Paul: Who wrote this? There was no name below it.

   "A gyro, in a zero speed landing, lacks adequate rudder authority
   because the prop is idling and there is no forward speed to produce
   airflow over the rudder. It's is one of the great vulnerabilities of
   gyros and the reason for a lot of rotor strikes due to a lack of yaw
   control in the last moments of a zero speed landing.
   The vectored thrust from a ducted fan might fill that control gap."

   I doubt whomever wrote it is a gyrocopter (or the FAA term: gyroplane)
   pilot.

   A lot of rotor strikes and lack of yaw control are not issues in pusher
   gyrocopters.  Zero speed landings are possible with some headwind. Very
   low speed touchdowns are common, with 10-20 feet rollouts.

   Any rotor strikes of gyros one sees on youtube videos are almost
   exclusively a takeoff situation, and a result of a pilot not following
   their instructor's training to make sure the rotor blades are up to
   flight speed before lifting off the ground.

   There is no need to develop some sort of ducted fan for pusher gyros.

   Kevin Richey
   Portland, Oregon


   Boyd Thompson wrote that.

   Suppose you are landing in a cross wind. Is that possible?

   Paul Lamar

Kevin, you are correct. I'm not a gyro pilot. I do, though, have an Air and Space 18a project that became a project in that manner. I was told by the previous owner, who was the pilot, that this was the issue and typical of gyros in general. If that is not the case, my apologies, but his explanation appeared very logical. How can there be adequate rudder authority with almost no airflow over the rudder?
Thanks for your input.
Boyd Thompson


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