Sport Copter in Australia

[Brian]

Landing isnt the problem re suspensions [well, most of the time] its the taking off bit on areas that are less than ideal is where I see the suspension coming to good use. The Rosco, while extremely tough, isnt the greatest for rough ground, not that you would want to be taking off on rough ground all the time.

[IanM]

Thanks guys for your comments.

[asra]

Changing the pitch on a rotor will make a difference in the way it flys. The pitch on the sport copter blades can be changed on the machine, but reading about them on another forum there is a bit of fiddling around retracking them.

[Brian]

I think Birdy said it pretty well, personally, I wouldnt go with short rotors as I like the comfort of what I got.Dam, missed Avalon again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[birdy]

Does power help to compensate for the lack of lift with smaller rotors?Yes n no.Bigger rotors let you float at much less power settns, but wen you do start to sink, you sink longer, and they are sluggier.Shorter rotors with more power can give you same lowest AS, but the prop will be taken more weight off the rotors [ more nose high] and things like torque roll and "locked stick" can get you in trouble too.But, if you fly wot your hangn off, youll never get into trouble.

[IanM]

Sorry guys for my silence!

[Brian]

Know the feeling well Bones, I prefer being in the middle, if its a shirty lift day, I just use a bit more power [still have 1000 revs up my sleeve] and if its a real bouncer of a day, I just tighten the belt a bit tighter and try to enjoy the ride.Rotors are a difficult thing to choose as the variables are so many and the time of year/ wind .weather/ all play a part. As well, say you get a new set thats a foot longer, you think first off, terrific, all this extra lift bla bla etc, 6 months down the track, you have got used to the extra lift and are now thinking they could be better!It would be great to be able to go somewhere and test fly a number of different rotors and sizes so you have some hope of getting it near right.

[bones]

On a fine pitch setting the blades will have minimal response to wind gusts and thermals and would be ideal for flying out to and returning from a job, but would absorb a lot of horsepower at low airspeed.A medium pitch could be used for the average mustering job, and a course setting that will respond very quickly for the likes of mustering feral goats or scrub cattle where the job may only take a few hours but is full on.Yeah see that is the problem right there as i feel you need 3 blades in one, cause i have had days very recently where i could have swapped blades 4 or 5 times, so what to do, go somewhere in the middle and just do it???

[asra]

Hello Ian, I run 28" Aks at 1.5 degrees that turn at 295 rpm. I bought them for the summer but ended up using them both summer and winter. They use a lot less power at low airspeed and will keep me in the air on a low level, low speed down wind turn. The only drawback with them is that it is two hands on the stick and a lot of rudder for fast turns. The 26" AKs at 1 degree pitch were turning at 345 rpm and were a lot quicker to turn but they needed a bit more power to keep them going. A bit more pitch on the 26 footers and they may have made the better blade. Full fuel AUW about 320 kg 1000"asl. The other thing that is importent in a mustering blade is inertia to lift ratio. If a blade is light it will be good to throw around but will also respond very quickly to wind gusts and thermals wich can get very tiring after seven to eight hours gridding a paddock with a lot of thermals and wirly winds going.I have sent an email to sport copter asking about blade weight but as yet I havent recieved a reply. One blade off the 26" Aks weighs about 15 kg. I would estimate the fabricated sport copter blade to weigh 9-10 kg so it would need about 1.5 kg of tip weight to give the same inertia. This is also why I asked about the variable pitch as this will alter the lift to inertia ratio. On a fine pitch setting the blades will have minimal response to wind gusts and thermals and would be ideal for flying out to and returning from a job, but would absorb a lot of horsepower at low airspeed.A medium pitch could be used for the average mustering job, and a course setting that will respond very quickly for the likes of mustering feral goats or scrub cattle where the job may only take a few hours but is full on.

[Brian]

Bones,Sorry about that.

[IanM]

Bones,Sorry about that.

[bones]

Thanks Bones,

[IanM]

Thanks Bones,

[bones]

My single seat machine

[IanM]

Hi Bones,What machine are you putting the 28s on?Cheers,Ian