cliffy Posted January 3, 2018 Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 Thinking of doing something different[ anyone really into gyrocopters, Bensen type? I actually have an old set of plans on the shelf somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinwing Posted January 3, 2018 Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 I took a test flight in a two place gyro...it was lots of fun ,but I keep seeing videos of dynamic roll overs when pitched up at to low an airspeed...results do not look pretty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetti Posted January 3, 2018 Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 I don't understand how they fly. Don't want to learn more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steingar Posted January 3, 2018 Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 Bucket list item for me, but I wouldn't fly the Bensons. Those things were outright dangerous. Much safer machines now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted January 3, 2018 Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 Someone here is a CFI-Gyro, I just forget who . . . . Seems like Tejas or Arizona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N201MKTurbo Posted January 3, 2018 Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 I have about 1/2 an hour of stick time in a Cavalon. the hardest thing I ever flew. That thing was hell bent on destruction. Makes a helicopter seem easy. I'm sure a few hours and I would get the feel for it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AutoGyro_Cavalon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 Take a test flight in a Robinson 22 first. That might just cure your curiosity, or take you to the dark side. It worked for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 Is the interest in gyrocopters, or is it the Benson that makes a difference? @cleatus99 gave us some good background on his gyro experience... Looks like the Benson is barely strong enough to only kill you slightly... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bensen_B-8 Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxsie Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 Sounds like a case "When you have flown everything worth flying, you start flying the things that aren't." Long ago, one of my coworkers had a Bensen. We took it out on the salt flats west of SLC. We took turns towing the autogyro behind a jeep into the wind - motor off. It was a training technique according to the owner of the Bensen. The cable was not very long, so maximum altitude was ~50 feet. One exercise he had me do was a box pattern. Frankly it seemed to fly very easily and predictably, quite responsive. His Bensen had one of the 2-cycle, 4-cylinder surplus McCulloch drone engine. He had it running, but I do not know if he ever got to the point where he flew it under its own power. Just my tiny $0.02 brush with gyros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffy Posted January 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 I go back to the early 60s looking at them and most of the accidents were caused by lack of training and experience. Folks who didn't have hour 1 in anything tried to fly them and folks with 1,000s of hours thought they knew how to fly them. You can still find Bensens video training course for self taught pilots on utube Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steingar Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 What I've read is the Bensons didn't t have much of a horizontal stabilizer, and the thrust line was quite high. If you powered up at the wrong time it could easily lead to disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinwing Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 15 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said: I have about 1/2 an hour of stick time in a Cavalon. the hardest thing I ever flew. That thing was hell bent on destruction. Makes a helicopter seem easy. I'm sure a few hours and I would get the feel for it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AutoGyro_Cavalon I flew its tandem brother calidus...I was impressed with the handling ,and didn't find control inputs especially sensitive,but I trained in a r-22 for my heli license and have a lot of time in a Bellm47.It was advertised for about 90 k as I recall and had a pronounced 1 to 1 blade slap...someone on here at MS has one I recall...much more refined than the Benson with a far better rotax engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N201MKTurbo Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 1 hour ago, thinwing said: I flew its tandem brother calidus...I was impressed with the handling ,and didn't find control inputs especially sensitive,but I trained in a r-22 for my heli license and have a lot of time in a Bellm47.It was advertised for about 90 k as I recall and had a pronounced 1 to 1 blade slap...someone on here at MS has one I recall...much more refined than the Benson with a far better rotax engine I was exaggerating a bit. After three times around the pattern I pretty much got over the PIO and was able to do takeoffs, climb, level flight and landings. None of it really good, but if the pilot was to keel over I could have gotten us both on the ground alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinwing Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 The thing I came away with is they are not really stol like in there t/o and ldg as I was told or expected...a tundra tired carbon cub has it all beat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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