Peter Hill Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Thanks for the quick replies. Actually Steve it was your post way back on page 7 where I saw the spanwise balancing.Thanks. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 2 Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Fantastic Day at Chiltern Club, Thank Tim, and another Atom joined the fleet - Beautiful model built by a lovely Gent Robin (I think ..) The faultless Maiden that was then expertly flown by our Mode 2 test pilot Rich E was never in doubt Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hill Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Decided I'm going to build the Atom. So far all parts cut and blade blanks made. I keep re-reading this thread till my head hurts! Just a question about flying.......so,you start a turn using rudder ,let's say left turn and then opposite roll (right) to flatten the turn. Is this correct or have I got it completely wrong?! Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozgur Sar Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Hello Peter, I didn't read how others are turning but I'm turning how you described. First I start the manouver with rudder then use counter aileron to balance the left or right bank to flatten the turn. If you use only aileron to turn like an airplane it causes unwanted movements or just isn't enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hill Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Thankyou Ozgur. Just wanted to be sure. Bit different to how I fly my fixed wing models. "More rudder? What's that?" lol. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozgur Sar Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Your welcome Pete, I fly both helicopters and planes but autogyros are different than both. Yes, you have to use rudder a lot but you will get the feeling quickly after a few flights. By the way, take off was the hardest thing to get used to for me because you have to pull elevator to get the blades turn faster during take off run, but you have to get the elevator back to neutral position as soon as you are off the ground. If you do not do that model flips back so quickly ending with a possible broken mast. Also make sure that blades have enough headspeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hill Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Thanks Ozgur for the advice. Still building at the moment but will try and take onboard everything you and everyone else on this thread have said when the time comes to fly my Atom. Ooooh! I'm getting nervous just thinking about it.! Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted June 21, 2016 Author Share Posted June 21, 2016 Peter, Try not to get to wrapped up in using the rudder as the Atom will fly fine just using roll, the circuits will obviously be larger. There are two things you must avoid, the first is never bank the Atom more than about 45 degrees, any more than this and it will drop away. The second is keep it in as close as you can, if you get distance between you and the model things can soon get out of hand. Also for the first flights try sticking with left hand circuits. Ozgur's explination of rudder turns is bang on, these can be attempted after and you you can really get a tight turn out of the Atom. Once you have got those first flights under your gyro belt you will not look back, I am a thourough bread fixed wing pilot, not keen on helis and an autogyro is the most versatile aircraft I have ever flown. Good luck with your Atom and be sure to ask any questions. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hill Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Thanks Rich I also have the RCM&E issue with the Panther plan. If I have success with the Atom I may build that too. Am I correct that the blade mount hole on the Panther blades are drilled on the chordwise balance line and not 1mm behind chord balance line as on the Atom? If so, is there a reason why they are different? Sorry for all the questions but I am determined to build an autogyro and just want to get my facts straight. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted June 21, 2016 Author Share Posted June 21, 2016 Pete, As each model has been designed there are improvements . The mounting hole for the blade was moved back to compensate for heavier covering if they were balanced before hand. I wouldn't worry to much about it at this stage. Dont forget a few build photos as you go along Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hill Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Thanks Rich. I'll do my best to provide some photos. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew richards Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 hi guys , i have build a atom as well but i cant get it to take off , the blades spool up on take off but , when it lifts off it tips hard to the left and hits the deck , any advice at all , my dads got the same problem could any body suggest what could be the problem . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 Hi Andrew and welcome to the forum, This is an easy one to answer, your blades are simply not up to full RPM. If its rolling over you ground speed is a little fast. Think of it as trying to take a fixed wing off with just half a wing, it will just roll over. What you need to do is sit your Atom into wind (I prefer a light wind), pull and hold back the rotors and give them a stiff flick in a anti clockwise rotation. They should spin up with the model sat stationary, if they dont slightly move forward at no more than a slow walking pace. As they gather speed slowly move the rotor back into the neutral position (still moving forwards slowly). You should hear a distinctive whistle come from the blades, when you hear this increase throttle until your atom leaves terra firma. Try small hops at first and trim in between until minimal input is needed, the more throttle you apply the more it will climb. Let us know how it goes as we have all been there? dont forget we have our annual Gyronuts gathering in a few weeks time, if you can get there bring yours and your dad's Atoms along and we will soon sort them out and give you a few tips. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Banham Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Hi Everyone, Mine is an IC Atom with an ASP12 on an 8x4 prop. (I like engines) I built it in 2014/15 but until today, I have never flown it nor any other autogyro!! I was waiting for a steady breeze - blowing nicely this morning. My first takeoff, with the rotor spinning well showed that it was way over elevated. To maintain S&L I had the stick almost as far as it would go forward. Quick untidy landing - broken prop but ok otherwise. The next take-off - after trimming was better and I managed about six circuits of the field.....getting the hang of it. A fast flyer with this set-up... G of G a bit forward?? However - I then did a downwind turn with a bit too much bank on.....it came down like a man-hole cover and I could not pull it out in time. I have just read Richard Harris's post about shallow turns - I learned that the hard way. Quite a lot of repair to do now - A lesson learned!!! But - the bug has bitten. I will repair this and am thinking of building another... Nigel Banham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Jones Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Hi Nigel, you've got further than me but I too will be fitting an engine, an AP .15 Hornet. Sound slike I'll have to gently on the throttle though. I'd be very interested to see how you mounted your engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Banham Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Hi Ian, There is a post from me on no 31 of this thread on what went where and some photos of the finished model on no. 36. Engine was mounted on a nylon mount - sidewinder and the cowling was made from a shrunken plastic bottle (balsa plug and a heat gun), using the neck as the front end behind the prop. Canopy was likewise a plastic bottle. A lot of Tesco's water went on the garden during the production experiments. To get the CG back the Rx battery is strapped on the cross bracing behind the "fus" and you may find with a 15 that you have even more of a "nose down" prob. The model has loads of power and it flies fast + climbs well, but short of using a vintage style diesel, the ASP 12 is about as small as you can get. I used a 4oz tank, but the engine uses so little fuel that I may replace it with a 2oz, as the model needs to begin a flight rather nose heavy, which then of course, lightens during the flight....a problem that the leccy boys don't have. No-one in our club (Raydon in Suffolk) has done these things before so I am ploughing a furrow, but there is a lot of info on this site....good luck! Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin K Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Hello all, I am building the Atom and just wonder why the blades are cut at the root at an angle, 15 degrees or so, and is there a reason for the cut out at the root? Is it to fold them aft? The shim of AJ blades is 0.4mm thick, right? This is to induce a slight negative pitch to help spin up? First time for me to build an auto gyro, but the sound of the blades whistle through the air an the look is just great. Thanks to all already for the infos on the build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 Hi Martin and welcome to the forum, The angle of the blade roots are 15 degrees, it is not essential but does help with spin up also. As the blade is pushed up it does so hinging on this 15 degree angle, this pushes the TE edge up further than the LE inducing negative incidence to the blade. This seems to work better at lower RPM as the blade accelerates, then centrifugal force flattens out the blade disc as it goes into full auto rotation. If you can pop a few photos of your build as you progress? Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin K Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Hi Rich, thank you very much for your reply. Your explaination of the angle makes perfect sense now, very clever. I am happy to post some pictures. At the moment I am trying to balance the blades. I ordered the AJ once about two years ago. Their CG is at its maximum 10mm off, so unfortunatelly there is some balancing required. As weight for the balancing I use wood filler at the blade tips, and sand them for fine tuning....so far my plan. If thats not a good idea, please let me know. A friend gave me the short kit of the Atom, so I thought I will give it a go! It is almost finished and I am curious how it will fly... Cheers Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin K Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Here is my stage of the process. So far it is covered in two coats of wood surface primer...(it fills the little holes to allow for painting. What is that called?). Now just waiting for some parts to be delivered to finish the job. Today I wanted to try the blades in the wind. Nice sound and spin up. Then the pushrods slipped out of my hands and the blades struck the stabilizers in the back. Within an instant they were gone...That is also the moment where I realized, I am such an idiot , just like a little, impatient boy . But all is fixed already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin K Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Today was beautiful weather, and I could not resist the temptation of the atoms maiden flight attempt. So at the field, almost no wind, grass too long, and the initial run up was not successful. A little wind would have helped...but none. Then I decided to go for it an create wind by running, yeah! Some power, nice spin up...and off she went! Awesome, it flew right out of my hands and control was easier than expected. It is been a while, since a maiden flight of a model made me smile and cheer so much! Good fun! Some guys at the field expected desaster, I think, but were stunned by the flight charakteristics. Now that it is flying, I will make her pretty with some nice paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin K Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 ..someone filmed it, waiting for video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Jones Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Mine's still flat packed . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 2 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Well done, come join us at one of the UK Autogyro events Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 Martin, Great stuff , looking forward to seeing the video of your Atom flying Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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