Gyroplane Training 
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Web by: Rebel Systems Training Days April 7 - 22 2001 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 May 26 - June 2 2001 April 1 - 11 2002 |
Day 19 Forecast for today was not good again, but we all turned up at the airport, and it looked usable. Brief was more of the same, which for me was fast wheel balances. It was raining by now, but the wind was usable, so off we went. A run to get back into it, then more with the rpm at around 6000. Balances now very steady, and the mains getting very light. Occasional brief forays into the blue yonder, and having to remember now that all 3 axis must be controlled, and without the drag of the mains, everything is now aerodynamically controlled. Kevin was now into higher level runs, but then at the end of one run, pulled off onto the taxiway. I continued a couple more runs, by which time Kevin was pushing his machine down the taxiway, back to the apron. Time for tea! I was soaked... Another hour session, and again good progress. I can feel that I am very close to slipping the surly bonds, but keep getting reminded to take it easy! It transpired that Kevin had heard a knocking from the hub and on investigation he found that the hub was rattling around in the teeter block as he hadn't tightened it up enough. It also came to light that he had put the blades in the wrong holders causing a good deal of vibration. He thought he had wasted all that money on his Dragon Wings! More tea, and yet more. The weather was rainy, but we found a hole in it and ventured out again. Same brief again, but getting into the balances much sooner, and getting up to 6000rpm. Mains again getting light with the occasional excursion into the air. Next lesson learned: I started a run using my usual rate of acceleration, but something wasn't quite right. As I looked up I could see that the rotors were not accelerating up. I was trying to force too much air though them before they were up to speed to accept it, so were lagging behind considerably. I slowed down and gave them time to catch up. As if by magic, Roger comes over the radio saying that it looked like that rotors were not accelerating. It's gratifying to see that I'm spotting these problems before he does, but also that he is spotting them despite being on the sideline! There's only a second or so between us... Well, rain and wind stopped play. It was now 14 knots, raining, a large plane due in, so we called it. 40 minutes that session, but again a good progression. I am tantalizingly close to truly flying, so I will be up there soon. Excellent couple of days. Love these gyro things! We hung around until 5 that evening, and got ready on one occasion, but it was not to be. Forecast for tomorrow is good, so hopefully some good time to come. |