Nearly every takeoff incident I have ever seen has been related to overloading the rotor and attempting a liftoff way behind the power curve/at too high of a disc angle of attack/too low a rotor RPM. I was taught to use a lot of back stick until the nose wheel lifted, but not to balance on the mains, but relax the stick enough to just put the nose wheel back on the ground and advance power and allow the aircraft and rotor to accelerate. I think where one problem can arise using a balance on the mains technique, is with high engine thrust-line designs. The more you advance the throttle, the more back stick you must use to hold the nose off.
I wanted a Gyro after finding out insurance is impossible to obtain here in the US not likely I'll be investing 70-100K US in something I can't afford to insure. You mentioned this problem before because so many crashes in the US it was impossible to obtain insurance unless want to pay the cost of the Gyro every 2-3 years.
Get yourself a RAF2000 magnificent ones for around 30 grand and one of the best gyro for many reasons just make sure it has a horizontal stabilizer for training
@@shawnwright5332 Spruce aircraft sells kit for $50k USD not including the engine. Anyway you look at it going to spend about $100k with training. This is why they are only sold to a select group of people who can afford to fly without insurance.
On the RPM guages. Why not insist that they are bright colour LEDs, so you can colour code the RPM with green for the safe regime, red for the warning zone?
Never flown in a gyroplane (on my bucket list) but maybe fewer accidents if rotor rpm included a flashing red light/audio alarm when less than 200 or ...? rpm. I like how gliders have the audio pitch for vertical speed indication. Add audio tone relative to rotor rpm?
hello len good day I have a qustion about the gyrocpter cyclic (joy stick) controls is it possible in the gyro that it can be stuck? or no response or stuck into a certen turn and take you where you dont want it to be? also can you accept to anylize a gyro crush accedent if i can send you a vidoe?
Hi I think it unlikely that it gets stuck without some physical restriction - i.e some loose object jamming the controls etc. Yes send me the file or a link the email is gyrocopterflyingclub@gmail.com
Sorry… are you Phil Bennett as in BTCC driver Phil Bennett? If so I grew up watching BTCC, my first job was fabrication of modified saloon racing cars (technically qualified as a panel beater and some mechanical engineering), later built and raced my own motorcycles (it’s cheaper than cars!) and now pondering flying gyrocopters. How bizarre! 😂
@@gyrocopterflyingclub6148 Briefly had a go on an MZ250 and a ZXR400. Just affordable club level stuff but I don’t think I quite got the stuff for 2 wheels! I think I enjoyed the build project more than I did the stress of a race weekend to be honest!
Almost. That deal was too expensive. It's a good thing it didn't happen. The Brewery didn't survive Covid. My 6 figure investment went to zero. On a brighter note, I'll be in Rye in September then on to Antwerp. I will revisit an aircraft purchase in 2023.
@@zx1100a1 this was taken from a webinar which had interaction with others on chat etc. Look at his other videos edited etc and you'll find he is very precise.
@@cameronlapworth2284 Thanks! Having just tripped over this video I'm glad you answered my second question. (The first was why try flying out of an airfield with a 50ft obstacle at the end of it - go somewhere else in the first place..)
@@nigelkerr3102 Hi the 50f obstacle is a standard metric for judging what an aircraft is capable of. You need to know you aircrafts capabilities in all conditions to judge the safety of a particular type of takeoff in a given area at a given altitude. Gyros are tricky in regard as wind up of the rotors is critical to takeoff distance so its a non-linear thing. So I hand wind rotors like this ruclips.net/video/36ogAzGGyG4/видео.html (Turn off sound). In still air or nearly still air like this you need to taxi slowly to build up the rotors so first phase between 8-10mph then once blades are fast enough you go up to 12mph then 15mph at this point in my machine my nose would lift off at this point. Now in still air this takes about this distance (if you are good at it). However if the wind is blowing 8-10mph this first phase is happening stationary, the next at 2mph etc. A crawl so in those conditions (not that uncommon) I can get off in 50m but normally this could take 100-150m. in 12-14mph winds your off the ground in significantly less at 20-15mph you can take off with a meter or two. The large commercial gyros are much heavier however requiring longer blades (but not a long as they put on) and bigger heavier engines. This means their take off speed is significantly higher so they have a long take off run needing to reach 45mph before wheels off and climbing out at 60mph compared the video I just showed 20mph wheels off and climbing out at 30mph. Thus the average gyro now takes significantly longer to get off safely. Hence the chance of colision with powerlines, trees etc at the end of a short strip or even just sinking due to mechanical turbulence from such obstacles.
I’m a mechanic and obvious if you maintain your engine perfectly it still WILL fail. These gyro copters are ridiculously dangerous, I can’t believe people are stupid enough to fly these. So many things could and will go wrong. Just look at the stats with these, your playing Russian roulette.
Looking back on my comment I was to harsh because ignorance breeds fear and i’m ignorant about gyrocopters. But i’m not ignorant with gas combustion motors and many things could go wrong I.E barrings, seals, bad gas, rods breaking, loosing compression and manny other part i’m not familiar with regarding gyrocopters. I care about my fellow man, I was told in another comment that if the motor stalls it could glide down safely, I did not know that, I thought it would fall like a brick.
@@jeffreyklaproth7794 General Aviation is dangerous look how many fixed-wing aircraft crash in the US annually. NTSB reports 80% of fatal accidents are human error caused any only 20% are mechanical. We try to manage the risk best we can so we can experience the freedoms if flight. If you look at Gyro's probably find most fatalities were not mechanical but pilot caused. This is why proper training is so important.
@@jeffreyklaproth7794that is perhaps the most honest follow-on comment I have ever seen. The gyro was developed as a potentially safer method of flight because of their stall proof design and short slow landing characteristics. Unfortunately the helicopter came along and the gyro never completely caught on. Yes they are capable of making an engine out landing very safely in a very small area. For that reason alone they have always had the potential to be safer than GA aircraft. Very sadly the light gyro community was plagued with some very poor designs that added ever increasing HP but did so incorrectly with no clear understanding of how gyroplanes, particularly pusher engine types, actually balance forces while in flight. This led to aircraft that were sold as safe but were difficult to fly and that were literally tumbling out of the sky… this and very few training standards has given the gyro a very poor reputation…
@Gyrocopter flying club I understand. But all gyros basically take off the same. Most pilots doesn't consider weight, density altitude, or runway in takeoff calculations
Thanks for the great advise. As student pilot that did my first solo last week I was confused as to the power setting after following the Gyropedia program and understanding that with less that full power it is easier for a student to maintain wheel balance and not getting caught out with your nose to high. My instructor made it very clear that it is either 100% power or nothing. Glad to see you back.
Number 1 reason: Physics. More specifically, fluid dynamics. If you didn't have any wings on your aircraft, THEN gravity becomes the number one issue. Then again, you'd never get off the ground. (Of course we are all jesting.)
This channel really puts out so good content that cant be found easily anywhere else. This guy is solid.
Very analytical Phil and thought-provoking, great to think about procedures and different ways of doing things...
Nearly every takeoff incident I have ever seen has been related to overloading the rotor and attempting a liftoff way behind the power curve/at too high of a disc angle of attack/too low a rotor RPM. I was taught to use a lot of back stick until the nose wheel lifted, but not to balance on the mains, but relax the stick enough to just put the nose wheel back on the ground and advance power and allow the aircraft and rotor to accelerate. I think where one problem can arise using a balance on the mains technique, is with high engine thrust-line designs. The more you advance the throttle, the more back stick you must use to hold the nose off.
YAYYYYY!!! More content! We've missed you!
Is this channel still active? Just discovered it and it is amazing!
Keep up the good work and greetings from Germany. :)
Hi - yes I'm still here, just been working on some other commercial endeavours but will restart some content soon xx
I’d love to take my licence under this guy
Bad idea to bank the gyro at low altitude after takeoff. They should gain more altitude before banking.
Great you're back
I wanted a Gyro after finding out insurance is impossible to obtain here in the US not likely I'll be investing 70-100K US in something I can't afford to insure. You mentioned this problem before because so many crashes in the US it was impossible to obtain insurance unless want to pay the cost of the Gyro every 2-3 years.
Insurance rates are a pretty good indicator of safety. Thanks for the info.
Get yourself a RAF2000 magnificent ones for around 30 grand and one of the best gyro for many reasons just make sure it has a horizontal stabilizer for training
@@shawnwright5332 Spruce aircraft sells kit for $50k USD not including the engine. Anyway you look at it going to spend about $100k with training. This is why they are only sold to a select group of people who can afford to fly without insurance.
You can get an air command for 15k, a Dominator for 15-20
On the RPM guages. Why not insist that they are bright colour LEDs, so you can colour code the RPM with green for the safe regime, red for the warning zone?
Never flown in a gyroplane (on my bucket list) but maybe fewer accidents if rotor rpm included a flashing red light/audio alarm when less than 200 or ...? rpm. I like how gliders have the audio pitch for vertical speed indication. Add audio tone relative to rotor rpm?
The Pitcairn PA-18 was probably the last real version.
The bensons and others with pusher type engines are a crime in progress. Deliberate sabotage.
hello len good day I have a qustion about the gyrocpter cyclic (joy stick) controls is it possible in the gyro that it can be stuck? or no response or stuck into a certen turn and take you where you dont want it to be?
also can you accept to anylize a gyro crush accedent if i can send you a vidoe?
Hi I think it unlikely that it gets stuck without some physical restriction - i.e some loose object jamming the controls etc. Yes send me the file or a link the email is gyrocopterflyingclub@gmail.com
Sorry… are you Phil Bennett as in BTCC driver Phil Bennett?
If so I grew up watching BTCC, my first job was fabrication of modified saloon racing cars (technically qualified as a panel beater and some mechanical engineering), later built and raced my own motorcycles (it’s cheaper than cars!) and now pondering flying gyrocopters.
How bizarre! 😂
Haha - yes small world. What bikes did you race?
@@gyrocopterflyingclub6148 Briefly had a go on an MZ250 and a ZXR400. Just affordable club level stuff but I don’t think I quite got the stuff for 2 wheels! I think I enjoyed the build project more than I did the stress of a race weekend to be honest!
You might want to check out Juan Brown's latest video it is about an American gyrocopter crash. It is the Blancolirio channel.
I saw that video he has no idea what happened he rotated then he got slammed down on the runway
Putting the engine at the back seems to be a malicious evil thing.
Hi Phil
Hey Charlie - how is the flying going? Did you buy an aircraft?
Almost. That deal was too expensive. It's a good thing it didn't happen. The Brewery didn't survive Covid. My 6 figure investment went to zero. On a brighter note, I'll be in Rye in September then on to Antwerp. I will revisit an aircraft purchase in 2023.
B Drake might think you are hitting on him. 🤣
@@zx1100a1 Arh nightmare sorry to hear - the virus was a disaster on many levels.
Hello, Do you have a email or way for me to send you a message? Thank you. Len
hey Len - sure use gyrocopterflyingclub@gmail.com
@@gyrocopterflyingclub6148 I don't understand why I can't send you a email. How about a private message? Is that possible?
@@lenbaxley543 Hi Len - put your email here - I'll send one to you and then you can delete the message if you worried about spam etc
😇 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚖
Your speech is not succinct to "Waffily"
I like waffles. 😉
@@zx1100a1 this was taken from a webinar which had interaction with others on chat etc. Look at his other videos edited etc and you'll find he is very precise.
@@cameronlapworth2284 Thanks! Having just tripped over this video I'm glad you answered my second question. (The first was why try flying out of an airfield with a 50ft obstacle at the end of it - go somewhere else in the first place..)
@@nigelkerr3102 Hi the 50f obstacle is a standard metric for judging what an aircraft is capable of. You need to know you aircrafts capabilities in all conditions to judge the safety of a particular type of takeoff in a given area at a given altitude. Gyros are tricky in regard as wind up of the rotors is critical to takeoff distance so its a non-linear thing. So I hand wind rotors like this ruclips.net/video/36ogAzGGyG4/видео.html (Turn off sound).
In still air or nearly still air like this you need to taxi slowly to build up the rotors so first phase between 8-10mph then once blades are fast enough you go up to 12mph then 15mph at this point in my machine my nose would lift off at this point. Now in still air this takes about this distance (if you are good at it). However if the wind is blowing 8-10mph this first phase is happening stationary, the next at 2mph etc. A crawl so in those conditions (not that uncommon) I can get off in 50m but normally this could take 100-150m. in 12-14mph winds your off the ground in significantly less at 20-15mph you can take off with a meter or two.
The large commercial gyros are much heavier however requiring longer blades (but not a long as they put on) and bigger heavier engines. This means their take off speed is significantly higher so they have a long take off run needing to reach 45mph before wheels off and climbing out at 60mph compared the video I just showed 20mph wheels off and climbing out at 30mph. Thus the average gyro now takes significantly longer to get off safely. Hence the chance of colision with powerlines, trees etc at the end of a short strip or even just sinking due to mechanical turbulence from such obstacles.
I’m a mechanic and obvious if you maintain your engine perfectly it still WILL fail.
These gyro copters are ridiculously dangerous, I can’t believe people are stupid enough to fly these. So many things could and will go wrong. Just look at the stats with these, your playing Russian roulette.
Well its a view but not particularly well informed. What are all the things that could go wrong in your opinion??
Looking back on my comment I was to harsh because ignorance breeds fear and i’m ignorant about gyrocopters. But i’m not ignorant with gas combustion motors and many things could go wrong I.E barrings, seals, bad gas, rods breaking, loosing compression and manny other part i’m not familiar with regarding gyrocopters. I care about my fellow man, I was told in another comment that if the motor stalls it could glide down safely, I did not know that, I thought it would fall like a brick.
Because people fly other kinds of aircraft and believe they can fly a gyrocopter with no training
@@jeffreyklaproth7794 General Aviation is dangerous look how many fixed-wing aircraft crash in the US annually. NTSB reports 80% of fatal accidents are human error caused any only 20% are mechanical. We try to manage the risk best we can so we can experience the freedoms if flight. If you look at Gyro's probably find most fatalities were not mechanical but pilot caused. This is why proper training is so important.
@@jeffreyklaproth7794that is perhaps the most honest follow-on comment I have ever seen. The gyro was developed as a potentially safer method of flight because of their stall proof design and short slow landing characteristics. Unfortunately the helicopter came along and the gyro never completely caught on. Yes they are capable of making an engine out landing very safely in a very small area. For that reason alone they have always had the potential to be safer than GA aircraft. Very sadly the light gyro community was plagued with some very poor designs that added ever increasing HP but did so incorrectly with no clear understanding of how gyroplanes, particularly pusher engine types, actually balance forces while in flight. This led to aircraft that were sold as safe but were difficult to fly and that were literally tumbling out of the sky… this and very few training standards has given the gyro a very poor reputation…
Your over complicating a common sense procedure.
Hey - If you watch the film that is my point. People crash during take off because they are overload.
@Gyrocopter flying club I understand. But all gyros basically take off the same.
Most pilots doesn't consider weight, density altitude, or runway in takeoff calculations
@@gyrocopterflyingclub6148 KISS
@@gyrocopterflyingclub6148 KISS
Thanks for the great advise. As student pilot that did my first solo last week I was confused as to the power setting after following the Gyropedia program and understanding that with less that full power it is easier for a student to maintain wheel balance and not getting caught out with your nose to high. My instructor made it very clear that it is either 100% power or nothing. Glad to see you back.
number 1 reason... Gravity.
Well actually not really because most these days are crashed during the take off roll!
Number 1 reason: Physics. More specifically, fluid dynamics. If you didn't have any wings on your aircraft, THEN gravity becomes the number one issue. Then again, you'd never get off the ground. (Of course we are all jesting.)