Chris - thankyou for that explanation of the cons of towing. I am an older guy, growing up in the 60s on a resort lake in northern MN. We had neighbors who ran a small resort (all resorts were small family resorts back then). The two Forsythe brothers owned an original Bensen, and had both wheels and floats (or they have two 'copters, Im not sure which)). We would routinely see them block of the county road we lived on, pull out their gyrocopter, and in just moments, scoot down the road and be up in the air... swooping and having fun all around our neighborhood and part of the lake. Other days, an engine-less version of a gyro would be outfitted w floats and theyd launch it from the lake-side of their home, towing it up above the tree tops and out and around our lake (15 miles around the lake shore). In the '70s, they would do something similar w a truck pulling the gyro over the frozen lake... but weather didnt allow that to happen more than once or twice. All in all, we enjoyed the show and inspiration they provided. Other neighbors had home-build air-sleds long before modern snowmobiles showed up. It was quite the interesting neighborhood to grow up in. I look forward to finding a gryo, and would welcome advice about a school to train properly at. Cheers! Mike
Anton Westergaard Thanks. This one belongs to my cousin. It is flying today with a MAC 72 engine. Notice he “dangles” his feet. No rudder necessary when kiting. The winds were nice and strong and he even flew over my head while filming. He is lighter than me so he didn’t need quite as much wind as I did. Notice he has his “signature” un-lit cigar. He says it’s a pacifier.
jocco johnson777 be careful when taxiing without the rotor. Depending on your motor and the thrust it develops at idle, it can “push” pretty hard. Having a hand on/near the kill switch is important. No parking-lots. I heard a story of someone that ran into a curb and that didn’t end well. Nothing in front of you that you can’t run into. Don’t let it get so fast that you can’t stop it quickly. A turning rotor will actually make it more stable when that time comes and also create some drag to keep things slower. In smooth grass is a better choice.
@@christopherburgessgyro-cfi12 Hi: Chris. my Bensen has the 4318 Mac. engine. I was planning on using a seldom used taxiway near Our club Hangar. My machine is equipped with two wheel brakes on the mains and, the mag kill switch is in easy reach. I was told by another Club member to not go any faster than I can walk. The engine idles down nicely and responds well to the slightest throttle input. I had entertained the thought of bringing it Home where I have a long grass lane. Thank You. Your advice is always very welcomed. God Bless.
He flys over my head around 4:30 on the timeline. Wind was stronger and more steady than in GYROKITE PT1. I wish I had more video on starting and stopping the rotor. That is the hardest part of kiting.
Pushing the stick full forward will lower the rotor disk and take away most of the air that it needed to spin up. However when it slows to about 40 rpm, it becomes very limber and must be stopped quickly by hand in my case, not hard to do really but it must be stopped quickly or it can "sail" out of control. Yes it can be towed by an airplane. Ken Brock towed one to 2200 feet AGL back in 1979 and released. He is the only one I know of to do that. Most tow behind cars but few actually release.
@@christopherburgessgyro-cfi12 I searched and found costs about 2 USD ... will get it when the lockdown for post is lifted here ... Would you help ...like give some technical advice and stuff ... especially ROTORS ... how to make them .... no I cannot buy them here in India ... MAKING is the only sensible way ...especially if i am looking at having replacements.
@@nevillecreativitymentor , I would never attempt to make my own rotors. That is a skill that I feel needs to be done by experts in that area. I always used the metal Bensen rotor on all my single place Bensen's. I have flown on wooden Bensen rotors in a two-place Bensen glider in Canada. We were towed into the air by a car. They worked well but I could never build them myself. Some folks said they are more forgiving in a "crash".!!! I had a factory wooden set from Bensen back around 1967 but I never flew those before I got into the Army and Vietnam flying helicopters. Today most folks are flying metal rotors. Wood has it's drawbacks. They can develop permanent "droop" which can "goof" up the way they fly. There was a man making the metal ones but I am not sure that he still is. Contact Roger Farnes at rotorsnradials@msn.com is what I have. 4130 Mennes Ave Hangar #66, Riverside, CA 92509, phone 909-519-4427. I can give you "some" technical advice perhaps when you need it. I have been around the Bensen gyroplanes since 1971.
Totally agree with you ... here it is way too expensive to import ... and the making is reserved only to the towed (low flight) gyro glider ... I would not dare to make one for powered or fly higher that 10 feet in a made one. Here in India aviation nearly does not exist for all practical purposes ... and I was thinking fibre glass rotors ... with CF spars ... thats where help is sought ... i will use the email to connect with the rotors guys you mentioned and try my luck at importing too. Thank you for the reply ...helped a lot.CHEERS p.s. email address please! (mine is vt_nkr[at]hotmail[dot]com
@@nevillecreativitymentor I did buy my last 30 foot rotor set for a two-place from McCutchen Skywheels in 2015, 1494 West Decker Chapel Road, Decker Indiana, 45724. Not sure if he is still making them. They were fiberglass around an aluminum spar. Again I would "never" consider making my own. This is an area that requires special skills and equipment. Just so you know you can be killed from less than 10 feet. I know of a person that was being towed behind a car driven by a non-pilot. The gyro flipped over and he was drug on the ground to his death. In any towing operation, the driver and an observer should be used and they BOTH should be experienced gyro pilots. They should also be in constant contact by radio. Take care there in India Neville.
bythedog, correct, no collective. If the cable breaks, #1 you will be abruptly surprised, #2 might go backward before you have a chance to correct, #3 “we will be landing shortly, please return to you seats”!!! From 3-5 feet it would all be over in a couple seconds, hopefully with a successful outcome.
Anton Westergaard, let me add he is almost 80 years old and still flying this Bensen today, hand propping both the engine and rotor. Not many people today can do that.!!!
This was my cousin in this video. We never towed it and had no desire to. Towing requires you have (IMHO) at least an additional crew of two, an observer and tow vehicle driver. Both should be VERY familiar with what to expect and how to react. I know of at least one case where the person in the glider was drug to his death when he upset and the driver did not notice immediately . Towing involves many more complications and people, plus a place to tow. I of course added an engine and so did my cousin. We both began to operate the powered gyro, me for 20 years more in this one and my cousin is still flyin his today and age 84.!!
If you can locate a hill with a clear area from base to the top - to avoid turbulence - use a 2.5 ft. 1" diameter Steel stake or post to secure your line to, (safetied to keep the main line from coming off the stake/post). I use climbing rope from Austria whch is always kept in a backpack when not in use to avoid UV deterioration and then stored in a cool dry place until it is checked before being used again. There are several aspects about kiting and everything I learned was from listening to people who flew and were not some hotdog with less brains than a "bag of hammers". Fortunately for me I used to work next to Ken Brock's shop in the Garden Grove, Stanton area and after purchasing a set of plans for the B-8 gyrocopter, Ken was gracious enough to answer any questions I had, which helped me greatly as there were no training facilities other than Ken when he was at El Mirage dry lake bed where he would take you up in his two place trainer to teach you how to take off, "box the wake", which was flying slowly upwards, then left, then downward then right, and then upwards to repeat the process over again a few times, this process was also taught when learning to fly a sailplane while being towed aloft in order to develope your skills. For me Kiting was far more enjoyable than being towed behind a car on a gravel road with rocks and dust being thrown in your face and into the rotor, which was then directed back down onto your helmet until you gained enough altitude to keep from enjoying this aspect of taking off and landing behind a vehicle. Plus now we have reliable, inexpensive walkie-talkies to quickly communicate with the driver to let them know to SLOW down or speed up in order that we can enjoy "flying" our gyro without seeing our lives flash before our eyes.
Larry Whalen, I always used two steel stakes, one vertical and the other driven in with about 30 degrees lean away from the first. I also put a chain “loop” around both stakes before driving that second stake. This chain was over the top of the tow cable. This kept mine from sliding up the stake. Hard to say or envision but it worked. Never had any problems with the stakes. Thanks Larry for your great story. Kiting is one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in a gyro.
That was done by original manufacturer, Bensen. You should be cautious. Bensen almost crashed one because the floats caused it to “tuck” or dive. Only thing that pulled it out was the tow rope going taught again. Floats add a whole new dynamic to the operation.
I know one was towed behind an airplane to 2000 feet and released. It glided down safely. Normally the length of your rope is the only thing that keeps you from going higher. Trouble comes from a heavy rope. Eventually the rope becomes a load. When kiting in "gusty winds" it is advisable not to go very high because if the wind suddenly dies, you need to make a quick controlled landing.
You can try a google search and may find someone either producing kits or parts and plans for the Bensen B8G or Brock KB2 (nearly the same), you may have a chance to build one. You may even find someone selling their project or know somewhere to get parts and plans. It is no longer in production from the two manufacturers I named.
Chris - thankyou for that explanation of the cons of towing. I am an older guy, growing up in the 60s on a resort lake in northern MN. We had neighbors who ran a small resort (all resorts were small family resorts back then). The two Forsythe brothers owned an original Bensen, and had both wheels and floats (or they have two 'copters, Im not sure which)). We would routinely see them block of the county road we lived on, pull out their gyrocopter, and in just moments, scoot down the road and be up in the air... swooping and having fun all around our neighborhood and part of the lake. Other days, an engine-less version of a gyro would be outfitted w floats and theyd launch it from the lake-side of their home, towing it up above the tree tops and out and around our lake (15 miles around the lake shore). In the '70s, they would do something similar w a truck pulling the gyro over the frozen lake... but weather didnt allow that to happen more than once or twice. All in all, we enjoyed the show and inspiration they provided. Other neighbors had home-build air-sleds long before modern snowmobiles showed up. It was quite the interesting neighborhood to grow up in. I look forward to finding a gryo, and would welcome advice about a school to train properly at. Cheers! Mike
Nice gyrokite there mate!
Anton Westergaard Thanks. This one belongs to my cousin. It is flying today with a MAC 72 engine. Notice he “dangles” his feet. No rudder necessary when kiting. The winds were nice and strong and he even flew over my head while filming. He is lighter than me so he didn’t need quite as much wind as I did. Notice he has his “signature” un-lit cigar. He says it’s a pacifier.
We are still under quarantine in Michigan but. I hope to get out soon and practice taxiing with out the rotor blades on My B8-m.
jocco johnson777 be careful when taxiing without the rotor. Depending on your motor and the thrust it develops at idle, it can “push” pretty hard. Having a hand on/near the kill switch is important. No parking-lots. I heard a story of someone that ran into a curb and that didn’t end well. Nothing in front of you that you can’t run into. Don’t let it get so fast that you can’t stop it quickly. A turning rotor will actually make it more stable when that time comes and also create some drag to keep things slower. In smooth grass is a better choice.
@@christopherburgessgyro-cfi12 Hi: Chris. my Bensen has the 4318 Mac. engine. I was planning on using a seldom used taxiway near Our club Hangar. My machine is equipped with two wheel brakes on the mains and, the mag kill switch is in easy reach. I was told by another Club member to not go any faster than I can walk. The engine idles down nicely and responds well to the slightest throttle input. I had entertained the thought of bringing it Home where I have a long grass lane. Thank You. Your advice is always very welcomed. God Bless.
He flys over my head around 4:30 on the timeline. Wind was stronger and more steady than in GYROKITE PT1. I wish I had more video on starting and stopping the rotor. That is the hardest part of kiting.
This looks really fun. How fast were the winds blowing this day to keep you floating? Thanks for sharing.
Balls, I'm a pilot, been involved with kit planes owned a kitfox 4. I'm not interested in test piloting anything. What a thrill...
How do you stop the rotors ? Can you be towed by an airplane and released like a sailplane ?
Pushing the stick full forward will lower the rotor disk and take away most of the air that it needed to spin up. However when it slows to about 40 rpm, it becomes very limber and must be stopped quickly by hand in my case, not hard to do really but it must be stopped quickly or it can "sail" out of control. Yes it can be towed by an airplane. Ken Brock towed one to 2200 feet AGL back in 1979 and released. He is the only one I know of to do that. Most tow behind cars but few actually release.
PLANS PLANS PLANS PLLEEEEEEZ!
Do a Google search for Bensen B8 Glider Plans, (Bensen is correct not Benson) you will find several links that say they can provide them.
@@christopherburgessgyro-cfi12 I searched and found costs about 2 USD ... will get it when the lockdown for post is lifted here ... Would you help ...like give some technical advice and stuff ... especially ROTORS ... how to make them .... no I cannot buy them here in India ... MAKING is the only sensible way ...especially if i am looking at having replacements.
@@nevillecreativitymentor , I would never attempt to make my own rotors. That is a skill that I feel needs to be done by experts in that area. I always used the metal Bensen rotor on all my single place Bensen's. I have flown on wooden Bensen rotors in a two-place Bensen glider in Canada. We were towed into the air by a car. They worked well but I could never build them myself. Some folks said they are more forgiving in a "crash".!!! I had a factory wooden set from Bensen back around 1967 but I never flew those before I got into the Army and Vietnam flying helicopters. Today most folks are flying metal rotors. Wood has it's drawbacks. They can develop permanent "droop" which can "goof" up the way they fly. There was a man making the metal ones but I am not sure that he still is. Contact Roger Farnes at rotorsnradials@msn.com is what I have. 4130 Mennes Ave Hangar #66, Riverside, CA 92509, phone 909-519-4427. I can give you "some" technical advice perhaps when you need it. I have been around the Bensen gyroplanes since 1971.
Totally agree with you ... here it is way too expensive to import ... and the making is reserved only to the towed (low flight) gyro glider ... I would not dare to make one for powered or fly higher that 10 feet in a made one. Here in India aviation nearly does not exist for all practical purposes ... and I was thinking fibre glass rotors ... with CF spars ... thats where help is sought ... i will use the email to connect with the rotors guys you mentioned and try my luck at importing too. Thank you for the reply ...helped a lot.CHEERS
p.s. email address please! (mine is vt_nkr[at]hotmail[dot]com
@@nevillecreativitymentor I did buy my last 30 foot rotor set for a two-place from McCutchen Skywheels in 2015, 1494 West Decker Chapel Road, Decker Indiana, 45724. Not sure if he is still making them. They were fiberglass around an aluminum spar. Again I would "never" consider making my own. This is an area that requires special skills and equipment. Just so you know you can be killed from less than 10 feet. I know of a person that was being towed behind a car driven by a non-pilot. The gyro flipped over and he was drug on the ground to his death. In any towing operation, the driver and an observer should be used and they BOTH should be experienced gyro pilots. They should also be in constant contact by radio. Take care there in India Neville.
So there’s no collective? What happens if the cable breaks?
bythedog, correct, no collective. If the cable breaks, #1 you will be abruptly surprised, #2 might go backward before you have a chance to correct, #3 “we will be landing shortly, please return to you seats”!!! From 3-5 feet it would all be over in a couple seconds, hopefully with a successful outcome.
the pilot looks like an astronaut
Anton Westergaard he almost is !! Been flying since before the manned moon missions.
@@christopherburgessgyro-cfi12 Woah! For that long :o
Anton Westergaard he is still flying, just flew three days this last week. I’ve been flying since 66’ but have retired from instructing.
Anton Westergaard, let me add he is almost 80 years old and still flying this Bensen today, hand propping both the engine and rotor. Not many people today can do that.!!!
@@christopherburgessgyro-cfi12 Thats wild! When my grandma was 80, she couldnt do much else than sit in a chair.
When are the 'towing' tests, behind a truck or vehicle?
This was my cousin in this video. We never towed it and had no desire to. Towing requires you have (IMHO) at least an additional crew of two, an observer and tow vehicle driver. Both should be VERY familiar with what to expect and how to react. I know of at least one case where the person in the glider was drug to his death when he upset and the driver did not notice immediately . Towing involves many more complications and people, plus a place to tow. I of course added an engine and so did my cousin. We both began to operate the powered gyro, me for 20 years more in this one and my cousin is still flyin his today and age 84.!!
What's the wind speed needed to kite a gyro?
Minimum about 22 mph. Best to have 30 and steady. Depends a little on your all up weight. A light weight pilot takes less than a heavy pilot.
If you can locate a hill with a clear area from base to the top - to avoid turbulence - use a 2.5 ft. 1" diameter Steel stake or post to secure your line to, (safetied to keep the main line from coming off the stake/post). I use climbing rope from Austria whch is always kept in a backpack when not in use to avoid UV deterioration and then stored in a cool dry place until it is checked before being used again.
There are several aspects about kiting and everything I learned was from listening to people who flew and were not some hotdog with less brains than a "bag of hammers".
Fortunately for me I used to work next to Ken Brock's shop in the Garden Grove, Stanton area and after purchasing a set of plans for the B-8 gyrocopter, Ken was gracious enough to answer any questions I had, which helped me greatly as there were no training facilities other than Ken when he was at El Mirage dry lake bed where he would take you up in his two place trainer to teach you how to take off, "box the wake", which was flying slowly upwards, then left, then downward then right, and then upwards to repeat the process over again a few times, this process was also taught when learning to fly a sailplane while being towed aloft in order to develope your skills.
For me Kiting was far more enjoyable than being towed behind a car on a gravel road with rocks and dust being thrown in your face and into the rotor, which was then directed back down onto your helmet until you gained enough altitude to keep from enjoying this aspect of taking off and landing behind a vehicle.
Plus now we have reliable, inexpensive walkie-talkies to quickly communicate with the driver to let them know to SLOW down or speed up in order that we can enjoy "flying" our gyro without seeing our lives flash before our eyes.
Larry Whalen, I always used two steel stakes, one vertical and the other driven in with about 30 degrees lean away from the first. I also put a chain “loop” around both stakes before driving that second stake. This chain was over the top of the tow cable. This kept mine from sliding up the stake. Hard to say or envision but it worked. Never had any problems with the stakes. Thanks Larry for your great story. Kiting is one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in a gyro.
@@christopherburgessgyro-cfi12what size cable?
@@pilot08tim I’m pretty sure it was 5/16” steel. I tried nylon once but the stretch causes problems so a solid steel cable was the answer.
I would like to buy it and add floats for a tow by boat rig
That was done by original manufacturer, Bensen. You should be cautious. Bensen almost crashed one because the floats caused it to “tuck” or dive. Only thing that pulled it out was the tow rope going taught again. Floats add a whole new dynamic to the operation.
How high of the gyrokite can be fly?
I know one was towed behind an airplane to 2000 feet and released. It glided down safely. Normally the length of your rope is the only thing that keeps you from going higher. Trouble comes from a heavy rope. Eventually the rope becomes a load. When kiting in "gusty winds" it is advisable not to go very high because if the wind suddenly dies, you need to make a quick controlled landing.
Teria a planta por favor
Where is the cigar?
You must have met Bob. Pretty sure he has one, he calls them a pacifier, never lights them up. He even made a holder for one on the gyro.
@@christopherburgessgyro-cfi12 I've absolutely met him
eu preciso construir um desses pra mim.
You can try a google search and may find someone either producing kits or parts and plans for the Bensen B8G or Brock KB2 (nearly the same), you may have a chance to build one. You may even find someone selling their project or know somewhere to get parts and plans. It is no longer in production from the two manufacturers I named.
Агде унего двигатель
There is no engine. All the power is from the wind. Like a maple seed that spins and drops slowly to the ground. Autorotation.