NEW GYRO BOOK
Born Free - My Life In Gyrocopters
The Book
Table Of Contents
Hangar Flying Page
In The Hangar
Ordering Information
Hangar Flying
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On the hangar flying page I will
post a variety of interesting items, most , but not all of them from the gyroplane
world. There will be pictures from the past , example , early photos of Bensen Gyrocopters as well as other gyros of interest , some old , some new. On this page you will meet people of interest and read their stories. Since I am a retired gyroplane flight instructor , I will be tempted from time to time , to offer hints and tips that I have learned over the years that have to do with gyro flying. My home is very near that most wonderful place , the El Mirage dry lake. The lake is approx. 5 miles long by a mile and a half wide and flat as a table top. Many exciting activities take place on the El Mirage dry lake. The dry lake is a favorite place for gyro flying and is the location of the Ken Brock Freedom gyro fly-in that happens every September. Also movie studios use the lake bed for filming movies and commercials. You never know what you might see out on the lake bed , from funny , to interesting , to tragic. Stay tuned. Marion Springer CFI Gyro Ret. |
From The Past
An early gyro fly-in from the 1960’s. The location is Raleigh , North Carolina.
Dr. Igor Bensen and his wife, Mary , are in the foreground.
That’s me , Marion Springer, with the McCulloch J2 gyroplane.
The short
stubby nose of the J2 always made me feel like I was sitting on top of a beach
ball
when I flew the machine . In a descent with engine at idle the J2 had
the glide ratio of a greased brick.
It was a neat machine but definitely
not the sporty little Bensen gyro.
Dr. Igor Bensen
flying his gyro on floats. Note the overhead stick.
Bensen flew both the
joy stick and the overhead but preferred the overhead stick.
The gyro in
this photo has the early heavy cooling cowlings. I think every gyro pilot
was happy when Bensen finally came out with the smaller light weight cowlings.
Photo is from the mid 60’s.
A PRA Chapter 5 member with his float equipped Bensen gyro on a lake in Northern
California.
Two pilots from Ch. 5 flew gyros on floats for one season.
The pilots found there were two problems associated with flying
with floats
that had nothing whatever to do with the floats.
The first problem was boaters
wanting a close up view of the gyro created a dangerous
situation by attempting
to get too close to the gyro , especially as the gyro was taking off or landing.
The other problem was that the propeller had to be re-varnished after every outing
because
the water spray stripped the varnish from the wooden prop.
Photo
is from the 60’s.
Igor Bensen flying his gyro equipped with canister and spray bars for crop dusting.
Note the small cooling cowlings on the engine and the 1 hp. Olsen Rice Prerotator as well as the
gimbal head which replaced the original tapered shaft spindle head.
Photo believed to be from early 70’s.