There you go Tom, visible now

Hi All.
I have been thinking ....again! about what inhibits the average rc pilot from having a go at an Autogyro . Well after a year of recieving feed back it seems ,head , bearings ,plates ,and rotors are the items that may be in the frame .
So my latest approach was to first simplify the fus ,tail ,rudder construction so that part of the build was simple, cheap,quick ,and robust , enabling a simple motor and u/c fix and very importantly rotor clearance to the rudder,as strikes can be desructive and off putting. Next the control head was reduced to a simple pivot or hinge and control arm with a replacable rotor bolt . So far so good, so then it was a matter of sorting the delta plate. Again based on useing 0.8mm gf various sizes worked well , the final selection just depended on blade weight and the distance from the rotor bolt to the rotor root ,so the model as flown in the video has a 4" plate ,the blade bolts are 15 mm from the root ,resulting in a distance of 42 mm from the rotor center to the blade bolt. Many types of bearing holder could be used but the "blue wonder" from Giant Shark UK is very cheap, easy to install and works well with a standard bearing in the middle and flange bearings top and bottom .
My blades are made from preformed hard balsa t/e stock with a 1.5mm piano wire added to the l/e this arrangement minimises sanding and gets the blade cog just forward of the rotor bolt and seems to result in a stable rotor with nice and easy roll response .
To me the ethetics of of a first Autogyro should not matter ,it's better to acheive early success ,learn how to fly them ,get a little understanding as to what effects what ,and then go build one of the many great designs that get noticed at the field .
Tom

Thanks for the photo Rich
Tom.

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/...zzcrane039.jpg


The simple roll only head used on the Crane Fly .
Tom.

If builders find it difficult to get the 1/2" x 1/4" spruce boom /mast material , 10 mm carbon tube can be used instead.

Tom.

Tom where did you get the control rod ends and what size is the rod and what is it made of? I have been looking for a stiffer rod and heavier connector for larger Autogyro convention of mine. Thanks.

Bill

Tom are you having problems posting pictures ,I know I did when I started here. Go to post reply scroll down under the post box click on manage attachments ,choose browse select a photo from your collection click ok or use or what ever, then click on upload wait for it to appear write in the box if you wish THEN AND THIS IS IMPORTANT CLICK ON SAVE AT THE BOTTOM , then go to the top right hand side of the page and close the page it goes back to the letter box section and then submit just under that. SIMPLE RIGHT ?!!

Bill

Hi Bill.
It's good to know there are folks out there prepared to help an old IT duffer .thanks I will have another go at posting photos.

The control arm ball joints are from Giant Shark ,they currently have a great selection to suit most aplications . As for the roll bar... that is piano wire ,with a gauge selected to suit the ball hole, and size / weight of the model .

The Crane Fly roll bar is 2mm ....thicker piano wire can be used, but less than 2 mm is to bendy, never use the theaded push rod stuff, as that is far to soft.

Thanks again for the heads up and best wishes for the new year.
Tom.

Bill.
I followed your instructions and sure enough the photo down loaded . This one is not the Crane Fly but a conversion done on my Auto- G.

Thanks for your help.

Tom.

Another try. Yes it works ! Thanks Bill. Getting there ....slowly !

Another try

-Bill.

The link to ball joints . http://www.giantshark.co.uk/alloy-ba...-p-407180.html

Tom you can post multiple pictures in one post just choose one picture below another so on so froth then click on the up load and they will come up one by one and comments to them if you want CLICK SAVE CHANGES ! Then close that window and submit.

Thanks Bill .... there should be three on this post. Top and bottom views of the 4" plate and the roll hinge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=3Pj3c0Xo83s

Video of the roll head and elevator Crane Fly.