Gyro down Pilot recovering.

[bones]

ok i am intreged by this accident, as to the findings, have they been realised yet??The prop blades leaving the hub is good enough reason to loose thrust

[asra]

You don"t think it would have anything to do with the fact that he was a student with approx. 5 hours experience. ???He did his first taxi run on Saturday afternoon; Then his first "bunny hop" run on Sunday morning, turned around and did his second bunny hop run and took off.

[Greg Mitchell]

Student Pilot......5 hrs.....Bunny Hops....... :"(G"Day Gents,I am not nor will I ever be a big fan of bunny hops, in fact I consider them to be downright dangerous to the student Pilot. And I believe bunny hops are a remnant from the "teach yourself to fly days" after transitioning from gyro gliders to powered flight. Without instructors to show you how to take off and land and without enough time in the saddle to practice same, in the two place trainer, "Bunny Hopping" is fraught with Danger, cause the "Bunny doesn"t always land on his feet. Hope Stuart mends well

[aussie_paul]

Sad to see my lovely G-100 bent due to student pilot recklessness and stupidity. > > > >Aussie Paul.

[bones]

Kieth,After looking at the photos i would near bet my left nut, that those blades only let go after he hit the ground, so with that in mind, and you saying the motor was still running, that rules that out.So how many times is it going to take before this stuff getts through to people that these wonderful little machnies are capable of KILLING you if you do not treat them with the respect that all FLYING machnies deserve.I said it before and i say it again, WHY was this guy sitting in his own single seat machine doing strip runs and bunny hops, after 5 hrs of dual time, is it just me or does that just sound a little bit weird, i would think that you would not be able to get to do this in a FW or Helo, so what is the difference here, time alot of people, and some instructors take bit more control of the situation they find themselves in. I do not know the intrutor involved, nor the student, but the fact remains, there is a trail of failure here and it ends with a heap of horrible photos that is in the link the Keith posted

[Des Garvin]

Kieth, Could you clarify the 5 hrs experiance thing here

[asra]

Approx. 5 hours total training in Gyro - dual.

[asra]

Kieth and others I test flew this machine and it had a conventional throttle set up located on the left hand side of the Goodwin seat tank. It was the same set up most of us have on our machines with push forward to increase speed.Also, Stuart was not one of my students. I test flew his machine to check it out for him.Ross B

[Greg Mitchell]

G"Day Keith,Mate you are right. This should not be a "jump" on Stuart session. The man has lost his gyro and nearly his life. He will carry this forever.Fact is I pop into the air without warning once I was signed off for solo.I found myself at 50 feet and panicked and all the training helped me get it down safely even though it was off the bitumen run way on the grass at 45 degrees to my take off track. That day it was 10 knots almost straight down the runway. The strong gust popped me into the air and kicked me sideways very quickly.......The point is here most of us do not believe a student pilot should be doing bunny hops at 5 hrs.The statistics will indicate another bloke hospitalized, gyro written off and the newspaper stated "gyro pilot", this is why we get distressed and annoyed.I totaled my gyro at 16 1/2 hrs after solo. I know what Stuart is feeling and how it will, stay with him. I hope he does not have long term spinal problems and that he really knows how lucky he is to be alive. For my mind, what is done is done. Let"s listen to Bones and others, heed the cautions, understand the frustrations at how gyros and ASRA are perceiveddue to such actions and move on.

[asra]

Kieth and others I test flew this machine and it had a conventional throttle set up located on the left hand side of the Goodwin seat tank. It was the same set up most of us have on our machines with push forward to increase speed.Ross BI had a mind fart Ross, I realised I was wrong after I posted it.

[asra]

Further to all this, Stuart will be the first to tell you how lucky he was (is).

[bones]

Stuart, Kieth, Mitch and others, please do not take my posts as attacking anyone in particular, bloody hell i"ve been laying there strapped to what was left of my beautiful gyro, after really stuffing up a take off, like i mean big time, too embarassed to explain, but that was back when there were no 2 place trainers, and hell i didnt even know ASRA existed.The idea is to get our safety record better not worse, there are alot of people watching and reading these forums.As kieth said thats enough on this thread for me too, get well soon Stuart.

[Greg Mitchell]

G"Day BonesNothing wrong with what you have to say Bones, we all have opinions and are entitled to our own point of view.I agree with you and I feel for Stuart.Fact is once we have kits on the shelves we will not sell a Butterfly/Monarch until a student pilot has 10 hrs of dual place and is actively working towards sign off for solo.We would hope and certainly advise the purchaser of the kit, not to attempt to fly their aircraft until test flown by an experienced pilot preferably their Instructor. Further advise, slow taxiing of the gyro with out blades attached,to familiarise throttle and steering mechanisms, with particular attention given to slow cornering. Some time should be given to taxiing with blades spinning before, considering strip runs and none of this should be taking place, UNLESS the student pilot has been cleared to do so by his or her Instructor and is arriving at a point in time when he or she the student, may be ready to solo. Likely, in the order of 10-15 hrs of dual Instruction, prior to getting caught out by a wind gust...Bunnys dont land well from 50 plus feet.This or something similar would be the policy sign off document at the time of purchase of a Butterfly/Monarch kit here in Oz. I believe Larry Neal does similar in the US, the purchaser has to be actively pursuing two place instruction and they (Americans) have fewer Instructors than we do.Even if I had an old gyro, especially if I had an old homebuilt with a vague history, I"d expect it to be fully up to scratch before moving it on and I would not sell it unless the aforementioned requirements were being met.Again having voiced my opinion, it is simply that. In no way is it meant to be a condemnation of Stuart, simply a reasonable expectation of a change of attitude and training focus, a "whole package approach".I believe all the burden is placed on the Instructor and this is far to much for them to wear and stress about.Students need to know there are process"s to follow and that ASRA and Manufacturers assist the Instructors with policies and procedures that help to ensure a change in attitudes about gyro flight safety.Sorry Keith.....Bones got me startedMitch

[asra]

Hey Bones...it would have to pretty rough to get me off side.

[Tim]

It is good to see Stuart recovering. Members concern here is quite valid. If there was some deficiency in instruction or pilot attitude then it should be addressed. Otherwise we are committing ourselves to repeat the same mistakes again.