Gyro landings

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

Hi Paul, Perhaps this is what the experienced pilot who crashed my
project 18a was talking about?:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y5zWLTQXcUI <https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y5zWLTQXcUI> Thanks. Boyd Thompson

Looks like you are right. I suggest a bigger rudder with a 45 degree
pivot to take advantage of the rotor down wash.

Paul Lamar

       Urkh, he made a mess of that!
       Must have been very poorly trained. He tried to land like a fixed wing!
       Bad mistake.
       What downwash are you talking about Paul?
       In autorotation - whether it be Gyro or helicopter there is no downwash,
       air actually goes up through the rotor disc.

       May I suggest everyone studies autorotation before further comment.

       John Evans

       Your right about the gyro John.

       My mistake on the gyro. I was thinking like a helicopter under power :-)
       The 45 degree rudder thing won't work on a gyro.

       Back to the bi directional starter motor electric blaster.

       Paul Lamar

   I have been watching his conversation with amusement.

    First of all I have about 2300 hours in Gyros. While I've never flown a factory job like an 18a, I have built and flown several KB2's, gyrobees, 3DRV, and of course my own design ( which is really kind of a combination of the stuff from Ken Brock's gyro and the 3D RV by Monte Hoskins).

   Now the video refers to is just either someone screwing around during Landing, or really bad landing techniques. A low time pilot not really knowing what he's doing or a fixed-wing pilot trying to teach himself to fly gyro.

   I have done plenty of zero Landing rolls and I can tell you right now the Rudders work fine just like they're supposed to. To make a ducted fan tail is just trying to be different, there's no need for it.

   Igor Benson pretty much laid down the framework for the modern-day Gyros. Slight design changes for thrust line through the CoG and lowering the center-of-gravity to prevent POP (powered push over), better blades and the offset gimbal rotor head have been the only real advances. That's because they fly fine, no need to reinvent the wheel.

   David Mikesell
   San Jose, CA

The YouTube video showing the crossed up landing is of Jim Vanek, owner and pilot of Sport Copter, of Scappoose, Oregon.

This video was made deliberately @ Scappoose airport showing how his Sport Copter gyros can withstand landings so severely messed up. It is not an inexperienced pilot or untrained one trying to teach themself how to fly.

The key to this video is that SC's gyroplanes with a castering nosewheel, as well as strong suspension, can save the aircraft in a bad landing.

I wouldn't try this in my gyro, as I don't have that suspension system as Jim's newer Sport Copter models do. Nor do I have his skill level on the cyclic, that is shown in this clip.

Kevin Richey

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