Which Blades are Best !!!!!

[asra]

For thoughs who have flown both Patroney's and AK's who's blades are better and why ????????????????????????????????????????.Sam. [?][?][?][?]

[Brian]

Depends what you want to do and how experienced you are.Alloy rotors are a lot more forgiving including cutting scrub, need less cleaning [leading edge]and are easier to get going and stopping.The Patroneys give you a far better ride when it gets really rough and perform really well on my machine after getting rid of an hours fuel and are really great in cooler weather.My rotors are the tapered and twisted variety and it could well be that straight blades could perform better. The Patroney blades are far smoother than my Ricks [alloys].My advice is that newbies might be better off with alloys as they arent as flexible as the Patroneys and could well be easier to manage till they get a bit of experience up.While I havent flown AK's I imagine my Ricks arent much differnce to AK's.Brian

[Scott Hogan]

Sam,If you want to sound like an approaching ´Huey´, get yourself some McCuthceons..... nothing like it. Only problem is, their not made in Oz. What do Patroneys´ sound like when they´re flying? If they´re twisted like RAF blades do they have a nice ´note´?Hoges

[asra]

Brian, you describe the fiberglass blades as giving you a better ride in rough weather, is that because they are more flexible and absorb some of those + & - G's.Scott, I think all gyro pilots want to sound like an approaching Huey !!!Regards Sam.

[asra]

IMHO Rics rotors (no longer made) and Rob Patroneys ealier blades are as efficient as the McCuchens, 8H12 airfoil, but are balanced closer to the 25% and shake is almost non existant. The McCuchens were balanced closer to 31% and therefore had a pitching down moment, exacerbated in high "G" turns causing reasonably severe shake. That is the reason for the very strong and non twisting wide composite McCuchen hub bar. A bandaid for a design problem!!!Aussie Paul. []www.firebirdgyros.com

[asra]

I have flown a number of AKs and fl,own mostly patroneys over the last few years. I have never had the same diameter of each brand at the same time to compare. That will be done when Firebird is finished. I will be able to test apples with apples on the same production machine. AKs, Patroneys and Goodwins.A little trivia!!!!I found that those 3 brands on my Hybrid required less torque tube offset than the Raf 3/4". Goodwins needed the smallest torque tube offset, 5/8" (16mm.)AK and Patroney 11/16" (17.5MM)Aussie Paul.[]www.firebirdgyros.com

[asra]

Thanks Paullooking forward to finaly seeing firebird fly.Regards Sam.

[asra]

Me too. Will it sound like a Huey ?Please.Robert DunnMackay. Qld.Growing old is good while it lasts.

[asra]

Rob, if that's what it takes to sell them, I will make Firebird sound like a huey!!!! A big stereo system should do the trick!!!!!Aussie Paul. []www.firebirdgyros.com

[Brian]

The Patroneys are a lot more flexible than alloys and its this part I believe that gives you the better ride. Its the flexibilty part that I also believe could cause newbies a lot of grief if not managed correctly.My ground crew reckoned the Ricks [alloys] woped the most !!I also know that Patroneys blades are heavier than the Ricks. I'm going to get another hub bar for my Patroneys to extend them out to 28 ft 6 in to see what difference the extra foot makes.Also getting Rob to make another hub bar for my Ricks and get them back in service.Brian

[asra]

Sounds good to me Paul.Robert DunnMackay. Qld.Growing old is good while it lasts.

[asra]

Well I bought a set of 25ft Patroney's, and am rapped with them.Found them to fly really smooth in unstable air, and really, really, really, really, hang on during my flair.Didnt find any loss, or increase in my cruise speed, or max speed at full noise. I did find a considerable improvement in climb and my glide ratio.Only one problem, they are F@#$%* heavy !!!!Regards Sam [][][]

[Brian]

Good to hear your report Sam. Yes, they are heavy and thats probably part of the reason they hang on for longer at low airspeed.Are yours tapered and twisted Sam ??Just watch them when getting them going and also stopping them in a strong wind as they tend to flap pretty quickly. I turn my gyro sideways to the wind so that I can keep the tips under the wind.Brian

[asra]

Hi BrianMine are the standard blades set at 2 degrees AofA.I flew them all weekend at Mount Beauty, and acheived 5.8 hours on them. Consider I flew them in wave, and mild rotor effect from the hills, they were really easy to fly and smooth.And Robert, my machine even sounds like an approaching Heuy now !!!!Regards Sam

[asra]

Hey Sam, I already told you the answer to what's best. Best is having multiple sets of blades. As you know I have been flying on Rob Petroney 27s for a couple of years and find them very stable and smooth. Only bother with them is the weight when getting them off and on high masts. I have a set of 24 McCutchens that I have had for at least 10 years that fly faster than the Petroneys by about 10 knots ( most likely due to the shorter length. They have been great blades and I was lucky enough to get a well set up set that flew smooth from the start. I know of others that were not so lucky and have never been able to get them just right. I have a set of Goodwin 25s that are very good blades also. One of these sets are going to be sold with a gyro I will be shortly offering for sale. I have also got a set of 27s on order from Jerry, the older fabricated type that I intend to utilise when I am towing to fly-ins and don't need the hastle of lifting heavy blades on and off. They are just so inexpensive that I reckon you can't have too many of them around....just in case! I got lots of comments from the trike flyers last weekend about the wacking of the petroney blades sounding like a large chopper coming when Sam and I were doing tight circuits in the thermally Saturday afternoon when all else was firmly on the ground. Great weekend Sam. Pete