Another gyro - smaller this time at 3.5 oz RTF . 13" long, prop to tail end. Rotor blades are 9.5" by 7/8", 3/32" balsa sanded to airfoil shape. 2 degree negative shims. I sealed the blades with 3 coats of Krylon clear acrylic spray - sanded smooth - makes the blades a little heavier and stiffer.

The fuselage is 3 laminations, the center is vertical grain 1/32" plywood, the outer layers are 1/32" balsa with grain running fore and aft. Pretty stiff, still light. Horizontal and vertical tail surfaces from 1/20" balsa. I don't apply sealer to the whole plane - these are proof-of-concept flying machines - no flying in rain or even if really damp!

Cirrus CS-5.4 gram servos, motor is a Lazertoyz 10 gram outrunner, ESC is a Feigao 6 amp, battery is 2 cell 340 mAh LiPo from Lightflight. Receiver is a GWS 4 channel.

First flight is waiting for the "right" conditions (weather, courage?). Will keep all you updated.
Ron

Ron,

We're going to need details of the head design. It looks tricky, yet simple, at the same time.

Bob

Originally Posted by Ron_Fikes

Another gyro - smaller this time at 3.5 oz RTF . 13" long, prop to tail end. Rotor blades are 9.5" by 7/8", 3/32" balsa sanded to airfoil shape. 2 degree negative shims. I sealed the blades with 3 coats of Krylon clear acrylic spray - sanded smooth - makes the blades a little heavier and stiffer.

The fuselage is 3 laminations, the center is vertical grain 1/32" plywood, the outer layers are 1/32" balsa with grain running fore and aft. Pretty stiff, still light. Horizontal and vertical tail surfaces from 1/20" balsa. I don't apply sealer to the whole plane - these are proof-of-concept flying machines - no flying in rain or even if really damp!

Cirrus CS-5.4 gram servos, motor is a Lazertoyz 10 gram outrunner, ESC is a Feigao 6 amp, battery is 2 cell 340 mAh LiPo from Lightflight. Receiver is a GWS 4 channel.

First flight is waiting for the "right" conditions (weather, courage?). Will keep all you updated.
Ron

Hello Ron!

You have very nice Autogyro there!

I like your rotor head design and rotor blades. I have used and tested these thin airfoiled balsa blades and found out that they worked so well in light models. Maybe faster than Depron blades but they really fly not just windmilling. Also they react much more faster.

Good luck for maiden!

Best regards from icy Finland. Now outside temperature is only -1.7celsius Last week we have below -30celsius... Brr, cold it is

Kari

awesome, can't wait for the flight report. looking to do something similair myself for indoor flying.

Jason

Ron,

Excellent job on your little gem of an autogyro! Here's wishing you the best of luck on the maiden!

Mike

Well, finally started test flying my PEA-NUT, the rain has been heavy and since the PEA-NUT is bare balsa, I held back taking it out. Now we have tule fog and the rain is to start tomorrow! But I have had a few flights, if that is what you want to call them.
Started off with a GWS DD 5 x 4.3 prop on 2 cells - old battery and did not have enough power. Also -2 degrees on blades gave weak spool-up. Added cardstock shims to give just a little more negative, put on a 6 x 3 GWS DD prop and a NEW Hyperion 2 cell, 240 LiPo - all the difference in the world. Now it spooled right up, hand launched (grass at our field too tall) and flew off. Then the left turn started (from torque?), right control caused nothing and it rolled over to the left. After making a new control head, I started thinking, the same thing happens if the rotor hinge material is too stiff, so I am working on a "softer" design, sticking with PP (may have to go to Yogurt lid plastic).
Will report when the next flights are completed, (good or bad).
Ron

Ron,
That is just one of the cutest little AG's that I ever did see. I wish you the best in getting it all noodled out. Working on something similar, but smaller still.

Ken

Originally Posted by Ron_Fikes

Well, finally started test flying my PEA-NUT, the rain has been heavy and since the PEA-NUT is bare balsa, I held back taking it out. Now we have tule fog and the rain is to start tomorrow! But I have had a few flights, if that is what you want to call them.
Started off with a GWS DD 5 x 4.3 prop on 2 cells - old battery and did not have enough power. Also -2 degrees on blades gave weak spool-up. Added cardstock shims to give just a little more negative, put on a 6 x 3 GWS DD prop and a NEW Hyperion 2 cell, 240 LiPo - all the difference in the world. Now it spooled right up, hand launched (grass at our field too tall) and flew off. Then the left turn started (from torque?), right control caused nothing and it rolled over to the left. After making a new control head, I started thinking, the same thing happens if the rotor hinge material is too stiff, so I am working on a "softer" design, sticking with PP (may have to go to Yogurt lid plastic).
Will report when the next flights are completed, (good or bad).
Ron

Finally flew it with the new 'less stiff' rotor hinge (made from a narrower piece of 0.6mm PP cutting mat) - flew well but way too much throw on the head! Also very hard to see, too small in the sky. The battery was too far forward (too steep hang angle), moved the battery back. Reset the throws, added lots of expo, threw it again - much better. Way too fast for any indoor work, just have to keep my eyes wide open (I think larger is better for these old eyes). Maybe wider, slower turning blades would slow it down a little?
Ron

Congratulations Ron!

Now the followup. How about some plans?

Ken

Originally Posted by dz1sfb

Congratulations Ron!
Now the followup. How about some plans?
Ken

Ken,
I have been making autogyros as "proof-of-concept", don't do plans, just thoughts off the top of my head. I do have some sketches, diagrams and other bits and pieces - I will gather them up and put to paper. It will be a small JPG file, with a scale on them so you can 'blow' them up to size. I have some of the 0.60mm PP and will send you a larger enough piece to do the head hinge, send me a self addressed, stamped envelope (I will give the address after I get the plans done - just in case I don't get them done).
Glad you like my PEA-NUT A.G.
Ron

Ron,
Thats very kind of you.

Ken

Flew (tried) it today, usually let a mate hand launch, but I thought I could do it all (can't ROG, too low to the ground to get the wind, and the grass is getting too tall for those little wheels). Ha! Launched, but could not get to the sticks fast enough - broke a prop. Will replace and try tomorrow - with John launching so I can have both thumbs at the ready. Seems like it is a small bird so it should fly slowly, but as light as I could make it, it is still fast - and gravity doesn't help - IT SUCKS!
Wish me luck (will stick to larger gyros after this one)...
Ron

Sure sorry for the delay - finally got a good flight and a perfect landing with my PEA-NUT today. John hand launched it again (better to start out at 6' height), flew right out of hand, but it is TOO small in the air. Being natural balsa color, it just disappears! And it was a bright sunny day - I thought my big yellow gyro was hard to keep track of - this is worse. I will try to add some bright color without adding too much weight. And don't think small gives a slow flight - this little sucker MOVES.

I did make some more changes (this is getting to be a habit with gyros), added 1/4" width to the blades, with the added pieces drooped just a smidje, added some lead weights to the blade tips (the thin lead for weighting golf club heads), that stopped the coning. But the rotor hinge material is just a tad stiff. I will drill a small hole on the hinge line, in the PP material, to loosen it up a bit. I came to this conclusion because it doesn't want to turn easily to the right, and with a left command, it starts to roll over and STAYS THERE. On some other gyros our group has done, that seemed to be a sign of TOO stiff hinge material. I am going along with the theory that the advancing blade can't lift easily, thus forcing the gyro to roll left - nothing else in aviation that I have learned seems to apply with an autogyro.
Ron

Congratulations Ron!

Sounds like you are getting there.

On the paint, or color, I have had good results with water based acrylic, for a light, and opaque finish, by spraying thinned with water through an airbrush.

Still watching with interest,
Ken

Good advice - last night I added a little color so I could see it better. Did use acrylic and the black is marker pen. The bottom is almost all black marker (I have tried to make all my planes black on the bottom, don't want to have to keep track of which plane is what colors - besides, in the old days, all free flights had black on the bottoms, always showed up against the sky - just before they flew OOS!).
Went out to test new coloration today, wind wrong direction, will try again tomorrow. I am very fussy about conditions, we fly at a county park, and there are parking lots to worry about. NO FLYING OVER THE CARS.
There is always tomorrow...
Ron