Flying:
This section will
cover flying your new autogyro. Since it would be virtually impossible to teach flying the
gyro in a few paragraphs, we will mainly cover the highlights of what to expect.
The main thing to remember is, if you are new to autogyro flight, once airborne
orientation will be your
biggest challenge!
Until you are comfortable, it helps to have a spotter along to help you.
Always remember, if you lose orientation or get into an unusual attitude move the throttle to idle and neutralize
all the controls. If you regain orientation fly out of the situation. If you cannot regain orientation simply let the
gyro auto-rotate to the ground with little or no damage.
With a gyro, even to a greater degree than a fixed wing airplane,
throttle = vertical speed
and
pitch = airspeed.
Takeoff:
For the first few flights, it's helpful to fly in a breeze. Around 5 mph is perfect.
Taxi to the end of the runway and while pointing into the wind, pull full aft on the pitch stick. The blades will
begin to rotate and pickup speed if there is a breeze. Before reaching auto rotation, relax the back pressure, and
slowly advance the throttle while maintaining a heading down the runway with the rudder. Never takeoff with
more than half power. Long slow takeoffs are the rule. The more wind, the shorter the takeoff run. Less wind
equals more takeoff run.
When you are at half power, pull a very small amount of aft stick until the blades enter auto rotation and when
the wheels are light, pull a little more aft stick until airborne and add power as necessary for a gradual climb out.
If your model rolls to the left as it breaks ground, the blades were not fully in auto rotation.
Until you are comfortable and experienced, initiate your turns and maintain the desired rate of turn with the
rudder. Use the aileron control to maintain a shallow (less than 30 degrees)bank angle. At times, you may be
cross controlling the gyro. While this may cause some concern in a fixed wing aircraft, it is not a problem with
an autogyro.
Cruise:
Once airborne, the MKII flies basically like a trainer. Left and right turns are predictable. A little back
pressure in a turn is all that's needed. Again, orientation will be your biggest challenge. Remember to climb with
power and control airspeed with pitch.
Decent and landing:
After lining up on the runway, increase your angle of attack into a slightly nose high attitude while reducing
power to began your decent. Adjust the power to achieve the desired decent rate. Just before touchdown, flair
slightly. With a little practice, zero distance landing rolls are the norm. If you are landing on a very windy day,
at main gear touchdown apply full forward stick on the pitch channel. This will stop auto rotation of the blades
and prevent ballooning or tip over.
Remember, the key to a stable approach and landing is a combination of pitch and power.
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