CAA Certification on the UFO Gyro

[MPL Pilot]

Hi All

It is with great excitement that I add this page to the forum.
Johan von Ludwigh has started the process of getting the UFO Helithruster certified as a 'one of a kind' at CAA.
This last week all the torque, stress and hang tests were done, and passed all the CAA's criteria to be airworthy. So to all gyro builders out there
CAA wants to help us be safe. I have only had cooperation since we started this process with CAA and Wagtail.
The breakthrough came when we decided to put the UFO through it's passes. It can rather break on the ground under stress than while flying.
I noticed that every strain taking part gets checked as load is added, and if a component seems to suffer, the process is stopped.
On the engine mount the load was enough to simulate 3.5g, and the structure was tested to 2.6g. I was amazed to see the gyro under that strain for 2 hours,
considering under normal flying circumstances the "g" forces will only be applied for a few of seconds at a time, since we are not into acrobatics.
The gyro was loaded with concrete and tractor weights, when we ran out of weights, batterys and kunsmis had to do.

Total weight 1718kg

[OzGyro]

Hi MPL

I wish you all the best in your efforts to get this gyro certified, I just hope the expense involved dosn't burn to deep. These particular gyros dont exactly have the best reputation, of the two examples in Oz neither exist anymore and even sadder is the fact in one if not both accidents the pilots lost there lives. The third example of this machine back home is currently sitting in a hangar and awaiting flight testing and certification, if my memory serves me correctly the empty weight is in the vicinity of 450kg making it a heavyweight for sure. Did I read correctly 1700Kg of load in the test and photo?
I have always liked the UFO but unfortuntely they have never lived up to the hype, can I ask what rotor do you plan on using?
Like I said I wish you all the best and will watch the outcome with interest.

Cheers
Darren

[MPL Pilot]

Thanx Darren

I just hope the expense involved dosn't burn to deep

No, the expense shouldn't empty my wallet, fortunately I have a CNC machine shop and to design and manufacture parts on spec is not a problem, especially with the Wagtail team helping with all the critical information.

These particular gyros dont exactly have the best reputation

Thank you for you concern, Johan at Wagtail has a reputation of getting gyro's operating successfully, for that reason I am not concerned. Although we got the UFO for next to nothing, spending a couple of bucks might be worth the effort. If the UFO is unsafe in any way, it will be rectified, no need to kill myself trying to proof something.

can I ask what rotor do you plan on using?

We got the gyro with a brand new 33ft rotor blade from Advanced Kenetics, lift should be good, we will see how the gyro preforms with the EJ25 Subaru engine shortly.

Did I read correctly 1700Kg of load in the test and photo?

Yes, on the first photo you can actually see the pylon bending under the load and when the load was removed the pylon was back to it's original position and shape.

As far as I know, the accident in Nov 2009, the pilot and co-pilot sadly did not survive. I should mention that the cause of the accident is unknown as yet.
Recently I was sitting in the cockpit playing with the controls, the control stick got stuck in the left position (simulating a bank to the left). After examining the cause I found the telescopic tube on the rotor head control cable pulled out of its locked position, causing the control stick to get stuck. I will have the cable replaced, and will add a fixture to all cables preventing that to happen in the future.
Having read the report of the accident, it might have been the same malfunction, although I am speculating.

I will endeavor to keep this topic up to date on a weekly basis.

Fly safe
Pierre

[bulldog]

Hi All.I was the previous owner of Pierrs ufo.I have done all the test flying on the ufo for the factory over the last 4 years-including the test flying of the craft that crashed.The official New Zealand CAA report is not released yet but i can say is this-NO STRUCTUAL defects were found.I have well over 150 hours in various ufo and have worked closely with the factory to make various changes that are now standard on the craft.The ufo is a stable,easy to fl.y gyro(even though it is a big,heavier craft).Darren-i trust you are enjoying the beauty and hospitality of an awsome country-i will be doing the test flights on Georges ufo as soon as he gets back from Europe.Good luck with the process and hope to see her in the air soon.Regards Gary

[Low Level]

Well done Pierre - we need this kinda stuff to be done in SA. Too many projects lying around cause people are listening to doomprophets and taking the easy road. Good luck, and I hope to see you in the air SOON.

...not a shot at you Darren, cause I know you also try fighting the system. Good to have all the info

[MPL Pilot]

Hi Low Level

Thank you for the encouragement. The UFO will be doing its test flight soon. We are having new rotorhead control cables made up, can collect it in the morning and then a couple of small things.
The engine is back in, new water pipes installed, extra fuel pump. then the control cables, rotorhead fitted and then rotor to be mounted.
After this, power test, should push about 280kg at full power, balancing of the prop and rotor. Riaan said he will program the engin management system for optimal power and as soon as Johan gets the go ahead from CAA she will be airborne.

Nothing wrong with enthusiasm!!!

Too many projects lying around cause people are listening to doomprophets

This is actually a sad story, everytime I met with Andre or Braam, they informed me of the route to follow, red tape and all that scary stuff. The rules are the rules. If we give our cooperation, they will bend backwards to help. They have a thankless job. But safety is safety.
When something goes wrong they are the ones to pick up the pieces. so rather no pieces.

Pierre

[flying-i]

Now this aircraft has been stressed to where you felt it could take no more and now you want to fly it

and if a component seems to suffer, the process is stopped

How did you know when to stop loading?
Stress fractures not visible to the eye may have emerged before you noticed any physical change...

and then....

We are having new rotorhead control cables made up

I also thought that rotorhead control cables were a NO NO! Cables stretch and you end up with a loose delayed reaction to cyclic inputs. The firebird crashed when they changed the rotorhead control system to cables.

I am no expert but I don't think I want to steer my car with cables nevermind a gyro! I would think very carefully and do some research before flying this machine. Why do other gyro's not have cables?

[OzGyro]

Hi All

Ok i dont really want to hijack this thread ,but I cant but let this go by without saying something

The firebird crashed when they changed the rotorhead control system to cables.

Flying-i. I am just wondering what you know about the cause of this crash that I dont, I would be really interested in your insight.
As far as gyros with cables I can name three, the original Firebird (RIP), the also Australian built Gyroz and if my memory serves me correctly the new Calidus from AutoGyro.
I wish the UFO project all the best of luck, its exactly whats needed here in SA to demonstrate the Kit Built gyro's can also be safe. Although I hope it dosnt end up th heavyweight that the one back in Oz awaiting test flights is, last report I heard it tipped the scales a 506kg empty.

Cheers
Darren

[MPL Pilot]

Hi Flying i

How did you know when to stop loading?
Stress fractures not visible to the eye may have emerged before you noticed any physical change...

Thank you for your concern, Johan von Ludwigh has been doing gyro developement is South Africa for many years and has asured me, the loads used for the tests was far from causing fatique or weakening in the structure.
I used the word "suffer", to me it seemed that way. To use an example, bend a steel ruler with your fingers, it will form a bow, when you remove the presure it returns to the original straight shape. The same principle apply here. I thought the bending of the mast was hectic, but it is "normal".
The loads test was done to satisfy CAA, since the UFO will be certified as a ''one of kind', and no paperwork are available here.

Concerning the control cable's, the max recommended pull load is 650kg and push at 250kg. As you can see the movement on the control stick won't cause the cable to stretch. We will see how the cables preform, the way they are supported all the way thru the cabin, there is not much movement possible when inputs are made on the control stick.

Hopefully the ground run will be done tommorrow, checking temps, pressures and thrust of the motor and prop combination at full power with a scale, while the gyro is anchored with a chain.

Fly Safe
Pierre

[Low Level]

- Pierre - keep us posted.

[FLYNOTE]

MPL pilot ... how the hell do you get your pics this size ???????????

[MPL Pilot]

Hi Flynote
I am sure you do not intend to hijack this thread with "Image Resize for Dummys"
The images from my camera are large, so do the following:
Right click on the image,
select: "open with"
Select "Paint", (Paint opens with the pic)
And resize the image under the "Image" "Resize/Skew" tap to 50%. Save it as a "Name".Jpeg file.
You can check the size of the file (in the original folder) by right clicking on it and select the "property's" tab, it should be smaller than 200kb.
If the image is still to big, dillute it some more, or too small, try 75%.

If the images are eg 100kb, you will loose quality if you enlarge them.


Fly Safe
Pierre

[MPL Pilot]

Hi all

Today quite a bit happened again.
A Rotor blade sample were put to the test, Johan has a hydraulic test bench for this purpose. The centifugal force on the rotorblade is aprox 7 ton (to be confirmed).
During this stretch test, Johan applied 20 ton, and at that point the blade stretched half a millimeter.

Later on we did some taxiing with the UFO, and experienced 180hp from pull away with the Ivo prop. Not as gentle as a 914.
During the thrust test, we realised that the engine is not preforming the way it should, it pulled 220kg on the scale, and should be over 260kg. Now the fuel management must
be fine tuned and exhaust checked. I can only imagine a full thrust take off when everyting is working the way it should.

We are taking a break from all the testing until CAA has worked through all the test results, and issued an ATF for 40 hours proving flight.

Fly Safe
Pierre

[MPL Pilot]

Hi All

We had a free flow exhaust made up, it will be fitted on Saturday morning. Then some more static thrust tests.

I was amazed with all the data available with the link system during engine tuning, using a laptop. Seems nothing will be let to chance. Kallie Venter showed great enthusiasm explaining the in's and out 's of the Link engine management system.
I have heard from Geoff Price from NZ about the new exhaust he developed for the EJ25 Subaru engine, it gives on average 20hp extra. For only R3200 + freight, a small price to pay for those extra horses.
Gary Butlion send some pic's of the new tail development on the UFO, looks very good. Trust it will live up to the looks during the testing phase. Good luck to the UFO team!

[Grumpy]

Please excuse my ignorance,
Is the unit you are testing the actual one you will fly eventually, or do you plan to build a new one once tests are complete and results gathered?