Richard Harris

Excellent, any questions just fire away

My ongoing Nellie build needs a few things testing before it progresses any further. To do this I decided to pause it and scribble up Gyroo II as a kind of adjustable test bed. This will be a pusher version of the Gyroo utilising the same blades, servos tail parts etc In the same way as the tractor version the main components will be easily replaceable. I still have wood left over from Gyroo so I dont have to put my hand in my pocket again for build materials. The drawings are virtually complete and I have tried to keep it as Gyrooish as possible. Templates have been printed so I can progress with cutting the bits out whilst I await the arrival of a higher KV motor. More in the next few days. Rich

I think they were removed because someone thought it was OK to print them and sell them without permission. You need to speak to Tim Arnold as he drew them up and tested it.

That looks interesting Ron, any flight videos available?

Well done Linds,shame about the servo. You can almost taste it!

Good news, This has now been submitted to the powers that be, unfortunately it may be a while before it gets published as there is a canard in the latest issue, bad timing on my part so my apologies. When I get chance I will put my usual shopping list together for anyone who wants to give either a crack. One of my friends has kindly volunteered to beta build the canard version, I am sure he will post here on his progress once he gets started.

Great looking model Geoff, that would make for an excellent plan in the mag

James, They should be fine at that weight, may take a little longer to spin up. The angled root is something you will only see on my blades, it's there to help spin up, as the blade lifts the angle creates a slightly negative incidence.

Thanks for the feedback gents, I will ponder on it I think

Neil, Nice job on yours 😎, you cant go wrong with yellow. I look forward to hearing how you get on once your patch has dried out, the winter months will give you ample time to knock a few spares up 'just in case'. Affair, I'm sorry, I thought I'd replied to your post but it looks like I missed it, your blades are light at 30g and would probably make your Gyroo a bit sensitive in roll. Like Neil has done just add tip weights into each blade to bring them up to spec, they need to be inset into the blade in front of the cord-wise CG. This is just testing the water : I've been thinking of scribbling up a 'Gyroo II', this would be a pusher version using the same modular build as the tractor version, similar in size so as to utilize a lot of the parts from the Gyroo (blades, head, plates, servos etc). I must admit I have way too many projects on the go but if there is enough interest it could jump to the top of the 'to do' list. What do you guys think? Rich

Great job James, I'm liking the colour scheme. Wheel size is dependent on your airstrip terrain, more importantly is to make sure your Revolver is sat parallel to the ground. Slightly tipped back is ok but a nose down stance can cause issues when ROG. Not much left to do. Rich

We were blessed with light winds and basking sun last Sunday, perfect for flying our gyros. A big thanks to all who turned up and helped out, especially Steve Jones who was busy all afternoon letting would be Gyronuts loose on the sticks (there was quite a queueat one stage). It certainly generated interest with some of the die hard fixed wingers to try something new. I took a few photos and a bit of video footage. Next Gyro day will hopefully be in November sometime at The Heart of England Flying Club, not to far from Birmingham Airport. I will post the date once we known. Rich

Looking forward updates on your Gyroo Neil.

Due to the excellent forecast this is a go for tomorrow.

Looking good James, be aware that adding extra mass low down will alter the vertical CG, you may need to drop down the motor a bit more. Rich

Firstly, Im sorry about the short notice, I forgot to post this here. I will be having a gyro day at my flying club in Kidderminster this Sunday (15th October) with a back up day on the Sunday 22nd if the weather is poor. Flying starts at 10.30am until 14.30 for ic and until 20.00 for electric. BMFA insurance is mandatory if you want to fly, we have an 82db limit @7m rule and a maximum span of 3m. If your interested in popping over to fly, get a gyro set up or just see what we do then send me a PM and I will forward the field location. I will make a decision based on the weather forecast the Friday before and post here. Rich

James, 15 degrees is about right for the hang angle, nose heavier is always a good bet for a maiden. As for the mast angle, it's swept back to help with the horizontal CG location, in the same way some full size have forward sweeping masts to compensate for the weight of the pilot. The 5 degrees is the rearward tilt of the rotors in relationship to the horizontal stabiliser. It just so happens I set my masts roughly to 5/6 degrees Sweep and kill two birds with one stone, helps with CG and the blades can be set square to it for initial trimming. Rich

Steve, If you have no joy I'm sure I have a copy somewhere, pm me your email address and I will see what I can find next week. You sometimes come across copies on ebay, it was published twice. Rich

There's plenty to read through James, if you can't find the answer just ask. I'm not into helis so don't really know how autos compare, I'm guessing the lack of wing would be a similar orientation? Ive found they do fly like fixed wing, with the exception they are impossible to stall. Please post your efforts if you get chance? Rich

Steve, One of my old clubmates who is no longer with us cut lightening holes into his taper winged WOT 4, it didn't seem perform any better than a solid wing so I'd question whether it is really worth the extra effort. I increased the area of the ailerons, elevator and rudder on my last WOT 4 and it did make a difference if you like lots of authority, that said this was on the parallel winged version which I prefer. Rich

Preben, Thankyou for the photos, you can never have to many! The head being used is the Razor unit so I should be able to cover that up like the full-size. Rich

John, I did manage to get the Avian 2 flying quite well though it does have its limitations. As the thrustline is not quite inline with the vertical CG it became pitch sensitive under power, as the motor is fixed the only way I could get around this without adding mass was to increase the span of the rotors adding more drag. This cured the pitching whilst the rotors are loaded up, as they become unloaded the misaligned thrust takes over again. So the only way to fly it is smoothly keeping the turns flatter and airspeed constant with better throttle management. Another issue is that the yaw control is strong under power, as soon as power is decreased it gets weaker until its non existent as power is cut, you need to gain quite a bit of airspeed to regain rudder authority. Thanks for all the information regarding the Pegasus, looking at your website you been envolved in some great projects. Please let me know how the Pegasus project progresses? I'd would love to see it! Rich

That's it, thankyou Robin

I have been asked by an elderly modelling friend to sort through some of his stuff. We came across this motor glider and he couldn't remember much about it other than it was built up from a kit and he'd never quite completed it. I'm hoping someone will be able to shed some light on its id please, I haven't a clue? The wing is a foam core with a span of 2900mm and is two piece The fuselage seems to be ABS and the canopy is quite thick and heavy. I have no idea of its age, any ideas gents?

Thanks Outrunner, I will probably give the rockets a miss for now, though November 5th is soon approaching 🎆 G-AART is another favourite of mine, a lot cleaner than G-ARZB so easier to tackle for the first one. Interestingly Ken Wallis told me he designed all the pyrotechnics for the Nellie vs Heli flying scene, he was an exceptional engineer. Preben, Thanks for the link to your website, I'd forgotten about half of those. You can't go wrong with a Crane Fly or any of Tom Wrights designs, perfect for a beginner. Rich