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 28 First session was mine, so G-BGIO pre-flighted and fueled, ATC cleared us to start operations on 07. Getting the hang of spinning the blades up now, so as soon as Roger was in position I started. Slowly forward until the blades were accelerating. 4000 rpm now a little faster forward and still accelerating up. Blades beginning to blur and "sing" so 6000 rpm straight in. A couple of seconds later and the front wheel lifts, check it with moving the stick forward to oppose the flap back and into a good wheel balance. 6300 rpm now, front wheel just off the deck, mains light, right lifting first, check that with a little right cyclic and up cleanly. 4 feet up, juggling the rudder to keep straight, and the cyclic to maintain centre line. 30 mph on the ASI, passing Roger, and time to descend. A little wallow down and a little bounce on the mains. Untidy, but a reasonable run. Next run, same again, but a better landing. Next run, and a little over control on the pitch causing a little ballooning, but a good landing. Next one same again, but a little more over control in pitch, but again landing nicely on the mains. And again, and again, each run showing over control in pitch. Getting a little spooked now, as I could feel that I was over controlling the pitch but felt unable to do anything about it. 35 minutes in and I landed as I passed Roger. Sorry Roger, but I'm buzzing on adrenalin, and can't get this pitch stable. I wanted to bin the session there and then, but Roger forced me to finish what was left of the runway in a wheel balance. Well that was ok, but back to the Apron, and time for tea. Had the camera this time, batteries charged but nobody to man it: Sorry! Not happy with my performance on that one. I think the memories of starting into a PIO the day before was haunting me, causing me to over react today. The resultant adrenalin rush worked against me losing any control finesse. Ah well, later maybe, but time to calm down. We were joined by Katy, who had been given a christmas present of 4 hours on a gyro as something different. She loved it, and couldn't wait to get back up. Her husband had also booked some time later in the year with her, and she was determined to be well ahead of him.
Shey, a gyro pilot from Ireland was with us, and got the next session with Roger, after a cup of tea and a customary chat: The weather was too bad for him to go cross country in his Merlin. Katy was impatient and wanted to get back up whatever the visibility. She'll learn to slow down, as we all have had to. You can't be in a hurry in flying. Anyway, Roger back, another tea, another chat, and Katy eager to get back up. No stopping her... Roger was well pleased with her progress and she left with such a huge grin. The wind was now well up and gusty, so we hoped for calmer winds later. This proved not to be the case, and at 1830 we binned it and went to the pub. At my current development, I need stable conditions to get the low level runs sorted. Here's for better conditions tomorrow... |
