us Europeans.

It would be nice to have Gyrobee builders meet in the RWF Gyrobee forum. To swap parts and tips.

Cheers
Erik
 
This sounds like a fun project. Great advice above to network with other builders and enthusiasts. I built an AC Cobra pretty much from scratch and had to lean heavily on help from several forums I frequent to find information to get it completed. Building an original style car with modifications means you can't go down the street to buy parts, you make them or you pay dearly for them- being cheap, I made most of the parts. It came out great and is a blast to drive but it cost twice what I originally budgeted and took three times as long. :)
I live close to Van's Aircraft and visit them almost every year on the static line at the local airshow and I've dreamed of building one for years. However, my window is closing at age 63 and I probably couldn't qualify for a pilot's license any more due to heart problems so that dream is pretty much over. So, don't put it off if you really want to make this happen. Start soon so you can enjoy using your creation before it is too late is my advice.

Bob
 
BobSchu said:
This sounds like a fun project. Great advice above to network with other builders and enthusiasts. I built an AC Cobra pretty much from scratch and had to lean heavily on help from several forums I frequent to find information to get it completed. Building an original style car with modifications means you can't go down the street to buy parts, you make them or you pay dearly for them- being cheap, I made most of the parts. It came out great and is a blast to drive but it cost twice what I originally budgeted and took three times as long. :)
I live close to Van's Aircraft and visit them almost every year on the static line at the local airshow and I've dreamed of building one for years. However, my window is closing at age 63 and I probably couldn't qualify for a pilot's license any more due to heart problems so that dream is pretty much over. So, don't put it off if you really want to make this happen. Start soon so you can enjoy using your creation before it is too late is my advice.

Bob
Click to expand...

Flying is one of those things that just gets in your blood... and does not leave... grin.

As to the pilots license... a gyro comes under 'Sport Pilot' rating... If you have a state drivers license, and will sign a statement saying you have no known issues that would hinder you from flying... you do not need a medical. Sport pilot ratings are mostly limited to experimental aircraft... there are a host of rules.
Now if you want to fly a Robinson helicopter or a Cessna fixed wing (commercially rated aircraft)... you will need a 'real' pilots license and a third class medical minimum.

The important thing... is whatever part of aviation one wants to get into... find a local club that will guide you.
Here is ours:
www.peachstaterotorcraft.org

The cool thing about gyro's... is they are not near as sensitive to thermals, gusts, cross winds, etc... think about this:
The 'wing' is 'round'... :)
Yes, the lifting surface, in relation to wind during flight, is round... so it does not matter where the wind comes from, or to a degree... if it shifts.
And things like variable windspeed, thermals, buffeting, etc... a gyro tends to just float (during high density altitude issues--hot and humid--mush might be a better word) along.
They are not that hard to fly... and if one is content buzzing around the airfield and doing short sight-seeing trips... they are just a LOAD of fun to fly!
Imagine a dirt bike or 4 wheeler out in a field of dunes... only up in the air... :)

Anyhow... do not let your age stop you... I am 63 also... and have considerable mileage on my body... I run a heating and AC company for a living... do a lot of the work myself.

Looks like we are gonna have a gyro thread going for a while... :)

John
 
Well John, I like to think so:
A fixed wing moves through the air at the airspeed.
A rotor moved through the air at a much higher speed than the gyro's current air speed. That's why it's not that sensitive.

We had our annual meeting today. Among other things I got a thumbs up on the rotor head I bought from Warren in Florida - great.
And a few kicks in the butt from the people in charge: Now get going on that gyro - soon as possible! Great!
And I was told I had better put on a second carburetor on that 503. So I have to hit the classified sections everywhere.

Cheers
Erik
 
I have RE-built a Honey Bee, which is a gen2 version of Roy's original design. I still have it, but wiped the rings when I unwittingly mixed contaminated oil in the fuel. It is a lot of fun to fly. Feel free to contact me through Mohawk Aero, at

info@mohawkaerocraft.com
 
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