Crane Fly Trainer Autogyro

[Terry Whiting 1]

Tom, Thanks for the info. I makes great sense in using GF strip as it make experimenting with shim size so easy. I will certainly try that once I have carefully removed the lite ply shims. As for garden turbulence I know what you mean, but i'm lucky having 400 acre of arable farm land at the end of my garden which was the old Ovaltine Farm. Any wind from SW round to WNW enables me to do as much rotor testing as I wish with my hand held rotor test head.......................Terry

Edited By Terry Whiting 1 on 04/08/2013 16:02:14

[Tom Wright 2]

Terry I will desist from the temptation to burst into song , or make references to bed time drinks lol. As for shims the CF variants are quite tolerant , but I am finding a 0.4 mm strip is more than enough for blades that are well made .

I test flew a production set of AJ blades on a SFH yesterday and they are the bees knees, every one should have a set as I think they set a standard for performance and uniformity. I believe significant stocks of the universal 1.75" as flown yesterday will be on the shelf within a week and available for purchase before the end of August onwards.

I will post flight test reports, set up details, and photos after flying the blades on the all the Crane Fly models .

Tom.

[Terry Whiting 1]

Wow Tom you are showing your age in remembering the Ovalteenies...........will look forward to the test reports..........Terry

[Tom Wright 2]

Hi All

As part of the AJ blade appraisals on all the Crane Fly models ,I dragged my much neglected Auto - G out of the hanger and dropped on a standard Crane Fly Lite flex plate with a set of cut down AJ blades .

Despite great activity in the garden which was centred on removing 42 boundary Conifers ,I sneaked off to the field in loverly sunny sunshine and very light winds. After checking the controls were all full and free the Auto-G was placed on the grass runway ,and the rotor enticed into life with a hand start followed by progressive increases in throttle .She rose into the air with no effort at all and climbed away in a very sure footed manner .

Throttling back for the cruise saw the stick at a little over half , so it was evident that the model needed modest power to maintain height .Left and right turns were equal in terms of predictability with no need to use elevator or rudder to turn around the circuit corners , the model flew light and easy and ,also performed very well in the higher speed range including five consecutive loops without throttling back . Landings,touch and goes and Auto rotation, were a breeze , so it does appear that the CF AJ blades could well have universal application.

Tom.

[Terry Whiting 1]

Well Tom I like what I read in your latest post, very encouraging. I think that Auto-G is a smart little gyro.....................Terry

[Terry Whiting 1]

Well Tom I like what I read in your latest post, very encouraging. I think that Auto-G is a smart little gyro.....................Terry    Sorry for the  double post, bit of finger trouble,

Edited By Terry Whiting 1 on 08/08/2013 14:09:33

[Malcolm - coolwind.co.uk]

Just over a week ago I sent Tom a CNC cut delta plate for the Crane Fly lite with a little note saying "Do you think builders would be interested in these?". Well there was only one way to find out and encouraged by Tom, I have put together a webshop to bring the Delta Plate and other machine cut parts for the Crane Fly Lite to market.

At this stage it is extremely difficult to judge demand but parts will be made and added daily to the shop.

Please visit the webshop at www.coolwind.co.uk

Your feedback and comments will be most welcome, but please do it either through the forum PM or by email rather than clutter up the thread.

Thank you

Malcolm

[Tom Wright 2]

Posted by Malcolm on 08/08/2013 21:49:37:

Just over a week ago I sent Tom a CNC cut delta plate for the Crane Fly lite with a little note saying "Do you think builders would be interested in these?". Well there was only one way to find out and encouraged by Tom, I have put together a webshop to bring the Delta Plate and other machine cut parts for the Crane Fly Lite to market.

At this stage it is extremely difficult to judge demand but parts will be made and added daily to the shop.

Please visit the webshop at www.coolwind.co.uk

Your feedback and comments will be most welcome, but please do it either through the forum PM or by email rather than clutter up the thread.

Thank you

Malcolm

Great job Malcolm the parts you are now suppling make building Crane Fly Lite so easy , the flex plates are just the job and, eliminate the errors that can spoil flight performance.They even work as a replacement for my Auto-G plate set as described above.

The gf parts set is certainly a nice product ,that even includes the blade shims I think it would be would be helpful if you could also supply a nut and bolt pack as this could be more economical for builders who don't have good stocks of such items .

We look forward to seeing new additions to your range of Autogyro related products as I am sure it will encourage more to have a go .

Tom.

[Foamie Dave]

Best of luck with the new venture Malcolm ,

Just ordered a couple of delta plates, not worth making your own with those prices

[Malcolm - coolwind.co.uk]

Dave,

Thank you for your good wishes and your Order from Coolwind Models. We'll have you up and flying one in no time!

I look forward to some excellent pictures of your maiden

Malcolm

[mark etherington]

Hi All, Hobbyking have made a new autogyro called G2 and this one which in my opinion is a copy of Tom's truly fantasic CF however there new one has a good mod on it. It has an auto start to spin the blades up which I think is a nice touch and you can by this bit as a spare part for £10 link to page **LINK**

[Terry Whiting 1]

Well Guys I have received this morning my order from "Coolwind Models", and I must say the pieces are absolutely fantastic...........Well done Coolwinds...............Terry

[bees]

Success at last . Went down to my flying field with the Cranefly this week and gave it a hand launch and flew a couple of circuits but when coming to land my fixed wing mode activated and reduced throttle too much and the Cranefly came in with a crunch but with no damage. Been this afternoon and launched once again and completed 3 or 4 right hand circuits but this time made a successfull landing. The Soft prop i have been using has been a good idea as it has took a beating and on the last flight it was producing some vibration so will wait till i can renew the prop before my next attempt. Must say oreintation is still a problem even now i have added some colour and a couple of guys watching commented on this as well. Glen

[Tom Wright 2]

Glen

Great to hear you are getting to grips with your CF SFH . Orientation should get easier with airtime ,and as you become more familiar with autogyro characteristics. Concentration and caution are good for these early flights.

I have been flying a set of bigger AJ blades today on my dual function head CF Major ,the model was loaded up to achieve an AUW of 4.5 lbs in order to assess the lifting ability of the 550 mm blades. Although the model is not fitted with a rudder I decided to do some taxi work which unexpectedly resulted in the model becoming airborne within a few yards.The wind was light but spin up proved to be very rapid with transition to auto rotation taking place quickly. Increasing the power saw the model well established in the climb and despite the weight the model felt light in the air and and uniformly responsive ,with no nasty surprises. The model was looped several times with no slowing of the rotor rpm noticeable throughout the flights. A good result and enjoyable afternoons flying.

Tom.

[Tom Wright 2]

My Crane Fly Major fitted with the A J 550 blades , this model is in effect a scaled up Crane Fly MK 1 ,with a different tail and a big lump of church roof to bring the weight up to projected load carrying value . At 4.5 lbs the model was a "pussy cat " to fly and very STOL.

Tom.

[Tom Wright 2]

I needed a 6" x 1.5 mm flex plate to do the testing on the AJ 550 blades so a call to Cool Wind on Friday resulted in two plates arriving Saturday morning ,giving me loads of time to fit the bearing set ,and fly in the afternoon. Good service Cool Wind .

Tom.

[Martin McIntosh]

Hi Tom,not looked through all of this yet and am just starting a Crane Fly Light. One or two things I cannot seem to find out. What is the total rotor chord, how far back from the firewall is the mast, is it 11" tall, and what is the CG position? Is there an overall drawing anywhere showing these points?

Any help would be appreciated.

Martin Mc.

[Tom Wright 2]

Hi Martin

Thanks for posting ,the Crane Fly Lite has it.s own thread HERE .

Thanks for pointing out the omission a revised pdf will be posted just as soon as the ready made blade supplier contact details can be included.

The blade chord is 1.75". The mast height of 148 mm is given on pdf page 10 . The mast position from the fire wall is fixed by the dimensions given on the pdf balsa parts drawing . The cog which is usually referred to as the hang angle should be well within limits if the model is built to plan .

To check hang angle the model must have the recommended lipo fitted .Suspend the model by the rotor bolt (with or without rotors fitted) and measure the amount of nose down angle ,which should be 12 - 15 degrees.

Hope this helps and do let us know how the build progresses.

Tom.

[Martin McIntosh]

Thanks Tom, I think that I was confusing the mast position on this with photos etc. of the other Crane Fly, not realising at the time that they are two different models.

Martin

[Tom Wright 2]

Yep it can be confusing Martin as there are seven different Crane fly models Thats why the Crane Fly Lite has i'ts own thread.

Tom.

[bees]

Another session this afternoon with the Cranefly. A little breezy at times but was itching to try yet again with the Cranefly. 3 or 4 successfull flights but i have got a little more elevator throw from my last flight and i think it made it a lot better. Plenty of right hand circuits but must say the left hand turns are catching me out a little as the Cranefly tends to tuck in a lot and gathers speed a lot more downwind and if i let it would drop even more . Overall though i am slowly getting used to it as i fly more. Nearly caught me out just once regarding which way it was going even though i have put some colour to it. Anybody added some led lights to it to help with orientation. Glen

[Tom Wright 2]

Hi All

Pete one of our flying group spotted a Pre Rotator at Winterton, that had been built by Jock . Pete has madea part to make assembling the unit easy . The other drive parts that include a one way bearing are easily obtained from Align .More details to follow after some field trials.

Tom.

 

Edited By Tom Wright 2 on 14/08/2013 12:10:21

[Tom Wright 2]

Glen

Left hand circuits with your CF SFH should be the same as right ,try a touch of right thrust on the motor . Max throw on the elevator is essential , and you could also try moving the lipo back but only make one adjustment at a time .When I flew the model at Winterton the roll rates were still a bit high have you reduced them since ? Or pop over for an afternoon and we can get things spot on.

Tom.

[John Dean]

Hi Tom. After problems with my Crane Fly looping I went and bought a new battery for my inclinometer and set it up properly! Had 3 trimming flights today and all went well, still a bit of a tendency to climb on power so I think I will try a bit of downthrust. ROG was good so I managed to make the Durafly G2 flyers slightly jealous allthough I do have one and enjoy that as well. Thanks, John

[bees]

Hi Tom, will put a little bit of right thrust before my next flight. Regarding throws I have actually increased a fraction and feel more compatable .