This is the best example of "behind the power curve" I've ever seen. The technical explanation I've been given over the years is nothing compared to the actual demonstration beginning at about 2:20 in the video. Well Done!!
Previously this subject was as "clear as mud to me" . Your video is probably the best explanation of "behind the power curve" or "deuxieme regime" as referred to in France I have ever come across. Your video on runway 20 was, for me excellent as the shadows gave another way of seeing your climb/descent. Thank you
Great Video. My last lesson was learning this exact maneuver. I better understand what is happening now and how to use it to my advantage Paul. My CFI had me doing it at 2000' AGL.
I don't fly, but I've watched several videos and thought these things were death traps until now. Very well explained. You can abuse the power curve and the machine will still take care of you, if you know what to do.
Death trap IF you are prone to jump without looking! That being said, with proper training and keeping true to checklists and procedure... not only are these machines safe to fly but (trying to think of a way to describe slipping the bonds of gravity but coming up short) the most fun you can have with your clothes on!
Thanks for posting. As far as why someone would turn when they get behind the power curve its usually due to the fact that they are pretty much in a panic. When descending unintentionally some pilots panic, pull back on the stick even more. That slows the gyro down to a crawl. Then yaw and roll control starts to diminish greatly at some point. Finally, the gyro then typically rolls to one side or another completing the crash event.
Thanks for the video. It's nice to see what an experienced pilot can do. I fly ultralight paramotor and am learning to fly an ultralight nano-trike (Powered hang glider). I'm thinking that learning to fly a gyrocopter may be a good next step. Thanks for the inspiration.
Another great demo, no nonsense. Well done. One thing I'd add is an engine failure of course makes things much more complicated (you need to get that nose down quite quickly in that case), also another scenario that catches people out is a in very steep approaches its easy to get a ground rush effect in the last 20 ft and people tend to flare too early. This often results in loosing all your airspeed and then contending with a sudden application of power and therefore rudder and people can end up sideways if they are not right on it. Lots of instructors I've met insist on "every landing should be an engine out landing". I think its fine to have heaps of practice but in those first 5-10 hours ease into the full on engine on idle landings as its all too easy to get into that trap. What we saw here was engine on flat out most of the time and thus the rudder authority was the same through most of these. This is a typical context where the guy gets behind on take off or doing a more sedate landing and lets things get a bit slow (Note this is not a criticism just for blokes out there just starting there are behind the power curve and behind the power curve situations). Just be aware you flare on an engine idle glide too high and you've lost much of your rotor rpm you add power expect torque effect and busy feet as a result. I've seen some massive bounces in these circumstances. One of the benefits of training with someone as skilled as this is he can safely put you in this situation. Not all instructors have this confidence/competence. Modern gyros are expensive and many instructors (even some CFI's) would not risk doing this. I used to instruct in gyrogliders and one of the many benefits of training with these as the initial part of the training was our first solo flights were stick full back behind the power curve. Because the tow boom restricts the nose height a little you can't hit the blades at the rear. So we'd add power in the car until the student was initially just skimming the ground with the mains, then mains off tailwheel down, then whole glider just a few feet above the ground. The whole time the student has very low cognitive load because the student only has to steer left-right and keep it behind the car. But it is a gyro behind the power curve the stick feel is the same, the attitude the mushiness. We then would progress them to at the height of the car easing in forward stick to level flight then back again as the car backed off. The driver was the instructor and needed to be skilled to ensure the height was managed well. Then you progress to the students doing set up flares and landings. It worked brilliantly. And it had the added benefit that students knew really well what behind the power curve looked and felt like when close to the runway - no its not the same at 1000ft (not the same visual reference). Gyrogliders are cheap and really valuable and we should get off our collective arses and get one going in every gyroplane club. It adds to training doesn't take anything away. Also significantly cheaper! Not to mention from a two seat instructors point of view taking on a solo glider student, you have someone who knows how to wind up rotors, avoid blade flap, where to point the rotor when the wind is blowing, they can fly level, turn, are over PIO issues, how much less likely are they to smash your shinny $100 000+ machine up?
Its good to get this level of confidence and running the margin and then feather forward then back. Most important thing is with this understanding you know what to to do from a flight perspective and keep safe!
another point is having a long runway that is relatively quiet so you can get in several hops. As stated by Paul himself it is worth watching till the end to see the dead turn landing which gives a great indication of what a great flying machine this is.
Great video, but I have a couple of questions for you. First, I guess pattern altitude there is about 300' agl? Also, at the start of the video, you taxi with your rotor already close to being up to speed. All the videos I've seen thus far have advised to keep your rotor stopped and straight ahead until you are straight on your runway. Which way is safe and proper?
Excellent skills demonstration video. Quick question - if you are doing a vertical descent at 0 airspeed, about what height AGL over the runway do you drop the nose to get sufficient airspeed to land safely? The POH says 500 ft, but alone in the gyro it looks more like 200 feet. Is that about right? Thanks!
I've never flown a gyro but it looks like it's a little counterintuitive. When your losing speed and descending, you have to lower the nose to pick up speed and start flying again. I can see why some people would have the urge to pull back on the control stick and only slow down and descend faster. There is a sweetspot for that control stick!
Not really. This is almost like a stall. Once you know you are stalled you have to recover by lowering your nose and never attempt a turn, lower your nose and apply some throttle and you have recovered the stall. Of course if you are no pilot you can think that pulling the stick will make you go up. The stick does no make you go up, is the engine
This is the best example of "behind the power curve" I've ever seen. The technical explanation I've been given over the years is nothing compared to the actual demonstration beginning at about 2:20 in the video. Well Done!!
Previously this subject was as "clear as mud to me" . Your video is probably the best explanation of "behind the power curve" or "deuxieme regime" as referred to in France I have ever come across. Your video on runway 20 was, for me excellent as the shadows gave another way of seeing your climb/descent. Thank you
Happy to help out!!
Wonderful demo! ... great use of the shadow to show what's happening!
Great Video. My last lesson was learning this exact maneuver. I better understand what is happening now and how to use it to my advantage Paul. My CFI had me doing it at 2000' AGL.
I don't fly, but I've watched several videos and thought these things were death traps until now. Very well explained. You can abuse the power curve and the machine will still take care of you, if you know what to do.
Death trap IF you are prone to jump without looking! That being said, with proper training and keeping true to checklists and procedure... not only are these machines safe to fly but (trying to think of a way to describe slipping the bonds of gravity but coming up short) the most fun you can have with your clothes on!
Excellent information for us newbies to gyroplanes. Great, practical demonstrations. Thanks.
Thanks for the demo. Your ground shadow to the right helped show attitude & altitude.
Appreciate your great videos giving stellar instruction to our gyro pilot community!
This is the most informative video to date I've watched on how gyroplanes fly...they don't stall, but there is a Vx, Vy and ? mush descend speed!
Thanks for posting.
As far as why someone would turn when they get behind the power curve its usually due to the fact that they are pretty much in a panic. When descending unintentionally some pilots panic, pull back on the stick even more. That slows the gyro down to a crawl. Then yaw and roll control starts to diminish greatly at some point. Finally, the gyro then typically rolls to one side or another completing the crash event.
Thanks for the video. It's nice to see what an experienced pilot can do. I fly ultralight paramotor and am learning to fly an ultralight nano-trike (Powered hang glider). I'm thinking that learning to fly a gyrocopter may be a good next step. Thanks for the inspiration.
Simple. To the point. Great illustration from Paul as always.
Another great demo, no nonsense. Well done. One thing I'd add is an engine failure of course makes things much more complicated (you need to get that nose down quite quickly in that case), also another scenario that catches people out is a in very steep approaches its easy to get a ground rush effect in the last 20 ft and people tend to flare too early. This often results in loosing all your airspeed and then contending with a sudden application of power and therefore rudder and people can end up sideways if they are not right on it. Lots of instructors I've met insist on "every landing should be an engine out landing". I think its fine to have heaps of practice but in those first 5-10 hours ease into the full on engine on idle landings as its all too easy to get into that trap. What we saw here was engine on flat out most of the time and thus the rudder authority was the same through most of these. This is a typical context where the guy gets behind on take off or doing a more sedate landing and lets things get a bit slow (Note this is not a criticism just for blokes out there just starting there are behind the power curve and behind the power curve situations). Just be aware you flare on an engine idle glide too high and you've lost much of your rotor rpm you add power expect torque effect and busy feet as a result. I've seen some massive bounces in these circumstances. One of the benefits of training with someone as skilled as this is he can safely put you in this situation. Not all instructors have this confidence/competence. Modern gyros are expensive and many instructors (even some CFI's) would not risk doing this.
I used to instruct in gyrogliders and one of the many benefits of training with these as the initial part of the training was our first solo flights were stick full back behind the power curve. Because the tow boom restricts the nose height a little you can't hit the blades at the rear. So we'd add power in the car until the student was initially just skimming the ground with the mains, then mains off tailwheel down, then whole glider just a few feet above the ground. The whole time the student has very low cognitive load because the student only has to steer left-right and keep it behind the car. But it is a gyro behind the power curve the stick feel is the same, the attitude the mushiness. We then would progress them to at the height of the car easing in forward stick to level flight then back again as the car backed off. The driver was the instructor and needed to be skilled to ensure the height was managed well. Then you progress to the students doing set up flares and landings. It worked brilliantly. And it had the added benefit that students knew really well what behind the power curve looked and felt like when close to the runway - no its not the same at 1000ft (not the same visual reference). Gyrogliders are cheap and really valuable and we should get off our collective arses and get one going in every gyroplane club. It adds to training doesn't take anything away. Also significantly cheaper! Not to mention from a two seat instructors point of view taking on a solo glider student, you have someone who knows how to wind up rotors, avoid blade flap, where to point the rotor when the wind is blowing, they can fly level, turn, are over PIO issues, how much less likely are they to smash your shinny $100 000+ machine up?
Excellent overview! Thanks for sharing.
Very elegant demonstration, thanks Paul.
Glad you enjoyed it
Yes I did, I've never been in a Gyro I've been Interested for years this is great information a man can learn from, thank you.
This was very helpful. I look forward to seeing more of your videos.
Thanks for this - crystal clear illustration of the power curve issue.
I hope you enjoy the other videos as well. Trying to increase safety is what is all about!
Thanks for the video. Very informative!
Good radio work, fun flying , Can't get any better...
WOW!! Very impressive . I now have a good understanding of how gyros fly. Thanks
Its good to get this level of confidence and running the margin and then feather forward then back. Most important thing is with this understanding you know what to to do from a flight perspective and keep safe!
Good stuff! I have been "hanging it on the Prop" too much in those danger altitudes. Been too reliant on my rotax!
What a pity the UA-cam stars ⭐️ missed out on your excellent video . Many accident would be avoided.
Best video about power curve in gyrocopter!
I hope it helped gyro pilots understand what happens when you get the behind the curve!! Thanks for the kind comment!
@@capecopters make more gyro videos
another point is having a long runway that is relatively quiet so you can get in several hops. As stated by Paul himself it is worth watching till the end to see the dead turn landing which gives a great indication of what a great flying machine this is.
Thanks for making these videos!
Great video, but I have a couple of questions for you. First, I guess pattern altitude there is about 300' agl? Also, at the start of the video, you taxi with your rotor already close to being up to speed. All the videos I've seen thus far have advised to keep your rotor stopped and straight ahead until you are straight on your runway. Which way is safe and proper?
Excellent video!
Excellent video that I'm gonna show to some hot shots willing to impress newbies.
Excellent instructional video. Have you done one on rotor flap?
Cool video thank you for your time.. I learned alot. Peace Rolf
Excellent skills demonstration video. Quick question - if you are doing a vertical descent at 0 airspeed, about what height AGL over the runway do you drop the nose to get sufficient airspeed to land safely? The POH says 500 ft, but alone in the gyro it looks more like 200 feet. Is that about right? Thanks!
You need to start recovering your airspeed at about 200, and don't hesitate to quickly add power if need be!!
Is that a Comtronics helmet? If so, how do you like it? I'm using a Flycom and really don't care much for it. It's kind of heavy.
Great video..thank you
Very informative. Thanks
Thanks for taking me flying!😁
Any time!
Great info! Thanks!
Hieno video, kiitos.
New sub! Excellent video
Thanks for the sub! Hope you enjoy the channel and the like the videos!!
I've never flown a gyro but it looks like it's a little counterintuitive. When your losing speed and descending, you have to lower the nose to pick up speed and start flying again. I can see why some people would have the urge to pull back on the control stick and only slow down and descend faster. There is a sweetspot for that control stick!
Not really. This is almost like a stall. Once you know you are stalled you have to recover by lowering your nose and never attempt a turn, lower your nose and apply some throttle and you have recovered the stall. Of course if you are no pilot you can think that pulling the stick will make you go up. The stick does no make you go up, is the engine
Love from Sweden ❤ regards Morgan lång
I could see this happening where someone lands in a field then goes to take off finds they are not able to clear trees for take off.
I would love to learn to fly that gyroplane :)
He will gladly teach you. Excellent instructor. I did my sport gyro with him recently and enjoyed every minute!
Too many moving parts to create lift. A fixed wing craft for me please.
Well this is almost like a stall in FW. Lower the nose and never try to turn on a stall
You should not be doing this at a low level. You said yourself 'if the engine quits it will get ugly'. Do not do it below 500'
You're almost hovering like a helicopter when getting behind the power curve. If you had more power, you could probably hover.
Wouldn’t more power create more forward speed. There is no power to the main rotor. There is only power to the pusher-prop.
CLICK BAIT= where is the crash?