In my early days, I had 2 things fall off machines, 2 different machines and both were wheels. In my first machine, the entire nosewheel snapped off. I had done all of my initial taxy learning and all of the hops and settling under power that I experienced when I first started learning. The strip was mown, but not prepared at all and I had pretty well given the machines suspension a good old hammering for many hours and was now onto circuits and flying away from the strip. The strip I originally learned at was inside controlled airspace, actually, as I was doing my hops, then circuits, you could see airliners taking off at the Canberra airport in the distance, and up on the hill was the rotating radar array.... it was on a farm and officially we would have got shot for doing it, but as long as we stayed below and clear of the radar array, we were 'overlooked'

Anyway, getting a bit tired of low circuits and wanting to 'stretch my legs' \\i went and flew from Lake George, which was OCTA and was zillions of acers of ground that was as flat as a pool table. One day I decided to fly up to the parachute club airstrip a few miles north of the Lake George strip, there were cars there, so I decided to drop in. The strip looked fine, so I lined up and landed. I was a bit surprised, the strip hadn't been mowed for some time, the grass was about knee high. I spoke to the guys there (who were pretty stunned to see a gyro land there) and then I got ready to leave. I noticed where I taxyed up to the club house, the grass layed over really well, so I taxyed up and down a few times to flatten a strip, got the rotors nearly up to speed whilst doing so, then lined up into the wind and let loose..... the grass was holding me back a bit, then just as I was about to lift off I felt a jolt thru the pedals and heard a loud crack.... but I was in the process of flying off so I levelled off about 10' off and had a look under my feet, just in time to see the nosewheel drop off about 100 yards from the end of the strip. The machine was flying fine so I circled at a couple of hundred feet as someone in a car from the club, drove along to the spot got out, held up the nosewheel..... I swooped past and hollered at the top of my lungs, holding the helmet away from my mouth... "leave it at the gate" They must have heard, coz the guy got in the car and went to the gate, held it up and put it on the road side of the gate and waved..... anyway, I had fuel left, so I just went for a fly over lake George (Dry lake) and played around over the escarpment then just landed quite close to my trailer, loaded up the machine and drove down and picked up the wheel. The thick mild steel pipe shaft had snapped off where the brackets were welded on for turning the nose wheel, where the cables were shackled on. After that, I used machined dow bar, instead of hollow tube.... the original was about 1/4" wall thickness, but obviously not strong enough

The second time was a main wheel came off somewhere in flight, by the time I noticed it was gone, I didn't know when it had disappeared, I only noticed that I had a lot of right rudder in.... it wasn't normal? So I looked and here is the right main wheel not where it was supposed to be Anyway, I just flew back to the strip and landed with a big flare and plopped on with no fuss. That one was because I had used 5/8th" grade 8 bolts as the axles and sleeves and one had snapped off..... I changed to 3/4" bar after that

These 2 things taught me that at the risk of the machine being a little I would rather overbuild components that get a hard time (like axles) than be too weight conscious and build too marginal.... if my machine ends up 3# heavier than it could have been, that is fine by me if it means things wont fall off

So, has anyone else lost anything in flight, or even found anything broken after a trailer trip? The purpose of this thread, is to identify things that may break fairly regularly or are good to check if similar things have broken on a number of different machines?

Remember, all of my experiences have been to do with stick machines..... Other than finding a piece of fencing wire stuck in my wood prop (Lake George is littered with old rusty wire) a few too many engine outs.... that is about all that has gone astray for me.... so far

Madmuz- Back in 2007, I had just taken off from the airport in my SparrowHawk and turned left on my crosswind leg.

I had an Ivo inflight adjustable magnum prop.

I heard and felt a small thunk and I immediately looked out the left side of the cabin. My eye caught a something shiny falling and spinning to the ground. It was headed for a house near the airport. This house was holding a garage sale and people were all over. I nervously watched the small item fall from the 400 feet I was flying at...and my eye saw it just missed the home.

I went and landed and saw that I was missing a bracket that held a switch to run my adjustable pitch. It struck the prop near its hub and surprisingly only scuffed its exterior.

I drove to the house and blended in with the people at the garage sale that were there. I found the bracket and switch close to where I saw it hit the ground from the air.

It was away from the rows of tables set up for the garage sale. I told the owner of the house what had happened and he commented that he had heard something hit the ground that caused him to turn his head.

Luckily it didn't hurt someone or hit a car!

Let's see:
2 trim springs (GyRonimo)
1 handheld antenna (GyRonimo)
several pieces of my prop (Bulldozer)
Pre-rotator clutch (Bulldozer -- on the runway)

But, if we compare that to certificated aircraft:
Nose wheel (AA1A)
Gear Door (BE35)
Goodyear Brake System (BE35)
Hubcap (C210)
Gas Cap (C182)

Seems a fair mix.

I think you are winning so far Jon Was the Grumman just the wheel, the wheel and forks.... or the whole leg? Did you know it was missing before you landed or was it a surprise? I used t fly AA! travellers and a AA5B Tiger (Wow 170Hp) nice little planes actually

At least on my gyro, I could see it was missing

Stan, I thought you were going to say they made you pay for your bracket Lucky it didn't land on a table and someone else bought it

Speaking of GA Jon, I had a nostalgia attack a while back and looked up the Grummans on the NZ accident register.... all of the Grummans I flew at Tauranga in New Zealand have subsequently been crashed (All of the planes with red are wrecked... but not by me) they were ZK-DIA(AA1), ZK-DLH (AA5), ZK-DLK was the Tiger AA5B..... all 3 have since crashed

Then I checked the Aus register
When I got to Australia in 79, I did a check flight in a AA1B in VH-ETS at Bankstown, Sydney.... still registered

Then moved to Canberra and flew C150 VH-TCO, C150 VH-EFC, C150 VH-DPS and C172 VH-MGZ, C172 VH-IET, C172 VH-TEC, C172 VH-TEQ, C152 VH-CSQ and C152 VH-CHZ.... then I discovered gyros and only flew a C172 at Temora VH-JHO.... then I just stuck to gyros

I must have some bad voodoo with FW

Among various things to include my sectional on a cross country, my seatbelt a 9mm magazine (dont ask)
A piantball Hopper but my favorite has to be losing my entire propellor on take off!
Note to guys, when attempting to look swarthy and hunky as only a gyro pilot can to impress women....do not let your prop fly off the gyro on take off....it doesnt impress them as much as flying away does....

Yes that can be a touchy subject when your prop comes off just as you are about to take off..... I believe it is called 'premature evacuation' and 'early and unexpected premature loss of your woody' (unless it was carbon fiber or fiberglass)

C'mon... tell us about the 9mm mag you know you want to

Had a T/R flexplate let go & saw off the last 6" of tail boom. the chip light wire and p-p tube were the only things holding the gearbox on.

Good idea for the thread Muz... stirs the grey cells to look at specific things, and more often.

I am of similar intention when designing and building an EAB aircraft: Add lots of HP, and beef up the aircraft. The HP will both carry the extra weight and get me out of a sticky situation... and the beef may well avoid the sticky situation.
In my case, the difference between a single Dominator with a 65HP Rotax 582... or a 100 HP (modified) Subbie EA81... will be worth the extra weight.
And a side note... I just prefer 4 cyc engines... just my thing.

Good thread, THX for running it.

Bowman thought he had lost his 9mm magazine, but it turns out it was only a clip .

Thanks GG, I agree with everything you just wrote, except for one thing.... having mega power on a gyro can very quickly become very deadly.... having lots of horsepower that comes on too suddenly can also be a recipe for disaster..... if you have, for example 200Hp on a machine with more than about 2" HTL, you can be upside down in the blink of an eye..... if you have that much Hp on a machine over about 1" LTL, you can open the throttle too fast and have your toes playing tiddles with the rotor blades.....

Too much power (or quick response of lots of power) in a gyro, is not to die for.... it is more likely to die from

You have to realise that if you had a gyro with 500Hp, it can still get behind the power curve It can..... remember, you have so much drag from the rotors with the stick back in flight, so if you have an 80Hp motor, you have to lower the nose to get rid of the drag, then you can fly out.... if you are in the same position in a 500Hp gyro, you still have enormous drag, so you use enormous thrust to try and climb out from behind the power curve..... guess what? You have done the 'chicken wish bone' thing where you grab one side of the wishbone and someone else pulls the other side.... the wishbone snaps apart

Well, if there is enormous drag pulling the mast back and up (but more back) and enormous thrust pushing forward..... where do you think the mast will snap first? I would wager it would be any holes in the mast, between the engine platform and the top of the seat, or just at the engine platform where it clamps to the mast..... and you will wish you hadn't had so much Hp (on the way down)

You don't need huge horsepower on a gyro, you need a good amount of horsepower, plenty of torque, an efficient prop so you get the most thrust from your adequate amount of Hp..... and you need to learn how to fly the gyro efficiently.... learning to fly a gyro means that learning in an underpowered gyro can teach you 1000000 times more than any amount of money that can be spent training with 20 different instructors in euro tubs and cabins..... you can not learn to fly a gyro, how it is meant to be flown, in a euro tub or cabin....

If someone said to me they were buying a $80-100,000 tub, I would recommend since they have spent that much money already, find a cheap old Mac or 503 benson for $5,000 and learn to fly that while you build your tub. You will understand how to fly a gyro, then you will step into your tub and realise the differences, but you will have sound knowledge of how to milk power out of a gutless gyro

Bet you knew this already...

You are not the first person to tell me all this...
And I bet you will not bet the last either...

Good write-up though.

At another forum (where PC stands for polite conversation)... we are discussing what is acceptable and what is not...
The discussion went an interesting way (kinda expected it... did not lead it): To remember when communicating in text mode (typing onto a forum)... what one meant to say, and what another read/heard... can be two very different things.

Appreciate your comments Muz... If I make my goal of solo-ing by the end of 2015... we can talk more about flight then.

For now, I still think having 'some' extra HP is a good thing... probably will refine the way I say that...
Oh, and not 500HP... LOL

No worries GG, a little extra Hp in experienced pilots machine is awesome..... it is more of a worry in a novice's machine, so the pilot never knows how to milk all available performance from an underpowered machine, he just knows that power gets it done..... and it often will, but if your throttle gets stuck where you can only get 1/3rd of te usual Hp, or you break a rocker so you are a cylinder down.... essentially so you now have limited power, there is no low power training to fall back on.

I would go as far as saying, people with a gyro with 'plenty of power' would be doing themselves a favour, to do some training on a nice day, good conditions etc, to limit the power they will allow themselves to use (unless emergency)..... as an example, say your machine max rpm you use is 6000rpm (example)...... say to yourself "right, I am going to use no more than 4500rpm and pretend I have no more" then take off, try to do a circuit.... easy, ok limit to 4000rpm..... try to do a circuit..... you want the machine to fly ok, but marginal.... see how you can get as much climb rate as possible.... see how much speed you can get in straight and level and so on.... teach yourself how to get the most out of your machine with low power.... it is actually fun. If you get bored or cant be bothered any more, then just fly normally, you can do a bit more another day.... but what you learn will be priceless

Good points there Muz....

My plan (so far).... is to get the feel of the stick in a gyro (as opposed to the yoke of a FW). When I feel comfortable flying a gyro... will start 'stretching the envelope' so to say... doing things similar to what you describe.
Since a gyro generally does not have a published envelope (like a certified FW does)... so I am not saying stretch the manufacturer's envelope. Rather things like limiting power to an rpm, limiting rudder input, etc... as learning experience.
There was a thread about steep vs gentle approach angles to land.... When I feel comfortable... will work on those also.
Who knows... years down the road I may actually feel good doing... Hmmm... not gonna even go there until I feel comfortable flying...

THX for the idea.

Need to go out and get come vitamin D (sun is shining). I have a head cold, need to get rid of it.

Later...

John

GG, I agree with Muz most heartedly about the power thing.
I was always under powered, and it made me the better pilot for sure! Learn to fly the rotors not the power band.

I wouldn't be here typing if not for the stunts I taught myself for dealing with less power..(180 switchbacks)

But alas, eventually gravity caught me;(

Also remember when you start gyroing, there are two sets of envelopes, the machines and yours...KNOW exactly what the machines is before you try to match yours to its...

"Dead sure....or dead"

A brand new iPhone 6

Madmuz is spot on. Learning to fly my marginally powered Bensen taught me a lot about energy management. If my Mac engine lost 2-300 rpm, I started losing altitude.

I never was smart enough back in 1985 how to tune that Mac.properly. If I had it now, I would have Ricks CDI on it.

Lotus, don't they have locate service on those phones?

Unfortunately I was over some swampland in Southern Georgia..........

I had Note 2 stolen from me a few years ago... phone insurance is a good thing...