Flying the Tango Autogyro
by Michael Myers
My experience with the single rotor C.4 autogyro left
me with a great
interest in the aerodynamics of unpowered rotary wing
flight, but still
unable to enjoy the flying experience due to the complex
flight
characteristics of that model. While browsing the Internet,
I read about the
Tango, a three-channel twin-rotor autogyro. This airplane
has a small wing
supporting two contra-rotating movable wings. I immediately
saw the
advantages of this design over the C.4. First, having
dual rotors spinning
in opposite directions eliminates the torque problems.
It could take off
conventionally without a hand launch, and it was only
three channels - no
tilting rotor mechanism.
This model is not available as a kit but as a single
sheet of plans from
Airborne Magazine, an Australian RC modeling publication.
The construction
went surprisingly fast, since most components were made
from slabs, not
built up. This is a plane that can be built for less
than $100.00 in a
shorter time than it takes to assemble a kit.
The Tango - as in, "It Takes Two (rotors) To Tango"
- is easily powered by a
.40 two-cycle engine. Prop selection is important -
you need thrust, not
speed. If the prop has too high a pitch, it will want
to pull the plane
faster than the drag of the rotors will allow. An APC
or wooden 11x4 for a
.40 works very well.
There are no ailerons and all turns are made by rudder
and elevator. If you
put the rudder control on the right-hand stick, you
will think you are using
ailerons - the plane banks quite nicely due to the generous
dihedral. I used
the radio's mixing function to have the left-hand stick
also control the
rudder so I could steer it on the ground conventionally.
The Tango can be flown as you would any fixed-wing airplane,
and it will
show no bad habits. It will do inside loops, rolls and
Cuban Eights easily,
but there is much more that will surprise you. Take
it up high, throttle
back and point it straight down into a dive. The rotors
will come to a
complete stop! Add a bit of up elevator and power and
they are immediately
back to full autorotation and the Tango will chug along
like nothing
happened. Add some extra down elevator during a slow
roll and the rotors
stop when upside down. Keep on the rudder to complete
the roll and the spin
comes back immediately.
This autogyro can even fly inverted. Turn it over and
the rotors will stop
momentarily and then reverse direction. It's a bit difficult
since you lose
altitude in the transition, but it can be done. Keep
it high enough and you
cannot get in trouble- the Tango cannot stall or spin
in. Just let go of the
controls and the rotors will act like a parachute to
stabilize it.
Hovering is another maneuver that comes quite easily.
Point it upwind and
work the controls to make it come to a dead stop in
the air. When you want
to get moving again, ease off the elevator and off you
go. This is a plane
that likes the wind and you can have the most fun when
everyone else is
getting blown around. With a good breeze, it will fly
backwards.
Landing can be done conventionally or you can make it
interesting. I like to
let it slowly hover straight down, nose high, gently
touching the tail wheel
first, then the mains. This is done by holding a lot
of elevator so the
rotors tilt back to catch the wind, and a lot of throttle
to counteract.
It's easier than it sounds, but I wouldn't recommend
landing a fixed wing
plane while holding all that throttle and elevator!
The Tango is a unique and fun plane that is quite relaxing
to fly. If you're
looking to build something different, you can order
plan #621 at www.airbornemagazine.com.au. (Follow the "Plans" link.)
Also here is a link to the Tango construction article.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Student Update
Vince Judd, who was assisted by instructor Steve Kolet,
has completed and
passed our rigorous flight requirement. Way to go, Vince.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blue Skies & Stress-Free Safety Tips
by Nathan Marks, Chief Field Marshall
We all have in common the love of flying model airplanes
and the camaraderie
the hobby embodies, as evidenced by the fun and antics
at the field. Blue
skies, mild breezes (an anomaly in May), the drone of
the engines and the
smell of the fuel being exhausted are the elixirs that
dull our senses and
draw us to the field as mom's home-cooking beaconed
us to the kitchen in our
youth.
While in this state of euphoria, however, we all need
to be aware of those
measures that address our safety and that of our visitors.
We need to look
out for each other to avert accidents and to ensure
the viability of our
beautiful site in the park.
So, here are a few tips that may seem very apparent,
yet may need to be
reiterated in the name of personal safety and our club's
longevity.
1. Make sure your plane is secured or tied down before
you start your
engine. This eliminates the possibility of the plane
thrusting forward and
cutting you with the prop
2. Instead of reaching over the prop to remove the glow
driver and thereby
risking injury, remove it from behind the airplane.
3. "Walk" your plane to the flight line by
holding on to it and please do
not taxi it to the flight line.
I plan to include more safety tips each month and would
welcome your input.
Have fun and fly with safety in mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VFSS BOG Meetings
by Steve Kolet, Secretary
June 6, 2003
Members present: 9 - no quorum.
Meeting was opened at 6:30 PM (standing in the rain
at the field) by
President Bob Sudermann.
Old Business
Item 1: Planning for the June Fun Fly is progressing.
Item 2: The Club received a letter of appreciation for
participating in the
Limerick Airport Appreciation Day. Kudos to the participants.
New Business
Item 1: The Gravely lawn tractor is presently broken.
A preliminary estimate
for repair is $800. There is a consideration to replace
it with a new JD LT
160 at a price of approximately $2,300. The BOG discussed
pros/cons of new
vs. old and commercial duty vs. household duty lawn
tractors. As there was
no quorum, no action could be taken
Item 2: We received a request to provide a demo for
a Boy Scout Camporee in
Chester County. The date is in later October. We will
need to determine if
it is feasible to have a flight demo at Warwick Park
serving the camporee.
Item 3: Flight instructors only are to fly with students.
A list of all VFSS
flight instructors and check pilots will be published
in the club
newsletter. Day pass pilots are not a good choice for
instruction for
several reasons - insurance and qualification are two.
All business was concluded. Meeting was adjourned at
to V F Brew Pub at 7
PM.
------------------------
June 10, 2003
Members present: 14
Meeting opened at 7:30 PM, after the club general meeting,
by President Bob
Sudermann.
Old Business
Item 1: After listening to discussion by club members
about the lawn
tractors at the general meeting, a motion was made to
have the Gravely
examined by a mower repairman to get an accurate repair
estimate. The motion
was passed. Russ O'Brien will take care of arranging
for the estimate.
Item 2: A motion was made to junk the old trailer kept
with the mowers. The
motion was passed.
New Business - none
All business was concluded. Meeting was adjourned at 7:40 PM.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VFSS Certified Instructors
Only those instructors listed below are allowed to teach
or assist students.
Students should ask their permanent instructor who on
this list might be
appropriate before seeking extra assistance and flying
time. If you would
like to be an instructor, please see Bob Sudermann.
Warren Barrick
Miles Bowman
John Bragitikos
Tom Burns
Tris Colket
Doug Deacon
Dennis
DiBonaventura
Mike Estock
Tom Greet
Abe Jones
Mel Jones
Steve Kolet
Howard Marano
Dee Messina
Ed Moore
Jim Myers
Joe Pasquini
Joe Rose
Bob Sudermann
Carl Sutton
Pat Taggart
Stephen Trabosh
Joe Weizer
John Williamson
Saeed Zaman
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Club Calendar
Tuesday, June 3rd -
BOG meeting at the Field, 6:30 PM.
Saturday, June 21st -
VFSS Fun Fly starting at 9:00 AM (rain date: Sunday,
June, 22nd).
Tuesday, July 1st -
BOG meeting at the field, 6:30 PM.
Tuesday, July 8th -
General Membership meeting at the field, 6:30 PM. (Bob
Dolan is planning
some interesting events.)
Feedback or comments to:
Marilyn Ayres , HearYe editor
Michael Myers, Webmaster
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