The toothpick idea was good and save my blades so many times. so many times that i'm lazy to replace those toothpicks ;p, I just use the outer screw and those blade swing freely like other rc heli. It fly the same with or without toothpick. Anyone try the same thing before?

The blades on my DC Gyro are only held on with a single bolt. Matter of fact, that is the way all the blades on all of my autogyros were ever held on. Centrifugal force keeps them straight out, but in the event of a bump they can easily pivot out of the way. They weren't sloppy loose. Just snug enough to hold them where you put them but loose enough to straighten them selves out once spinning. I never damaged or broke a blade. Destroyed a few Autogyros, but never a blade. Tom

Originally Posted by aeromaniac

I damaged my Auto G today and need new blades, it was my fault, I think I slowed it up tomuch on a downwind leg and it rolled left into the dirt.

Ouch! From what elevation & speed did you lose it? Battery level?
Did you have toothpicks ?

Originally Posted by rusty case

Ouch! From what elevation & speed did you lose it? Battery level?
Did you have toothpicks ?

lol it was a shame, but its part of this hobby, I was only about 10' above the ground, speed seemed ok but it was coming downwind and I think I slowed down to much without realising it, battery well I put in my wing wing to fly it out, yes i had the toothpicks as well.

Tnx for the full version of the saga, aeromaniac!
...if I can learn in advance of the inevitable mishap...

The threads tell how slow speed lh turns are to be avoided.

..so it was 'pilot error'... "speed seemed ok but..." :-)

I've never been a pilot before, and I'm a marginal skipper... so RCGs ground school is well advised for me!

Rusty, have you flown any rc planes? If not, you may want to practice on a simulator or trainer before trying this

Don

:-)
(the voice of wisdom rings clear and loud!)

I've had the wheel turned over to me a number of times in small aircraft...

and I've built any number of model planes but always turned them over to the kids.
Never flew a lick, myself!

As I've said, I'm a marginal skipper... always made it home, but I've swamped a few boats, and actually run into a mountain with one...BIG mountain! lol

Think I better start small, huh?

I think there is a foamie in my near future.
:-)
rc

A decent RC flight sim would be cheaper in the long run. If you have an RC club nearby, tell them you want to learn how to fly. There will usually be someone willing to help out. They may even get you on a buddy-box, which helps keep the crashing to a minimum. Try not to be tempted by cheap so-called trainer airplanes. They tend to be a waste of money and extend the time needed to learn the basics. The local RC club is more likely to point you to a better choice. If you can't find the help locally, I'm sure we can offer tons of advice.

Don

Yes, the flying clubs north and south of here have been real good with my boys.
That's been quite a while back, but I'm almost sure they are still active.
I don't get far, anymore, so I'll most likely have a go solo.
I gotta root through the boxes of old nitro motors and futaba radios and find what might be useful with this new 2.4ghz stuff, nowadays. I've got a few sheets of foam laying about.
Might as well try and fly it before it gets too busted up from setting around...

Hi Auto - G Pilots.

I have now completed the full blade and flapping conversion on my Auto - G and not at all wanting to deprive HK of parts sales, it has to be said that the blades / head are now very durable indeed.
Firstly as mentioned previously the servos were changed for metal geared , not that the plastic ones were bad at all as long as the model was not crashed to often . The plastic clevises were changed in favour of metal ,and the flex plate assembly replaced by a simple 0.8mm x 3" gf tri plate .
The good bit about the original blades is the black plastic l/e section ,which seems to be as tough as old boots ,and scrapping out the depron is not difficult ready to insert 1/8" balsa .
Clearly this leaves a small step top and bottom which is easy to sort with 1mm balsa and cyno but after the section has been sanded to shape. The blade roots and wedges were cut down so the blade was secured with a single 3 mm bolt placed through the remaining hole. I did not keep the depron blade sections ,so guessed at the chord required , which turned out at 55 mm .
The Blades are now made up from three lamination's and are strong but light enough not to slow the following rate down , cyclic roll characteristics are nice and easy and the model flies impeccably with no down sides noted at all .

Tom.

Originally Posted by Tom Wright

Hi Auto - G Pilots.

I have now completed the full blade and flapping conversion on my Auto - G and not at all wanting to deprive HK of parts sales, it has to be said that the blades / head are now very durable indeed.
Firstly as mentioned previously the servos were changed for metal geared , not that the plastic ones were bad at all as long as the model was not crashed to often . The plastic clevises were changed in favour of metal ,and the flex plate assembly replaced by a simple 0.8mm x 3" gf tri plate .
The good bit about the original blades is the black plastic l/e section ,which seems to be as tough as old boots ,and scrapping out the depron is not difficult ready to insert 1/8" balsa .
Clearly this leaves a small step top and bottom which is easy to sort with 1mm balsa and cyno but after the section has been sanded to shape. The blade roots and wedges were cut down so the blade was secured with a single 3 mm bolt placed through the remaining hole. I did not keep the depron blade sections ,so guessed at the chord required , which turned out at 55 mm .
The Blades are now made up from three lamination's and are strong but light enough not to slow the following rate down , cyclic roll characteristics are nice and easy and the model flies impeccably with no down sides noted at all .

Tom.

Thanks Tom, I have stripped one of the plastic leading edges out and will make balsa one like you have.

Tom,
Did you put music wire inside the leading edge?
Ken

Originally Posted by Tom Wright

Hi Auto - G Pilots.

I have now completed the full blade and flapping conversion on my Auto - G and not at all wanting to deprive HK of parts sales, it has to be said that the blades / head are now very durable indeed.
Firstly as mentioned previously the servos were changed for metal geared , not that the plastic ones were bad at all as long as the model was not crashed to often . The plastic clevises were changed in favour of metal ,and the flex plate assembly replaced by a simple 0.8mm x 3" gf tri plate .
The good bit about the original blades is the black plastic l/e section ,which seems to be as tough as old boots ,and scrapping out the depron is not difficult ready to insert 1/8" balsa .
Clearly this leaves a small step top and bottom which is easy to sort with 1mm balsa and cyno but after the section has been sanded to shape. The blade roots and wedges were cut down so the blade was secured with a single 3 mm bolt placed through the remaining hole. I did not keep the depron blade sections ,so guessed at the chord required , which turned out at 55 mm .
The Blades are now made up from three lamination's and are strong but light enough not to slow the following rate down , cyclic roll characteristics are nice and easy and the model flies impeccably with no down sides noted at all .

Tom.

Aero
Let us know how your conversion goes .Note the 1/8" balsa needs a little sanding on the front edge to produce a snug fit into the plastic ,check the flat bottom alignment before glueing the 1mm skins top and bottom .

Ken
Yes the music wire was put inside the l/e full length.

Tom.

Sadly,I have once again managed to crash my gyro.I believe it stalled due to insufficient blade speed. 1 blade badly damaged,1 minor,1 ok.So i need to make some,can't be bothered waiting for shipping from hk.
It seems these things fly a lot better when there's a bit of a breeze.Oh well,to the repair section of the workshop.

Are there more people making their blades from hardware store yardsticks?