First flight in a Gyrocopter: RAF 2000
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
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Catching a ride in a gyrocopter! A short while ago I went to fly-in breakfast and saw an RAF2000 gyrocopter (gyroplane, autogyro). Through the magic of Facebook, I posted a pic and mentioned I would love to get a ride in "one of these" some day. Someone saw the posting and got me in touch with the owner.
I flew out to Wetaskiwin to meet Chris and was in for a real treat! Take-offs are AWESOME!
We cover operations and technique for flying a gyrocopter. Chris hopes this video will get others interested in gyros. Oh, and in case some of you are thinking I shrank, Chris is 6'6" tall ... the camera makes me shrink... ya that's it... the camera's fault. lol.
Thanks again Chris... you da man!!
The RAF not good for tall guys, the Cavalon, now that is a machine to fall in love with.
What's the vibration like? That's what I am curious about. Are all gyros the same in that respect? The RAF is all I know. Would love to hop aboard a Cavalon!
Thanks for the input Jason!
@@HUDPilot Oh the Cavalon in different class. Vibration is dramatically reduced, powerful 915 motor, quite and modern cockpit. What a piece of engineering.
Hmmm... wish there was one around calgary area to try out! Thanks for whetting my appetite Jason!! lol
The Cavalon has a problem that needs attention, maybe a design problem!
I sure enjoyed the RAF 2000 flight! Always wanted to fly a gyro! Thank you for your posting this!
Hey RJ. Glad you enjoyed it. The experience was fantastic. Keep an eye out for another Gyro video hopefully coming in the next few months: I am looking at flying in a few others .... just gotta track them down :-)
@@HUDPilot More power to ya friend!
I got to fly in an RAF 2000 two years ago. Great flight, real fun machine and so different from any other flying I've done
Cool!! I am curious, did you find there was lots of vibration? I expect because of that large swinging rotor at top it would be for all. I found it "shaky"... not scary but shakey.
@@HUDPilot Yes there was vibration, but nothing I found worrying. There was a sort side to side yaw which I linked to the rotor, nothing concerning, I enjoyed the whole flight. I flew in a Chinook some years ago, now that had plenty of vibrations.
As in double rotor Chinook!! WOW!!!
@@HUDPilot Yes, Boeing CH-47 type Chinook. Great flight being able to look out the open back doors, very impressive on landing when it did a nose high approach, un-nerving until I realised what it was doing. Now if you want an odd effect in an "aircraft" try getting a flight in a racing hot air balloon. I've had 62 balloon flights over the years, but was intrigued with the effects of a short burn. As the bubble of hot air reaches the crown of the envelope it seems to shudder for a moment, it was only after this happened several times I worked out what was happening
Loved this! What a unique experience and great video work too. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Paul! Nice of you to say that. I try my best. Thanks for watching!!
Cool little machine. Very educational.
It absolutely is. Thanks for watching Tom!
I saw how cramped he was in the RAF and I thought, man those things are tiny. Not getting one of those. But, at 6' 6" it explains a lot. Not sure I could deal with that much vibration.... I have a contact just North of me with a Cavalon who has agreed to take me up soon. Been a big fan of Gyros since Egor Benson flew his over our house when I was a kid living in North Carolina. Around 1964 IIRC. One would be perfect for us because I have a 3500 ft grass runway right behind our house. This Covid ever goes away I"m going to get serious about getting one.
I fly fixed wing a lot!!!
WOW WOW WOW.... I remember seeing pictures of Mr Benson and I was freaking out when I saw it. I thought of how I could probably afford to do THAT! lol. I would love to know how your Cavalon flight goes! If I can find out out here in my area, I would definitely work at getting a ride. Thanks for writing Curtis... looking forward to news about your Cavalon flight!
@@HUDPilot My wife and I are thinking we want a side by side. I'm leaning toward a Xenon, but there is so much controversy about the different manufacturers and availability here in the USA. I really want the 918 Turbo. I have a lot of experience with turbos.
Been wanting a rotorcraft for years. Even have the hanger space and runway for it. I like being able to land almost anywhere dead stick.
Great movie should get people interested in Gyroplanes in Canada we don’t have enough pilots here.
I agree 100%. It would be great to see a few more gyroplanes around!!
Nice to see cool aircraft in alberta. I’m in nwt. I have a lancair 235. What’s your model?
Hey Murray! 360 FBII
What’s the flying like your ways??
I couldn't even tell for certain when you actually landed, that must have been a greaser! Still can't believe how busy those small aerodromes are, last time I was PIC places like Wetaskiwin were eerily quiet.
I could barely tell as well which is why I was all, "woooow". It was a little pull at the end and we were down and stopped on a dime where I expected a lengthy roll. It was a little busier that day due to the Harvard Air Ralley going on: planes flying to as many airports as possible to get a stamp in order to win the contest the next day. It took place over several days and the awards were gong to get handed out on saturday in Red Deer. Chris actually took off to fly the course right after our flight.
A helicopter blade is driven by an engine and pushes the air downward. A gyrocopter blade has the air going upward through the circling rotor without power to it, like a pinwheel. Both machines get their lift from the turning blades. If the engine quits in a gyroplane, the blade is already turning freely from air moving upward through it. When a helicopter engine quits, the pilot pushes the collective down, and the air now can move upward through the blade disc like a gyroplane, called autorotation.
Is it safe to say that the gyroplane, therefore, is always in a state of
autorotation? Thanks for the insight RW! Do tell me if my understanding is correct? I do know is that I would love to fly in other gyros out there if I can find them.
@@HUDPilot Yes, the gyroplane is already always in autorotation mode ( on a kind of gliding path/angle, flow always has to be from down towards the topside,
The pusher/tractor motor thrust will make it level or climb
The gyro blades are usually fixed pitch, you only tilt the whole disc/cone of the blades to the desired direction...thus the pilot skills are more simple...
While a helicopter has 3 modes/regimes - when the rotors are powered then that provides lift and forward or any direction component- flow is from top to downwash...
Counter-torque device required which is a tail rotor or a second rotor (coaxial, intermesh, tandem dual...) Blades are individually variable pitch and/or altogether variable pitch... (you change the AOA on one of the blades and the opposite side blade changes towards different AOA thus with a delay (90) the disc changes...
- the other mode is autorotation
- the 3. mode is a powered too high sink rate which is dangerous...(vortex ring state)
thx for your video, what a nice scenary ! where is it ?
Home base is olds/Didsbury alberta (CEA3) and we fly the Gyro around Wetaskiwin Alberta CEX3
Great video bro. The pilot looks composed and very friendly. How much does it cost?
Thanks Peter! It seems a kit to build one of these is around the 50K mark but that doesn't include the engine. Given that most gyroplanes these days go for over 100k, that's not too bad!
Seems like a lot of shaking. Is that just the camera or wind? Or is that typical amount of rough ride?
It's the Gyro causing the shake.
Looks like a flying Smart Car; minus the airbags.
I see an egg with a propeller... lol. It's quite interesting that say flying car because when we got to the end of the runway and started to get more vertical than forward movement, I thought that this is what the Jetson's car would be like!
@@HUDPilot Their vehicles were propelled by a mini impulse engine with a Maximum speed of 0.38 Warp. MAX Range 255,000,000 EM (earth miles, statute).
It looks like there is a lot of vibration.
There was Kim! Not as bad as it looks by the control stick but definitely more vibration than I am used to in an airplane!
I love it but it looks like it wall shake all the bolts out.
lol. Don’t think it will. But sure felt like it to me. Given that I haven’t been in any other similar type, I am not sure if this is a normal thing for Gyros.
congrats on your solo flight Are you still flying the RAF 2000 Gyroplane?
Hi Jeong. No haven’t been in it since that flight. Looking to go fly other gyros in the coming future. I really enjoyed that flight.
Interesting things the gyrocopters - look like some fun. That pilot sounds Australian??
It's quite funny, I actually didn't pick up on Chris' accent until I was editing the video lol. I was too excited to get into the gyro!!
Does the long ez in the hangar ever fly?
Interesting you should ask Tom... no..lol. Actually when I had moved into the hangar about a year ago, it had not flown in over two years. The owner ran the engine without the cowls on and the engine breather tube got "caught" in the prop area somehow and blew the engine seal. It had been sitting waiting on repairs. A few months back it was finally started and taxied for the first time: have a short clip of it on my instagram account. I have since moved my plane to another hangar and believe the owner has done high speed taxi tests since. Unsure of when she will get airborne again (maybe in the spring I guess). I asked if I could go up in the plane but ummmmm... says I weigh too much lol.
was that a Fuselage of a Buccaneer at 03.10?
If you are referring to the white airplane by the suzuki truck, no it's either a piper colt/Tri-pacer (I always get them mixed up). I checked the "cutting room floor" clips and i didn't see any other aircraft around.
@@HUDPilot it was just as you were taxying from the hanger on the right side just past the white suzuki jeep, I think the reg no was KE126
Ahhh... the jet. Phew... thought I was losing my eyesight. It's an Avro CF 100 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_CF-100_Canuck. If you hit my instagram link on the youtube channel page and go to july 3, you will see closeups I took of the plane when I first went out to that airport.
@@HUDPilot right!! i thought it was a Buccaneer!! and i thought what on earth is one doing there!! thanks for the info by the way
Hey no worries Barry... this was fun!! You had me investigating aviation so allllll good.
Not a Gyrocopter, its a RAF 2.000 with horizontal stabilizer! its a gyroplane yes or autogyro!
Hi Heron, who am I to argue with the naming convention as I don't own one. I only use the name that was told to me by the owner and other. I believe all these names, gyroplane, gyrocopter and autogyro are interchangeable and represent the same thing. I believe the FAA has settled on gyroplane. There is a whole channel out there based on gyrocopter as well and a search on google with the word gyrocopter manufacturer produces a long list of flying machines that all have the same functionality and similar look as the the RAF. Doesn't change much in the fact that MAN these things are neat to fly in.
I am looking at flying another type once Covid restrictions pass. Thanks for the input and alternate wording for the RAF.😀
@@HUDPilot can I call your Lanceair an RV? If you call my Ferrary a Bettle, we're gonna tango . . .lol FAA is known for some readnecking some time or another, in gyros their are fumbling babbling and never getting to the point! The invention was named Autogyro, later Gyroplane this is the class, the Gyrocopter was invented by Igor Bensen and it was the first (I think) byro on pusher configuration, its a TradeMark . . .so, its up to us, aviation buffs to make things right! You are not flying a Cub for sure, right?
Meh... you can call my Lancair whatever you like.... it will still go really fast lol..... ..... Hey... comparing my peole's Ferrari to a Beatle.... no I completely agree... those are fighting words HAHAHHA.. too funny. As for flying a cub .... if I slow it down as much as possible and turn it into a 60 knot headwind.. yup... flying a cub LOL. you made me laugh today.. thanks Heron!
Looks kinda cramped.
It was for two big boys... I guess for the long ago "average" pilot could have been just the right size lol.