RC Groups - Auto Gyros

Poll What else do you fly besides sailplanes?

mnowell129 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:06:51 GMT

Sorry wrong forum. Will move.

Discussion My 1 pound Pusher teetering head gyro

grant31781 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:03:44 GMT

This is my updated version of my teetering head gyroplane. Changes from the previous gyro include adding rudder and moving the motor to the back for a pusher configuration. I also shorten the hub bar from 6 inches to 3 inches to increase my blade loading. The keel is now made from a piece of popular. I broke the CF keel testing some flat blades.

The new hub bar is about � inch thinner than the inside width of the rotor head towers. Due to this during spin up the hub bar hits each side of the inside of the rotor head as it slides back and forth until the blades get a bit of speed then the hub bar stays centered over the spindle bolt. I am not using any type of dampener in the head or tip weights on the blades. These are the stock blades that came on a PT profile gyro.

As you can see in the video I have quite a bit of throw in my rotor head. I am using 80% expo to make the controls less touchy.. Weight is 1 pound even with a 860 mah 3s battery. Disc loading is 2.1

With the rudder I can ROG well with a slight breeze!

I know a while back there was a bit of talk saying that a teetering rotor would not work well on a model rc gyro. It does on mine and all test so far have proven that an undampened teetering rotor works just as good as a flapping head with normal blades. The flapping head does have a slightly better feel to it but the gyro seem to perform better with the teetering head.
i finally got this video up on youtube. Quality should improve some. There are 2 loops in the video! This has to be the most maneuverable gyro I have ever built. It will turn nearly within its own rotor diameter1 you will see some of these tight turns in the video.

Enjoy

Gyro (4 min 10 sec)

Discussion True Scale Autogiro?

N99JH — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:45:11 GMT

Hi
I have been lurking here for a long time and recently bought a Kellett kit. Does anyone know how close to scale it is? I am wandering why there is no real sort of "Museum Scale" autogiro out there? Is there any inherent problem that would make such an undertaking difficult to fly safely more than stand-off scale autogiros? Does anyone have plans for a large, say 1/4 or 1/3 scale model?
Joshua

Discussion Pint sized pusher

Norfolk Flyer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:05:05 GMT

Hi Guys,

I'm nearly at the test flight stage with my latest creation, and any resemblance to the RPG is purely coincidental :o

CF tube gives strength in the main stress areas, and AUW at the moment is 305 grams.

The last pic has a side fuz panel on purely for show. I have temporarily called it the "RPGette"

With the UK weather as it is now, who knows when it will get to the field, but I will report back with results.

Pics below.

Regards all,

John

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Discussion Website issues

Boneswamped — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:52:51 GMT

Hello Guys,
I wanted to start by saying I appreciate all the work the webmasters and sponsors do to provide us with this forum, and our virtual flying club.

I was curious if anyone else has been having trouble with hyperlinks, or uploading pics, or any other problems with the site lately? I'm sure any issues could be resolved if the right people know about them, I'm just not sure who to contact.

Regards,
-Mike

Discussion Off-topic... but worth a look

Aero-Smith — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:01:11 GMT

Guys,

Sorry for this way-off-topic post, but this is so interesting I thought I'd share it you guys. It's a very awesome computer generated reinactment of the US Airways Flight 1549 flight that went down in the Hudson River with the actual radio communications between the captain and the control tower dubbed into the video. Check it out.

Mike

Help! DC + Elevator ???

britinoz — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:58:07 GMT

Gentlemen.
I have flown Roll & Elevator and I have flown DC, but I am curious as to the set up when using DC with an elevator.
Is the elevator coupled to the DC and if so what is the mixing ratio ? or is the elevator run from a different switch,and just used for a tailplane trim.
Happy Landings
Chris.........

Discussion Any good gyro kits for a .30 fourstroke

Vertical3D — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:07:50 GMT

I have a .30 magnum four stroke engine laying around and was wondering if there are any good gyro kits or arfs I could use it one, thinking maybe a larger electric kit modified might be good, it will spin a 10x6 prop comfortably if that helps for the size of it...

Discussion Thrustline vs handling

grant31781 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:16:24 GMT

I attempted to test some flat blades on my gyro and it ended badly as the gyro nose dived into the ground on launch! It broke my CF tube keel.

Anyway I rebuilt the gyro with a popular (wood) keel and its working out fine. Now I have converted the gyro into a pusher and added a rudder. Weight is 1 pound even with 1 pound 1.1 ounces thrust.

I built it as the tractor configuration and it flew just fine so I decided its time for me to change it to a pusher.

1st few tests as a pusher were not going to well All I did was move the motor from the front of the mast to the back and it really made the gyro fly like crap. The instability of the gyro was just weird. I had the motor at the same height so the VCG was the same.

I though it might be the teetering head so I put on a 2 blade flapping head. Same crap! The gyro was extremely touchy. I could not trim it out in roll or pitch and it was super sensitive to any stick inputs! Even the landing flare was weird. It would just dart off left or right. Seemed like trying to balance a broom stick in your hand. It would be stable for a split second and then roll over. Hang angle looked good and was the same as before.

The method I used to fix all of these problems involved moving the motor down by about � to � inch. That is it guys! Just the stinking thrust line. I still can not believe that the thrust line being so slightly high would make such a drastic change in the gyros handling.

The gyro flew totally different with the thrust line lowered. It became nice and stable and even the landing flare was improved. With the motor higher, in a turn the gyro would tighten the turn rapidly at the same time dropping the nose down. It was doing dive bomb turns! Now with the slight VCG adjustment I can do a turn nearly within the diameter of the rotor without losing altitude.

Have any of you experimented with changing the thrust line on your gyros?

Discussion Historical autogyro films

Colin Duthie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:22:30 GMT

The Pathe News site has some great old short film clips of autogyros. Some clips are black & white, some are silent, others have sound. A great amount of historical interest is there. If you have an interest in autogyros of the 1930s ( and some later) check this out, http://www.britishpathe.com/ Type in `autogyro` in the search archive box, there are some more old films under the spelling `autogiro`. Some of the clips are fully on autogyros, others have them in conjunction with other items.
A great variety of autogyros can be seen, for example I think there was mention of the Kay gyro here recently, it can be seen on one of the film clips.
The British Pathe website has films on very many subjects, well worth having a look at.
Colin Duthie

Discussion G3po

kloudking — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:16:41 GMT

Would anyone out there be interested in a NEWLY built G3PO with a new Honey Bee CP2 fixed pitch head mounted to a GWS gear box frame per the instructions that come with the plans.. I am in the process of just finishing a PT from flying balsa and don't need two autogyros, at least not until I learn to fly the first one.. I have been building and flying for 43 years so the build on the G3PO is nice and done according to the plans and directions.. It also has a New inrunner geared motor on it that should be way more than enough to fly it. NO blades, and no servos or electronics... If interested give me a call or e-mail 727-738-9073 bbeez@ix.netcom.com Jack
I know that this is not a sale section, but couldn't figure out where to put this rare bird....
I am open to offers around $80.00 plus shipping, the motor and gearbox cost me $50.00 and it's new with several gear ratios

Discussion Hotliner? Can it be done?

-=Brian812=- — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:46:52 GMT

Serious question, how fast can an Auto gyro go? Is there a formula?

Thanks,
Brian.

Discussion LeO C-30 project

baronrouge — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:30:29 GMT

Hello,
Here is my first autogyro project, a Lioret et Olivier C-30 (Cierva under french licence) made with E.Pinilla plans. I had just modified the rotor head system, greater rotorspan, and 4 stokes engine. I will change DC servos for metal geared and most powerfull ones. I will make rotor blades soon. Maiden flight must be done before the construction of the 9 cyl. Salmson radial dummy engine.....
To be continued..
J�r�me

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Discussion What torque for gyro servos

baronrouge — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:08:08 GMT

Hello,
What torque is necessary for a gyro like A of A Kellet (or similar size), equiped with DC Head?
I read that this head don't need powefull servos (see E.Pinilla with his Cierva), or in others forum that is necessary to use high torque servos.
Who believe? What is you experience in this size of gyro?
Thanks,
J�r�me

Discussion Looping Autogyros....what have you tried?

jodini — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:07:58 GMT

Hey guys.....I've been having fun trying out new things with my autogyros and one thing has been looping.

Here's my experience and want to know yours.

PT- Gryos - Loop well. No real corrections needed but needs a lot of power going into the loop....have to dive down but it normally pulls thru it no problem. I wonder if the delta head helps with this since it allows it to flop up.

DAG -R2 - My DAG has lots of power one thing it can do is loop no problem. It's kind of funny how it goes around.....I need no correcting (no rudder imput, no aileron...just pull back the sticks), but it almost gets stuck at the top unless I power it thru. And after it comes around a little more than half way it completes the loop fast like a pendulum. Two days ago I did it and it did get stuck upside down to the point that the blades stopped!:eek: It started to fall out of the sky and then when it plopped over again the blades speed up and it started to spin on it's axis....spiraling towards the earth! Luckly the power pulled it out and it saved it. I landed and changed my shorts!

RPG - Will loop, but needs lots of imputs. I can't remember what it was, but I need rudder and ailerons to keep it from snapping out. It probably is the most acrobatic gyro I have, but I have to keep on the sticks. Video below....

BEGI - Since it's working with a swashplate it seemed like it bound going thru the loop. It stopped spinning at the top of the loop and dropped like a rock. No recovery.....but the pieces went back together no problem! That being said, I'm pretty sure I've seen videos of the BEGI doing loops...just not mine!:rolleyes:

GYRACE and TWIRL - Seems like all dual rotor gyros loop like a plane. No surprises and fun as heck to do!:D

Well those are my looping stories...what's yours guys!!?!?!?

James Bond's Auto Gyro does a loop, is it real or is it magic? (2 min 38 sec)

Discussion Smaller blade chord what to expect?

grant31781 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:42:08 GMT

My gyro weights 1 pound even and puts out 1 pound 1.1 ounces thrust. I have the 2 blade teetering head with two 17.5 inch aerobalsa 2.375 inch chord blades. Rotor diameter is 38 inches.

If I change to 1.5 or 2 inch chord blades with the same rotor diameter what can I expect to happen?

Build Log C''30 Profile ""SLIM''

britinoz — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:23:23 GMT

Just to show my latest model from start to finish.I wont be able to test fly for a few days as the temp is 38deg C in the shade.
I claim no credit for this type of design,as I was so impressed with the work Dave Surace has done with his profile models.I do not know the size of his model and I have only seen the plans on his how to video's,But I should think it is of similar size. I have taken a different path with my construction.
My model is OAL 34'' Height 19'' Tail span 16 1/2'' with a 50'' rotor span.
The weight including 4000ma lipo is 3 LB 7 OZ that I lot heavier than I expected {I was aiming at 3 LB]
The motor is a Himark 3520 1100 with a SS 40/50 ESC The servos on the head are a pair of Blue Bird 620 mg's
I have used arrow shaft's as push rods to the head.The main wire on the U/C is 3.2mm and the other wires are 2mm The prop is a 12x6 APC E copy{it is not a very good prop,but it will break easy.and so it will save the shaft from bending]
OOPS I have a feeling the pics may not come out in the correct order.sorry.

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Build Log Blinkin ......RPG

Gyrocopter — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:56:40 GMT

Just built an RPG with Navigation lights, the video is >>>crp:rolleyes: but in real life they are quite bright and I hope they show up in flight. Now how about some autogyro night flying, can't be that difficult...or can it? The lights are a full set from BRC hobbies at �9.99 which I thought was rather good. I haven't fitted the rest of the lights yet but will test fly it first.

Blinkin RPG (1 min 17 sec)

Chas

Discussion Blade Questions

Aerofreak — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:08:13 GMT

Hi Guys,

I recently got some 70 mm chord Aerobalsa blades and have some questions on them:

- I read a few posts on the issues of (chordwise) blade balancing, what is the consequence if it not properly balanced?
- On the Aerobalsa site I could not find any hints or tips on making & installing the root plate (reinforment where the bolt sits) for the blades, any pointers?
- Anyone have some info on glassing the blades (pros, cons & maybe a procedure)

TIA

Jim

Build Log DAG-R1...about to shave wood

crossgrain — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:53:17 GMT

Hi Gyronuts, dreaming about DAGs since seeing the videos, collecting, waiting for, special parts and this is the collection so far

DAG-R1 plans and rotor plate http://www.whirlybirdaviation.com/

EMAX BL2820 motor 920KV
Max. efficiency current: 20-30A
Current capacity: 59 A/60s
Dimensions: 39x42 mm
Shaft diameter: 5 mm
Weight: 144 g/5.07oz.

12 x 6 APC-type prop (could take 30+ amps)
2800 3S Lipos

SP 70A SC OPTO
Hobbywing 3 amp UBEC

Servos 2 x DYS213 MG for direct rotor control
Weight : 55g
Size: 41.0 x 20.1 x 38.0mm
Operating Speed : 0.16sec/60o
Stall Torque: 13 kg/cm
Various standard servos for rudder

Gearbox, Dubro rods and links, female pilot, and carbon tube on the way

Steering Tailwheel (nice), from Giant Cod (same at Hobby City)
2 x 4� 1.5 oz wheels

Plenty of wood

I already discovered a lot of useful info here and would like to do the blades as per plan. I even have the right size of piano wire for the LE.

To get the balance going in the right direction would appreciate some more details, if you can help please:-

Re. the Blades:-
- could you say how much should each raw blade weigh, either with or without the wire?
- Roughly how thick should the TE be, at the position where it meets the upward chamfer?
- What is a good depth for the chamfer?
- Should the chamfer be convex or flat?

Regards
Chris

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Cool Kellet Autogyro Kit for sale.

erict — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:25:38 GMT

I have one of these.

http://www.autogyro-rc.com/FuelKits.html

It is the deluxe kit with everything. I do not have the time to touch it. kit is untouched in the box with all the goodies. I have read the instructions a dozen times and decided this is too much for now.

First 225 gets it shipped to your door.

paypal only.

thanks

eric

Discussion Profile Kellett Face Lift....

imsofaman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:05:55 GMT

My face lift on the Kellett....

If you did not know....the radial is from Eflite's PT 17. I ground around the ID of the mount from the inside which released the radial. I made a fiberglass mount for it and used aluminum tubing as spacers. I had to stick one screw though the center of one of the cylinders....but that was the worst of it. It is delicate.....but once it is relesed fromt he fiberglass nose, you can sure up everything with CA.

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Discussion scamp autogryo

BillHones — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:45:27 GMT

i did browse the threads, so forgive me if i missed it. i remember seeing this kit years ago somewhere online. i cant seem to find it anymore. anyone know whats going on?

heres a link to a great video of the plane.

Scamp RC Autogyro (1 min 32 sec)

Data Auto Gyro with pre-rotator

Axbri — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:48:00 GMT

Recently I flew my new Auto Gyro with electric pre-rotator for the first time. The main rotor is started by a speed 280 motor which is controlled by a PIC micro controller. The total weight of the vehicle is about 700 grams and the rotor diameter is 980 mm.

Here is a video of the �almost� maiden flight, hope you like it!
http://www.youtube.com/user/Axbri#p/a/u/0/wm6JDYtv88Q

By the way: I am 16 years old and I live in Norrkoping, Sweden (northern Europe) :)

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Question depron vs cellfoam88

airwolf2006 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:45:07 GMT

Im thinking of building a Twirl from plans instead of buying a precut kit.I would use the standard electrics lightflite sells for it.Can cellfoam be used instead of depron?Ive read all the threads on this and cannot come to a concensus.What are the differences.I can get 3mm cellfoam locally but would have to send away for depron.Any opinions would be helpful.

Discussion Colin Sudds - Blade Construction

awood12345 — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:44:05 GMT

Hi guys,

For a while now i have been flying some autogryo models of my firend Colin Sudds. as his sight has deteriated and it become harder for him to fly I have been aquired the position of test pilot. He recently informed me that there have been a few questions somewhere on this site about his blade construction and aske me if I could post this. I can't find the thread he means but thought it deserves its own thread anyway, so here goes.

"The leading and trailing edge, tips, and spar, are made of Bass wood, with the root fixing out of ply. The Balsa between leading edge and spar is used with the grain running cord wise, this helps to even up variation in density and weight and is stronger in compression behind the leading edge. Very light Balsa is used behind the spar. They are planed and sanded close to shape then finished with a profiled sanding block as per photo.

Then painted with sanding sealer prior to being skinned with fibre glass cloth (1oz per sq yd). Then balanced, each blade weighs about 20gm including 2.5gm lead weight in the tip.

A set of three blades take about five days to complete, as my sight is not too good."

Photo's:

I'll upload the pictures once my Gmail account starts working again.

I hope this helps you guys. :D

Here are come of this gyros in use:

Indoor RC Minx Autogyro (1 min 7 sec)

Grasshopper all 0003 (8 min 6 sec)

Colin Sudds' Electric "Pushkin" Autogiro (4 min 26 sec)

He has now developed many very small gyro's for indoor and park flight. The latest couple are brilliant for indoor flying and can achieve controlled figure 8's in small gym's. The aim is to eventually work out all the problems and possibly make plans if anyones interested.

Cheers,
Alan

Discussion 007 little nellie autogyro

alistair watt — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:07:42 GMT

It might seem a big flight of fantasy but I really quite like the idea of building a r/c copy of the "You only live twice" 007 Autogyro..
I don't know if this would be possble to build a glow 40 pusher autogyro to modify to the 007 model.
Does anyone know is there a flying kit available or parts to build such a model.. I have built and flown many r/c aircraft and a heli but don't have serious tooling to build metal work.
I have sent away for the Corgi model to use as a guide.

any thoughts as it seems a great project.
al

Discussion Specs For First Homebuilt Autogyro?

flyingwing12 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:04:42 GMT

hello everybody, hope you have good Halloween! But i need some help.

i am a 15 year old designer of R/C AIRPLANES!!!!! not auto gyros. i want to switch to the auto gyros for a short second ;) but i don't know the first thing about the designing of them, or in that matter how to make the blades :P

i Have seen the websites explaining how to build them, but there just not good enough.

So i am asking whoever is the best builder out there for some help on how to make like a free-flight or an electric model?. Something interesting

Could someone also explain to me what the disk loading of an autogyro is and how to calculate it?. And is it just like wing loading on an Airplane?.

How big should my rotors be? chord, length?

How high should the rotors be from the fuselage?

Discussion Some flying today.....Vidoes

imsofaman — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:29:33 GMT

We had our annual breakfast today and had a small fun fly afterwards. A couple movies to share with you all....

Dave

BCSF Gyro fun at Funfly (7 min 26 sec)

Build Log RC autogyro

gyrobeetim — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:02:24 GMT

Hi Fellas, Just joined rc groups so please be patient with me if i make a boo boo as still finding my way on this site, OK here are some specs of my Gyrobee autogyro that Rich posted on the 21/10.

wheel base.........32 inches.
height................33 inches.
length................48 inches.
weight................2.4kg as measured with new digital scales however old kitchen scales showed 3 kg but i think i will go with the new data :) this weight includes everything you see in the pictures posted by Rich excluding blades and electronics.

Motor used.........FSD 720 kv rated at 4.5kg of push with a 15x6 @ 52 amp running with 58 amp max @ 10 sec bursts.
Flight battery........ flight max 5s ip 5000 milliamp i purchased 4 of these on ebay for a song still pinching myself as these are not cheap to buy from hobby shops.
Radio used...........futaba 7c 2.4 gig roll and pitch servos towerpro Mg 996R digitals i have set the head up as per Rich"s tempest with the servos at the rear .
Rotorblades....... not built yet but i am going to build my blades as per the profile from the dag 60 plans that i purchased off Rich several months ago.
Ok here is some general info of the model. It has taken me 18 months to get it to this stage of the build it is based (loosely)on Ralph Taggarts full size ultralight autogyro called the Gyrobee which he designed some 10 years ago . I down loaded his plans and basicaly went from there, i have rebuilt many items either to save weight or simply because i struggled with certain aspects of the design and wasnt happy with it. The uprake in the tailboom i added in the second rebuild of the fuz as i felt it would enable the gyro totilt back as the rotor was wound up, i watched Riches vids very closely over the last year or so and noticed his tempest and RPG all tillted back with nose wheel up as he got them going. I think i may have got ahead of myself abit with the build as you will notice i have already fixed the motor in position this i think was a bit premature as i havnt done the cg yest to determine thrustlines ARGGGGGGGG we live and learn i guess lol hopefully once the blades are done and i do the calcs then it wont be too far out. In the pics you will see i have wheel spats they wont be used for test hops i will leave them off untill model is sorted. I have kept the hang angle in mind throughout the design and build and have a hang angle of 16 degrees the flight battery will be attaches to the rear of the seat so it will be just in front of the mast :) the radio box is under the seat which rotates up to allow access. Ok guys please feel free to ask me questions or add an oppinion. On closing i just want to say that this project would not have got this far if it wasn"t for the autogyro forums on rc groups and the information shared between you guys, i have been reading and learning from you guys for a while now so i would like to say a big thankyou to Dave Surace wish i could bottle his enthusiasm. Rich for his outstanding setting up and flying of his gyros plus knowledge CHaz, jodini, Mike, Peter o, Rotorheid, norfolkpilot, and all the guys who have added their insight to these forums i have you all to thank for my success cheers Tim.