Richard Harris

Ever since I have been messing around with autogyros I've wanted to design a workable WA-116 'Little Nellie' that could be published and constructed by anyone with building experience, with the blessing of Ken Wallis, I have sat on it for 14 years for several reasons. The obvious is that the WA-116 is not a beginners model (probably a second pusher type model) , yet, like a spitfire it is the one that the majority want to build and fly first and we all know what can happen there. With a couple of tractors and pushers now published those that have dipped their toes into the dark side have become pretty competent at this autogyro malarkey. Over the years I have built a couple of Nellies, a smaller indoor/calm weather version and a larger fibre glassed bodied model which is very close to scale. This required me to tig weld parts and make moulds which I found a very and boring task, if I'm honest the latter version is a bit porky. So, this new version will be a cross breed between the two hopefully keeping the weight to a minimum, built from balsa/ply and all the usual ingredients us models have hanging around in our man caves. The plan is to build a basic framework which I hope to get into the air by the end of the year if all goes to plan, as for the fuselage I will decide after (either balsa or vac formed I think). Using 10mm diameter tubing the scale is 1/5th so should be good for a 3s 2200mah Lipo and Revolver II blades, this tubing will slide into a 'Gyroo' type frame which will hold all the necessary electronics. I have not long bought myself a 3d printer so have been playing around trying to design brackets etc, I am unsure whether these will be strong enough for the job so will require testing at some stage. They can easily be fabricated from alumnium or brass sheet if they fail. As for the head I have spoken with Malcolm at Coolwind and he is going to modify his Razor head , to keep the head looking correct the push rods are in tension so the head is reversed, this will mean upping the diameter of the rods and ball joints to 3mm. For now a few photos of my efforts, this will take some time.... Rich

I bought a 1metre straight edge/rule last week, perfect for cutting full lengths of balsa strip safely as it is quite wide and has a handle on, think it was £7.99.

Had an outing with three of my smaller models yesterday, it was flat calm and I was the only one up at the patch! perfect weather for some relaxed flying. My canard is completely dialled in now and goes exactly where I point it, one of my favourites. A short piece of footage I took: Rich

It's funny you mentioned that Trevor, it waa nearly named Odo (trecky fans will know).

Finally got round to editing the bit of footage I captured flying on holiday off the cliffs in Cornwall. I'm finalising the drawings so will update when I know if and when they will be published. Enjoy Rich

I like that Linds, good luck with the maiden. Rich

Here is a short video I took of my Gyroo flying off the Cliffs whilst on my Hols. Could of done with more wind to maintain lift without using power and more ballast weight to penetrate. Nice relaxing flying. Rich

Managed to get out today to try both versions of Shifty off the slope Both went surprisingly well, I really needed a touch more breeze and did cheat at times. Had some interest from the local gulls, the delta eats up a lot of sky compared to the canard. Will try again in a good wind when I get the chance. I grabbed some video but it will be a week before I can upload, a couple of stills for now. Rich

There are plenty of cheap/free CAD programmes out there which are just as good for our needs, I am sure others would be able to advise on what they use? On another note I am hoping to sneak at least one of my Shifty's into the caravan with the intention of trying a bit of slope soaring on holiday, maybe even a Gyroo.

Futura57, I use Solidworks Rich

Paul, Nice flight and landing. Your like me, I much prefer flying without Expo as I feel more in control, well most of the time...... Rich

Interesting project Paul, Back in 2009 I flew at an event in Holland and there was a German guy with a steam powered fix wing, if memory serves me correct it was a single cylinder motor and quite a work of art. I can remember seeing it running but missed it flying, when I get chance I will see if I can obtain more information on it. Rich

It's been a few weeks since this years autogyro meet at WMFC. We were blessed with excellent weather with Saturday being the best where we saw just shy of 120 rc autogyros turn up. This year we raised £545 for a local charity, thanks go out to all those who donated to the raffle and helped support this growing event. Even bigger thanks to Cali and his clubmates for the use of their fantastic field for the 14th year. I didn't grab much footage this year as I was mostly flying, here's a few snippets of what I did take. Looking forward to next year already.

A few weeks ago I removed the electrics from my well flown and bruised prototype. My 'build photos' example was then covered and assembled before fitting the electrics, it had its maiden at our annual fly in the following week without a hitch. The original airframe was passed on to someone else to get them going. Steve kindly flew it around so I could catch a photo. Rich

I've known Malcolm for many years and he has only got a handful of small electric models, he generally flies Zagi type wings which he easily keeps within the perimeters of his land safely, a nice chap. Location and ongoing feuds with neighbours is no doubt the reasons behind the ban.

That flies well Steve, well done

Cheers Matty, The canard is certainly the more versatile model of the two as it really does slow down well, but I have had a lot more stick time on this one. It's trims are all neutral and the motor is pretty much inline with the wing centre, I am guessing this coupled with the extra area on the fore plane may help with the lack of reflex on the elevons. Maybe a conventional elevator could further improve things but for my requirements I am happy, I am sure others will try this if it makes it into the mag which will be interesting to see. As for the delta this does need reflex and is happiest at speed from the limited stick time I have had with it, it certainly does'nt glide as well as the canard. Rich

Just a bump as this is a week and a half away.

Matt, What you are explaining sounds very much like your blades are tipped too far back or you ground speed is a bit too fast before the blades are at full rpm. If your rotor is at the neutral position when this happens and your still moving slowly try lowering your U/C by widening it a touch. This will alter your neutral angle of attack whilst your model is sat on the ground. Let me know if the works for you? Rich

Thanks Ron I've had to edit the video as it appears it's not the easiest thing to capture Interestingly, the footage from a single flight was 7.35 minutes and there was around 20% left in the 850mah 3s lipo, so not too bad. I may purchase a couple of 1000mah to try next time I order from George or even a small 4s as there is room. Anyway, here is parts of yesterday's flight knitted together. Rich

I managed to get out this morning before the storms and maiden Shifty Delta successfully. As before I had way to much throw and it was a little nose heavy, I managed to reduce the throws on the transmitter but will do them mechanically over the next few days. Once the above were ironed out I had several flights, it eats up a lot of sky! It doesn't have the slow speed handling like the canard version but I think it's quicker. A few snaps shots from the video I took, this will be uploaded later. Pretty pleased with how it flies but I obviously need more stick time to dial it in properly. Rich

Probably is the same covering Ron, thanks for the kind comments . As the small drone motors don't come with a mounting plate I made a small ply former which screws to the bulkhead. I have also 3d printed a like for like PLA version, I'm unsure if it is up to the job so will test this out after photos if it gets that far. There is quite a distance from the bulk head to the battery bay so the motor wires have to be extended enough so as the ESC can be plugged in easily. The wires run through a small slot to the side of the lower fin to the battery bay where the ESC will live. Rich

Probably not enough room for three drawings Steve, I will stick with the two for now. I've finally got round to throwing some covering on, I am impressed with the 4max stuff as it sticks and shrinks well very much like HK's offering. A few finishing touches to add before final assembly, then I will move on to fitting her out with the electronics . Rich

Matt, Rather than stand behind my Gyro I much prefer to start my take off run down wind from where I'm stood, generally I have my rotors up to speed by the time it's reached me which sets up for a close ROG and first circuit. Even with minimal wind if you taxi slowly with the rotors tilted back they should spin up easily, it's worth practicing this to get a feel for things. There is a balance using this method as you need to reduce the rearward tilt slowly back to your neutral position as the blades accelerate and your ground speed increases, if its held back to long into the run it will tend to roll on to its left side. It is worth practicing these taxi runs with the Gyroo as there's no excessive mass to it, once you have nailed it it will become second nature. Rich

Nice Raptors Steve, they will be almost indestructible! Uncanny is a bigger canard so would kind of defeat the object of the one fuselage/two wing plans idea. However, I think the Shifty duo would scale up nicely, or down for that matter. I have been pondering over a few colour scheme ideas. I need to sort out what covering I have and go from there, it doesn't need much. A better canopy has been made and a suitable sized pilot printed, just need to colour him. Rich