Why a Gyro ?

[asra]

I am a little puzzled at the attraction of Gyros. So I would like to hear what attracted YOU to Gyros !I know nothing about them, Have been for a 1hr TIF in a MTO and althought it was fun, there was no WOW factor.Being exposed to the elements,wind, tempretaure, vibration and shaking just doesen"t appeal.Also open **** pit with a big fan behind you. If you drop something or something come adrift from your pockets. "phone" etc. It is likley to take out a blade, which in turn is likley to rip the motor out.How does one navigate in a gyro with open **** pit ?I have seen plenty of youtube clips of what appears to be very capable pilots doing some VERY low flying, Below, at and just above tree height. It looks like fun BUT totaly unsessary risks.I am still open to the idea of owning a gyro but just need more edumacation. Please help to edumacate me.

[bones]

I am a little puzzled at the attraction of Gyros. So I would like to hear what attracted YOU to Gyros !I know nothing about them, Have been for a 1hr TIF in a MTO and althought it was fun, there was no WOW factor.Being exposed to the elements,wind, tempretaure, vibration and shaking just doesen"t appeal. Please help to edumacate me.Simple you took a ride in the wrong type of machine, i had an owner here that i worked on his machine, after took it for a fly, it near shook me out of the cabin, landed and shook me head.Latter the owner turned up i said nothing he took it for a fly, came back and said that is much better, WTF, after 5 min of him trying to tell me that the shake is normal and has to be like it, i pushed my 2 seater out, put him in it, anf flew, left the ground, not a single shake to be felt, nothing his mouth was open, i said THAT is how they are spossed to be..

[asra]

Why a gyro?Like today for instance. 40 degrees, windy and very thermally weather. Try take an ultralight or even a cessna out in that weather without losing your lunch.I love the open frame because you can look around and not see a wing the only thing is the instrument panel in front of you and if you look riiiiight over you shoulder you can see a wheel. I have upraded to a cab these days mainly so I can carry more gear and not have to don on a helmet, but still just as fun.

[asra]

For me, it is the closest thing to flying like a bird: free, without restriction and wide open views.

[GraemeMonro]

Simple you took a ride in the wrong type of machine, i had an owner here that i worked on his machine, after took it for a fly, it near shook me out of the cabin, landed and shook me head.Latter the owner turned up i said nothing he took it for a fly, came back and said that is much better, WTF, after 5 min of him trying to tell me that the shake is normal and has to be like it, i pushed my 2 seater out, put him in it, anf flew, left the ground, not a single shake to be felt, nothing his mouth was open, i said THAT is how they are spossed to be..As I get older I find I like an out of balance rotor, I find that having my joystick shacking in my hands makes me feel alive.Graeme.

[Greg Mitchell]

You"ll need to keep that out of balanced rotor polished Gra Gra ;D

[asra]

I am a little puzzled at the attraction of Gyros. So I would like to hear what attracted YOU to Gyros !I know nothing about them, Have been for a 1hr TIF in a MTO and althought it was fun, there was no WOW factor.Being exposed to the elements,wind, tempretaure, vibration and shaking just doesen"t appeal.Also open **** pit with a big fan behind you. If you drop something or something come adrift from your pockets. "phone" etc. It is likley to take out a blade, which in turn is likley to rip the motor out.How does one navigate in a gyro with open **** pit ?I have seen plenty of youtube clips of what appears to be very capable pilots doing some VERY low flying, Below, at and just above tree height. It looks like fun BUT totaly unsessary risks.I am still open to the idea of owning a gyro but just need more edumacation. Please help to edumacate me.Because

[jeff b]

Hi Carl,My MTO Sport is great fun to fly and reasonably smooth. I"ve flown many MTO and Calidus, so I have some reference. I hope to try some others too. The Calidus I flew had hardly any shake. My rotors and prop have been balanced by the ELA boys. There maybe some machines that are perfectly balanced, so fly in some other machines as well if you find an opportunity. I love open cockpit flying but it"s a personal choice and others like to be inside. There are some nice options available for inside and you can remove the doors in some. Some people on this forum just don"t like the MTO and they will tell you about it quite vocally, but my experience is different.

[asra]

Hey Jeff. I will be taking you up on the offer to go for a fly with you when you are here in May. This is another reason you need to hanger at the private strip.You could even land at the model field out side of the event hrs. (cause it is a "public display")

[wolfy]

When i was a kid my flying dreams didnt have me sitting in a tin box you couldnt see out of flying so high you dont even need to see. Always wanted to fly helis but by the time i got my first job i knew that was out of reach,

[asra]

Here you go

[Greg Mitchell]

G"Day Rev Max,If your going to fly in a bathtub gyro, get in the front seat. Make sure it has limited stick shake or none at all.Get the instructor to do some manuvers, crankin and bankin, vertical decents, spot landings etc.When I was training in a RAF2000, I took two mates out to the airfield for TIF"s. Ole mate was not so keen, the young bloke was all full of **** and wind.Young bloke literally fell out of the Raf, crawled on hands and knees away from the aircraft, swearing and cussing that gyro pilots are all mad and began to dry reach.Ole mate at this stage was a little perturbed by seeing the young gun falling apart like a 3 year old, spewing up tripe.He went for his Tif came back got out with the biggest GRIN on his face and started on a plan to sell his motorcycle, divorce his wife and buy himself a gyro.You either love it or you dont. BUT you need to be out front experiencing what flying an open single will be like. Spread your training over several types of instructors gyros, especially the side by side enclosed varieties as with age many seem to head in that direction. This statement is in no way intended to offend young blokes like Disco, flying in enclosed two place machines. Bones of course is "old" now and flying in a Xenon for example is a necessary requirement :.....Sam too is getting a bit long in the tooth hence the Kruzza Komfort. :PSeriously though looking at your post above, sounds like you needed to be in a gyro that didn"t shake like it was on its last flight. There is nothing quite like flying a single seat gyro, down low or up higher.Good luck and enjoy the journey.Mitch.

[asra]

Thanks Fellas.esp Sam amd Mitch.Some experince is in order.Now ! how and when. I live in Coffs Harbour, any suggestions.The idea of a side by side enclosed cab does appeal and both the Xenon and the Kruz look great but are WAYYYY out of my budget.Is it at all possible to build from plans or kit a two seater propelled by EA81 with redrive.

[Greg Mitchell]

Yes I reckon so. Well maybe not to plans but how about something like this.Again this is a [pic from Mentone 2005 of a mates gyro Tim O"Connor. Tim these days is a serious aviator and has written a book about aviation and gyroplanes, relationship to GA etc and possible training process"s . I believe you can get it on line through the PRA or just hook up with Tim on the PRA. Or Rotary Wing Forum.Believe Tim still flys a TwinStar tandem gyroplane. Here is his old AirCommand modified to CLT, side by side with a Subbie powerplanr and some comfort from a partial pod.I did fly with Barry Betland in Forbes some years back. Had a scary thrustline but flew like it was on tracks and had the similar pod and screen set-up. It was subbie powered too.

[Brian]

Rosco does a side by side that provided you use a suby, will be about half the cost of the enclosed side by side, might even be cheaper than that.Rosco will use whatever power plant you waqnt and a Suby with a gearbox will provide sufficient thrust to haul two people around. and you have the advantage of a proffesional build that has been tersted over many thousands of hours which is what is important for me !! What got me into gyros was a number of things, 1. low cost and very low running cost 2 can be flown really slow and low safely and 3, I had to have a flying machine to round up my stock.My first gyro was a real basic open framed EA 81 gyro and it was a thrill flying that old girl as its the real seat of the pants flying like it was back in Kingsford Smiths day.Map reading today is pretty easy as GPS"s are pretty reliable but even if the GPS stops, its not hard to navigate using a good compass and a map taped to your leg. Basic but it works, the helo boys use the same principal as most of the smaller type helicopters fly with the door off.It gets down to what you want, if its to fly at 120 knots in comfort then a gyro isnt for you, not that a well set up gyro isnt comfortable, its not bad but it can get boring flying into a 20 knot headwind or even worse when the wind gets up around 40 knots!!! >