Richard Harris

Forum seems really slow!

Nice one outrunner, Get as much flight time as you can until it becomes second nature before turning to the Mantis. Pushers are a little different but not much. Thanks for the update. Rich

Matty, I was only able to get the last copy from my local WHSmith's, if you get stuck give me a shout? Early indications are that it is popular, always good to hear folk are still building from scratch. EarlyBird, All kits seem to be pricey these days but it does suit some, I prefer to hack stuff out. Rich

Just bumping back up as we are 4 weeks away!

Whilst flying my Gyroo saturday I had my motor drop off in flight, luckily the model floated down nicely with minor damage to the tail but it took 10 mins to find the motor. On inspection the motor mount was still in place on the bulkhead, clearly I hadn't tightened the countersunk bolts up enough so worth adding a spot of loctite on these. All repaired and I managed to fly it today at 12noon along side rc fixed wings, drones and competition FF gliders, I think around 40. Good fun and glad it got back in one piece as it was pretty busy up there. Rich

Hi Bob, I must admit I side tracked onto the Gyroo, maybe one for the future if there is enough interest? Rich

I've been informed that the Gyroo 3D printed files are now available free to download from Coolwind models . These have been designed by renowned gyronut Tim Arnold. They are located in the download section and feature a modification to the UC giving you an option to add extra wire to the standard legs if you feel the need. At the moment a balsa tail is used as the first printed tail was a tad heavy, However, a few experts over on our FB group are modiying them to extract as much weight as possible. On another note I flew the prototype last weekend, I had broken the 11" prop trying my one blade experiments. All I could find was a 10x 4 drone prop ( the coloured thin type that hum when over rpm'd) I was pleasantly surprised that it still had plenty of oomph. Though I coudnt pull a loop as before but the duration was definitely extended some what. Rich

Ace, As Phil suggests splicing works fine, however I make my blade blanks at full sheet length which has given me several smaller sets at 410mm span. I plan on designing something specifically for these shorter blades. That said, I am pretty sure the Gyroo would fly on 450mm length blades though the rotor loading will be higher. Steve Jones 2 is flying his on shorter blades, I don't remember the exact length, if he see's this I am sure he will advise. Rich

Barry, Neat tool you have there, I do mine in pretty much the same way but not so sophisticated. I bolt mine directly together through the mounting hole with a piece of M4 all thread and use this as the axle between the open jaws of my vice, these are orientated 90 degrees to what yours are. Looks like your not far off? Rich

Hi Barry, First off, welcome to the forum ? Good to hear you are having a crack at Gyroo Regarding your blades and the task of applying PVA, I just add a little more to take into account the slight weight loss once cured. There is no reason why you couldn't use pins to add mass to a blade, just be observant of the lengthwise and cordwise CG when doing so. In the past, if I have had a blade that has ended up being significantly heavier than the rest I have used short pieces of plumbers solder set into the blade around its cordwise CG. Using a piece of suitably sized piano wire you can scrape out quite a neat slot for the solder to sit into. Will be interested to know how you get on? Rich

On another note SARIK hobbies will have a laser cut part kit available as of the 29th April. https://www.sarikhobbies.com/product/new-auto-gryo/ Also Coolwind have added alternative fibre glass blade reinforces to their Gyroo parts. https://www.coolwind.co.uk/Gyroo_Parts/cat2253307_238247.aspx

Shaun, To be fair it is a bit alien when blade balancing for the first time, just take your time and dont be afraid to ask as we have all been there. One of my Gyro friends has uploaded a video of his 3D printed Gyroo flying in 30 mph winds, thought I would share it. I am hoping he will make the files available here at some stage.

Dave, Unless you have a modern 3d drawing program that will give you an accurate CG position its a case of trail and error. It's worth taking the time to read THIS, written by Jim Baxter back in the 90's. It gives you a good underpinning of what is needed in the designing of a tractor autogyro, it really needs re writing as it is out of date now but still good info. Rich

Dave, As a rule I start off with 5-6 degrees of down thrust, this generally aligns the thrust line above the vertical CG on a tractor model and also aids spin up. The effects of pitch instability are nowhere near as severe as that with a pusher as the moment arm between CG and tail surfaces are longer in comparison and dampen any offsets. You can move mass around to suit (servos, ESC, lipos etc), alter mast height and thrustline. If you are close in alignment but climb is to severe for your liking under power just simply increase the tailplane area. Or if your not up for experimenting simply copy the dimensions of a proven design.

Nice neat work Steve, Is this your original build or the one for your clubmate? Rich

I think that's it Bob, Thank you ?

My understanding is that Barnes & Noble bookstores stock the USA's version of RCM&E (cannot remember its name off the top of my head), easiest thing to do is to drop the magazine an email for the up to date info you require. Rich

Look forward to seeing your twin build for your mates Stephen?

Opps, my reminder........medium it is. ?

I've knocked up a materials list for the Gyroo so those that are giving it a go can sort out what is needed, hopefully it's attached to this post as a PDF? Gyroo! Materials List.pdf

This is my 30" Scram which I flew for the first time last weekend, powered by a Redfin 020 Kompish diesel. Here is a video of one of its flights, powered backed off to try and keep it lower and closer for the camera. A full tank with a few more revs gets it to a decent height, good fun.

Matty, 2 blades are more efficient, cheaper and there are less to break! They also sound better Cons are they are trickier to set up than 3 blades being more sensitive if not tackled correctly. Kind of going from a high winged trainer to a low wing aerobat.

That's good, best make a material list up then

Bees, Yes, that is the correct method, it should balance horizontal or slightly nose down using the tail plane as your horizontal datum. It's worth remembering that the model should be ready to fly with the Lipo and blades installed when doing this. Rich

2022 UK International Gyro meet will once again be hosted at Winterton Model Flying club over the weekend of 17th -19th June. All required info is on the poster, any questions just ask here or give Cali a bell.