There was a story over here, a gyro pilot was asked to do a coke commercial where they fitted a big coke can canopy on his machine so he could fly over the beach out to sea, turn around and fly back over a crowd dancing on the beach and having fun...

They fitted the coke can, he took off and flew fine, so went over the beach and over the water... turned around to head back to shore... but when he faced the land, the machine turned around and faced out to sea again...

he had to ditch into the water... he could not get the machine to go towards the land... the coke can canopy was bigger than the tail... so the wind kept turning the machine around...

Not sure if it is a true story, but when fitting a canopy, the tail has to be increased also... it is part of the reason I am not keen on tall tails... sure, they work fine, lots of authority (when the motor is running)

Open frame Baby!! ;) Except in winter...

so were you landing keeping a bit of engine rpm above idle ?

I think that enclosed machines are an error ...
we are always back to Chuck beaty saying ... the gyroplane rotors make it possible for any one to build and fly anything ...
if there are very few stable gyros with total enclosures it is well for a reason ...

A guy out here I knew Owen Dull some of the Aussie on the forum may have known him too made a very nice two seat machine, nice pod too. He was having some difficulties and my instructor was talking to him and suggested (I don't know what they are called) adding little shapes to change the flow around the cabin. I think its the same thing they use on STOL aircraft wings. It made a huge difference. Cheap thing to try? I wish I could remember more of the details. cheers

Yes, they stuck little 'shark fin' type thingies around the back of the cabin... like a little 'diffuser'... made a big difference.. I saw them on a Owie at Wandai

Yep that's the ones.

it is amazing that such little things make a so big difference !

I love this egg shaped white gyro, is it a single seat or a twin ?

I can't see the radiator .. is it inside the egg ?

also I see that the anti tab on ther tall tail is huge .. I think it was a first attemp to stabilize the gyro in yaw

and what about the gyro stability after adding the little plastic things and with the big anti tab ?

The problem with a large egg shaped, or any full enclosure is the adverse yaw from the cabin, make handling a little different, and usually need larger tail feathers.

what do you mean by adverse yaw ?

If the cabin side area is bigger (or equal to) the area of the tail... the yaw can be unstable...

The area of the tail needs to be bigger than the cabin area so the machine wants to fly front first

A good way of checking the area in front of and behind the mast, is to take a photo of the machine from the side (with the pilot in the seat) and print it... then with a craft knife, cut the photo leaving only the frame/pod/wheels etc and remove all of the 'see through' bits


then balance the pic on its side, with the mast along a pencil... the tail should be firmly on the table (tail heavier/more area)

Murry,

yes I agree... in additon the cabin modifies the airflow on the naca profile of the tall tail .. it creates turbulences that must stall the tail .

I hope also that having a tall taill realtively cleared from any big front obstacle it's lift will be enough the make the gyro stable in yaw .. I'll see

also the egg lateraly offer less air resistance then a flat surface

I think that all of this is commercial ... I mean people subconciously think about old helis like the bell 47 and when the see a magni m24 they this they have an heli ..

I don't want to be enclosed ... I love my small gyro .. and I don't say this because I am jealous of people having enclosed gyros

I would like to have a convertable, closed in winter and open in the summer, not that winters are that cold here, just makes it more enjoyable for chilly weather flying, the open gyros are much windier, more turbulent in the rear seat.
I am sure that Mama gyro would appreciate some heat, and an in flight snack and drink.

I remember that back in times I did not want to invest too much money on helmets and flying integral suits at least until my gyro would have proven reliable enough to make make possible longer flights then just 30 minutes or so

the problem is that I delayed those investments to long ... then I decided to buy an trike integral suit, a really good helmet with a neck seal, and some heated gloves ...

I then found out that I was perfectly isolated from cold, wind, noise and that I could fly 2 hours without getting cold ...

ok it does not replaces a full cabin but I think it is worth trying.

in addition I am used to evaluate my airspeed just by feeling the force of the wind on my helmet and the residual noise of the wind in my ears ..

I am trying to feel things and to less depend on my instruments .. which is not possible in a full enclosed gyro

lastly I must add that being in the open air helped le not to forget that I was in the air and not seated in front of a flight simulator .. I don't like the false safety feeling of enclosed aircrafts ..

but I perfectly understand that other people love it ..

I agree, I like motorcycles too for the same reason.....
We are just like dogs that stick their heads out the car window.. We know why dogs do it.

Is the owen dull cab smaller than the raf cab? The RAF looks tiny. I tried to sit in a two seater peter green gyro the other day with an open (roofless pod) and didn't fit with my long legs, the knees were pressed firmly up on the dash.