Maine GyroPlanes, LLC

Here is a log of my experience building a SparrowHawk II gyroplane. It was a lot of fun to build, and it's been great learning to fly my gyroplane, too. I've met some really great people along the way. I hope my log helps you as you venture forth on your own journey to build an aircraft. There are some great resources where you can find more information on gyroplanes: Popular Rotorcraft Association and Rotary Wing Forum. New entries of the log have been added to the top, so to read the full story, start at the bottom of this page.

—Steve Waterman

May 26. Early this afternoon, I took three people up: my youngest daughter, Sarah, and two friends, Alison, and Bruce (a fixed wing Certified Flight Instructor and commercial helicopter pilot). It was windy. On the third take-off with Bruce, a gust lifted me off prematurely, and I had to touch down to get more airspeed. Bruce said I did a good job making a recovery and then correcting. He wants to go up again. Because of the wind, there were virtually no rolls on my landings. One guy at the airport said he took back everything he’d said about gyros.

Left, that's me in the marigold “logo” shirt taking my youngest daughter, Sarah, for her first gyro ride. Above, I’m landing from taking my friend, Bruce, for a ride.

I drove down to Buckeye, AZ and did some extra flying to ensure getting my private pilot's certificate, gyro rating. I spent time brushing up for the oral exam and the check ride. I got some flying time with an instructor to get familiar with the area and the local weather before scheduling my check ride.

April 29: After my flying marathon Saturday, I have met the requirements for my check ride. I'm still a little nervous about emergency landings, so we’ll work on that tomorrow. You only get one shot at it when it’s for real. Anyway, I’m signed off to take my check ride and have all paperwork as ready as I can get it. Got all the times documented as to what page in the log book, etc. This makes it easier for the examiner so that it doesn’t take so long to go through the paperwork. If Jim Mayfield, the examiner in Buckeye, AZ, is anything like the rest of us, he would rather be flying than messing with logbooks and numbers.

My appointment for the check ride is on the 7th of May. I’m planning on heading that way on Wednesday morning. That means I have two days to get everything packed up and practice my emergency landings. The photos below are of a ride I took around Utah Lake today, late in the day. It was very hot, reaching the high 90s. Got an air conditioner with a larger capacity. I also closed off the gaps above the condo wall as best as I could with pink insulation foam. The black “booger” is Pro Seal, plugging a fuel tank leak.

April 27. Today was a nice day. My first solo cross country of the day was to Nephi. I got back from it at 0730, 1.4 hours. Shot some video hand held. I had the doors on and needed a jacket. Thinking about heater installation before fall. I took off for my second solo cross country of the day around 1100: Spanish Fork to Jake Garn airport other side of Utah Lake, landed at Nephi, 1.5 hours. By 1900 today, I had my minimum 10 hours solo. Mike and I did a night cross country and then a dozen night landings to meet requirements.

These photos were taken using a timer: Peeps and me at Nephi on my second cross country.

April 25. This is what happens when you leave a nut somewhere you shouldn’t. It knicked the engine propeller. I fixed it, as it was minor. You’ll notice that I’ve painted the tips of the props white. Hopefully, this will create a greater visible awareness of the prop when it is turning.

Now you see it.	Now you don’t.

April 19. The Vice President of Rocky Mountain Composites dropped by the hangar and asked if anybody was flying today. He needed an aerial photo of their new plant adjacent to the Spanish Fork Airport. I told him that if the wind was not too squirrely, that I would go up and shoot a few for him. They have a big presentation tomorrow. I managed to sneak up about 3 PM and fire off a few high quality digital shots. They loved them.

Above the top picture is of the Rocky Mountain Composites factory adjacent to the airport. The bottom image is my logo embroidered onto a hat.	The two images above are views from the gyro. The top one is the runway at Spanish Fork Airport (U77).

April 14. For the past several days, we have been trying to figure out why the rotor blades have had a low frequency vibration. We tried balancing them, and adjusting the side to side distance in the towers. Nothing worked. Finally, I called Jim Vanek of Sport Copter, the guy who makes the blades. He told us they were PERFECT when they left the factory as he flies every set before shipping them out. He asked if I was sure that the blades were aligned with blade A on the A end of the hub bar and B on the B end. I assured him they were, but checked. WRONG! Somehow, when Mike, Andy, and I put the rotor together, we got it twisted around so that we had them bass ackwards. This morning Mike flew N130SW and came back with a grin on his face. “Well, N801AG used to be the smoothest machine I’ve ever flown,” he said as he climbed out of the cockpit. I took it up for a little while and she sure is smooth. Had to replace battery, as the one I got with the kit was not holding a charge. Most likely I had run it down a few times and it just died. We picked up a slightly larger YUASA M/C battery and it is charging as I write this. I took the Airgyro machine up and burned some holes in the sky over Spanish Fork, and then greased it onto runway 30 to an almost no roll landing and called it a day. Starting to be more fun now that I am over that, “I think I'm gonna die” feeling.

April 7. I soloed again today in AirGyro's N801AG SparrowHawk I for .7 hours, with four landings.

April 6. Mike and I went up to Provo. He brought me up to speed on radio procedures, climbed out of the gyro, and I did my mandatory solo 3 landings at a controlled airport, then I picked up Mike and we headed home to Spanish Fork. Logged .4 dual and .7 solo. Got a total of 33 hours now toward my Private Pilot Certificate. Got my Advanced Ground Instructor “official” plastic license in the mail today. The FAA called me and said that they only have ONE examiner for gyroplanes on their payroll, and she's booked solid for the next two months. Looks like Buckeye is the place to take the checkride, as I had planned.

Above left, taking off (00:18:29, 740k). Above right, landing (00:33:12, 1.2Mb). Mike is flying in both of these videos. You will need Quicktime to view these movies. You can download it free at Apple.com Right, One of the guys who hangs out here and flies, bought me a box of Peeps, for my gyroplane. (That’s what I’m calling my gyroplane.) In the background, you can see part of the hanger, the rear of my trailer, and a view of the rockies.

	Above left, cockpit finished. Left, above, below, and lower left are all of “Peeps” in the hangar.

April 5. Soloed today. Went around the pattern and made three landings. Logged .4 hours. This is Nate Oldham holding what is left of my T-shirt after everyone signed it, and a close-up so you can read it.

April 4. We did more flight testing today. These pictures are of Mike flying my Sparrowhawk II.

	Above, you can see the Rocky Mountains of Utah in the background for this test flight. Mike is fine-tuning everything on my gyroplane so that the handling and feel of the flight are befitting the tricked-out look of this bird. Left, coming in for a landing.

April 3. We have lift off! We began testing the gyroplane today in preparation for its first flight. Andru and Mike put it through some paces, and Mike took my SparrowHawk II on its maiden flight. He did some crow hopping—that's where you take off but keep the plane in ground effect and then land.

	Top left, Andru taxiing. Bottom left, Mike beginning first flight. Notice the nose wheel is off the ground. Above, Mike has lift off!

March 31. Got ’er done! Here are some photos of me and my finished SparrowHawk II. We taxied the gyroplane and ran up the rotor. We need to adjust the brakes. As of today, the Spanish Fork airport is still closed for resurfacing. It's expected to be open Monday. Hopefully, we’ll take it on a test flight this week.

Here's a close-up of my MaineGyroPlanes.com hat.

March 30. Well, she's finished! Top left, “Peeps” is finished. Center, the SparrowHawk II logo and decal on the tail, with my N number. Right, the inside of the cabin, facing forward. Bottom left, seats with embroidery and seat belts.

March 28. Finishing touches.

	Monty's sons putting on lettering.	“Peeps” in hangar after inspection.	Stuff the DAR made me put on the gages.
	Above left, Andy putting on rotors. Left, Sheepskin covers for shoulder harness. White is on the right (when you are sitting in the gyro).	Monty buffing out paint.	Monty made boot for brakes. Bottom lever is rotor brake. Top is wheel brakes.

March 27: Jim Gilchrist, the DAR, came by and inspected my aircraft. He found very few, small, easily fixed discrepancies and passed my machine. I am now officially airworthy. We will start the testing phase next good day. I have an area that is west of Route 15 and 75 miles in radius. I can't fly in Class B Airspace (who wants to?) and am supposed to remain clear of densely populated areas. There aren't many of those out here. WHEW!

March 26. Nate caught me in a weak moment, and I agreed to show off some of my other talents.

March 21. Found a leak in radiator, so swapped out with the kit maker for a new one. Will install tomorrow morning. Got about everything done for DAR. Just need to buff paint and put on numbers and experimental letters. Will weigh and do W & B tomorrow or Friday. Got the door latches drilled and installed. The doors are O ring tight. Decided not to put a heater in just yet. Black interior will draw the sun. It did out here in the trainer. Only place I was ever cold was where the wind blew through the door, which wasn't tight and froze my throttle hand. I have installed a socket so I can plug in my Gerbings electrically heated clothing that I use on my motorcycle. We will probably install the rotor blades tomorrow after I get the radiator in and put the anti-freeze back in. Everything remaining is pretty much cosmetic.

Photos are from March 20, 2007. Above, the instrument console is almost complete.
Notice the black weather stripping trim around the door frame.
Below, you can see the leather seats and the radio.

March 19. Got the main console all wired and all has tested OK. Still have to calibrate fuel gage. Will do that tomorrow and install windshield. Have plans to do taxi tests and then put the blades on for the weight and balance calculations. Things are moving along pretty well. Still a few non-flight issues to fix. Have the controls all set so we can fly it and fine tune the settings once the DAR approves it.

March 15. Monty showed up today and worked on the console fit, sanded some paint flaws, and had the numbers for the tail ready. He will do more tomorrow and Saturday. I flew 1.5 hours today; .9 yesterday.

March 13. Here are some up-to-date photos. I got a total of two hours of flying in today. I hadn't flown since 24 Feb! The DAR is scheduled to inspect my gyro on March 27th.

Top lever is wheel brakes/ parking brake. Bottom lever (my idea) is locking mechanism off 4 wheeler's parking brake which I use for rotor brake.	Yellow spark plug wire covers and valve cover vent.	Above, prerotator cable end and clutch lever. Right, throttle control for pilot.
Combination landing light and pitot tube mount under nose where passersby will not break it off as in the stock kit design.	VHF radio and transponder.	Right, electric trim actuator. Above, GPS mount for Garmin 496 GPS.
Top of right fuel tank. Wires are to fuel level sensor, which works on resistance to indicate fuel level. Has to be calibrated by installer.	Strobe/Running light assembly on tail boom.	Above, one of two fuel pumps. Right, prerotator clutch assembly.
Fuel screen.	Hinge for door to easily detach and remove doors during warm weather.	Above, control rods. Right, exhaust clamp to muffler.

March 8. Here’s a close-up of the strobes and lights as well as two other shots so you can see where they are on the gyro. I installed the vents in the door windows today. They are 3.25" in diameter, and are opened and closed just by pushing or pulling on them. They are really slick because you can rotate them so that one pulls air in and the other sucks air out to create cross ventilation.

Above is the close up of the strobes and lights.

Right is the vent installed in the door window.

March 7. This is the embroidery I had done for my seat backs. The seats had the other guy’s “N” number in them.
Finally got exhaust installed. More and better photos to come when job finished.

Here's some of the crew and me at Airgyro. Front, left to right, Nate Oldham, owner, and Aaron Bowden, Flight Instructor. Rear left, Steve Waterman next to Andru Reid, Flight Instructor.

Here's a photo of the embroidery on the rear of my seats. They didn't have a SparrowHawk, so they used a Red-Tailed Hawk. I had it redone because the previous owner's “N” number was on the seat backs.

The exhaust is finally installed and working.

March 6: Got the exhaust system this morning and have the mufflers installed. Still trying to figure out the best way to attach the brace across the two mufflers. They seem to be high quality and are pretty good looking, plus they put the exhaust gases below the radiator instead of blowing right into it as the old ones did. We've tested the strobes and running lights and they are impressive. Anybody who wants a set of these can CLICK HERE to order a set. The strobes are programmable, but I left them on the default setting for greater bulb life. The LED running lights will blind you. I'll have photos of the mount we designed and built later on.

March 4: Got the word the DAR can inspect the machine on the 14th or the 27th of this month. So we need to get it ready. The exhaust system is holding us up from starting the engine to test that, and we still have a few details in the upholstery to get done before bolting up the console. The tanks are all sealed and the fuel level sender is installed. Once I test it, we'll seal the right tank as the left is already sealed. Now am working on ways to hold the gyro in place in my trailer for travel down the road. Most likely will fly off the 40 hours, as required by the FAA, in this area before heading down to Buckeye, AZ. (I promise more photos very soon.)

March 2: The Pro Seal set up over night and the new batch is harder than the other stuff was after almost a week. There's a message there about outdated product. Keep an eye on expiration dates. The stuff may still kick, but it will take a while. Working out small details with wiring and still waiting for exhaust system. The new mufflers are pretty impressive. Monty has added some more leather to the cockpit trim and I will soon add the window vents for the doors. The doors fit really tight and I believe we'll need the additional ventilation. Monty has been helping with the heater installation. This one even has a defroster made from the suction nozzle of a shop vac. Works.

March 1: Put the seat rails onto the tank tops with the new Pro Seal. This time I can tell it is going to set up much more quickly. Monty is coming to put the upholstery in the cabin and make it look like a flying Rolls Royce. The running lights/strobes will be mounted soon in the new mount designed by Mike and built by him and me. It is impressive. I bought the lights on line and the running lights are LED and they are very bright and draw minimal power. The strobes are programmable and very good. The set was $400 on line. No need to pay $1400 for TSO'd ones as this is an experimental plane. The kit maker has finished testing the new exhaust system, and the report I get is that it will be well worth the wait. The final parts for the assembly of it will be here on Friday, so I should get it quickly. It will probably take about an hour and a half to install, including drilling any holes in the mounts. Will provide photos when that happens.

February 28. More details are being finished as we move closer to completion. The doors are done, left photo. They fit much tighter than in the SparrowHawk I. I am leaving the protective paper on until I’m ready to fly. Mike Burton, Flight Instructor, former computer programmer, electronics guy, is putting the finishing touches on the electrical system in the second image. Third photo is of the strobe and running lights controller and the engine control unit mounted on the rear bulkhead behind the passenger’s seat. Right photo is Andru Reid, Flight Instructor and mechanic, doing a 100-hour check on the AirGyro's training aircraft. Andy’s up by the rotor.

The doors are done.

Mike Burton.

Control units for engine and strobes/running lights.

Andy working on the rotor of N801AG, the Airgyro demo and training gyro.

February 24. This doesn’t look like much, but this little nit picky stuff takes a LONG time to do. We will go over everything and make sure all nuts are tight and none of the hoses or wires can chafe on any metal. All cotter pins must be installed and all bolts must be tightened to proper torque values, etc. Long mission. Some is fun and some makes you want to take the “black capsule.”
Just found out the Pro-Seal compound that we used to seal the gas tanks was out of date. It seems to be taking a long time to harden up. I spoke with someone at the kit maker and he says that it will harden up, but may take a bit longer. It seems to be doing just that.

Rod ends in alternator mounting plate. (Belt not tightened yet.)	Positive wire with adel clamps screwed into engine.	Fuel return from engine and output to port fuel pump and crossover to equalize tanks.	Rudder, nosewheel controls.
Alternator output cables.	Starter solenoid.	Right side fuel pump.	Right side fuel screen.
Left side fuel filter (cardboard protects front side of radiator from wrench rash.)	Fuel tank vent on left side.	Engine computer and strobe/navigation lights boxes.	Right side fuel filter and sending unit for Hobbs meter.

February 22. Still no word on exhaust system. We sealed up all but the tops of the fuel tanks today and worked on the dual fuel shutoff system, which really doesn't serve any useful purpose, but it came with the kit, so I installed it. We got the fuel lines and filters/screens and fuel pumps all plumbed up. Tomorrow, the way the weather sounds, will be another build day. The engine can't be started because of no exhaust system, but it is ready to go. I will not add coolant to the system until we know exactly where the hoses will have to be shortened, etc. Thanks to NO EXHAUST SYSTEM. The factory is working on the new system, and I really should not be so hard on them, but it is frustrating. Monty will come in and do the final fitting and put in the fiberglass braces for the console. He is also lined up to upholster the inside of the rest of the cabin and the doors. Once the doors are done, I will install the lexan and put VENTILATORS in them. We flew for .9 today and it was HOT up there even with just a T shirt on. My machine will have a heater, but I doubt it will be used that much. Once the Pro-Seal sets up in the tanks, we can move on to the next evolution. Mike has about another two days to complete the wiring. We have a bracket all built for the running lights/strobes and have to come up with a good way to mount it up on the tail boom. I don't want strobes flashing in my eyes at night. More tomorrow.......

February 21. No exhaust system yet. Got another 1.3 hours of flight time in today. Something always comes between me and solo flight. Usually it's the weather goes to pieces after my first hour of flying, or some customer shows up and has to be taken on a demo flight. Got the fuel system all hooked up and have to seal up everything in the tanks, then clean them again. This will happen tomorrow. Once that is done, we put a few gallons of gasoline in and check the sensor level on the fuel gauge and make sure everything is working correctly. After that, the covers get epoxied onto the tanks, so we want to make sure all is correct before we commit to that. There will be some more photos taken when the interior is done. I'll also do a 360 degree panorama of the cockpit. To view this, you'll need Apple's QuickTime, so go ahead to their site and download it. It's a free program. All Macs have it and all PCs should.

February 16. Rotor blades came today from Sport Copter. Still have no exhaust system. Should (BETTER) be here before the end of next week. Mike has finished rewiring the instrument console. It is ready to be installed.

February 11. Got another hour of flight time in yesterday and put the radiator on. Getting there. Photos will be with next update. Have to remove rotorhead as it cannot be installed with the rotor brake on. Have to install the head first. We still need to install the rotor RPM sensor and much wiring is to be done. The controls are made up, as are the components for the prerotator system. I am going to beef up the bracket for the cooling system and put a ‘strain relief’ on the prerotator cable housing to prevent failure. Andy Reid built one for one of Nate’s machines and hasn’t had any failures of the cable to the prerotator since he installed it. If you think vibration or chafing is going to be a problem, IT IS. Take preventive measures and live by Murphy’s Law, and you’ll probably be OK.

February 8. We now have the engine about ready to start. As soon as I get the brackets for the radiator painted and the radiator installed, we'll be ready to crank up the engine. The propeller is still off until we check everything else. Then we need to set the pitch on that. The wiring still has to be done to the console and the VHF and Transponder antennas have to be glued in. I got the kind that are just a strip of carbon fiber and copper so they are not visible from the outside. At this point, I am estimating that it will take about another total of three weeks before it will be inspected and flying. Of course, I have been wrong before. The exhaust system is not here yet, as they have redesigned it, which is a great improvement over the old motorcycle mufflers that used to fall apart. I've put Amsoil synthetic 5W-30 in the engine and an extremely fine Amsoil oil filter. When we hook up the cooling system, Amsoil’s coolant will be in there, too. The stuff is good for 750,000 miles. I’ll be changing my oil filter and pulling an analysis at 100 hours. The standard checks on these gyroplanes are 50 hours. There are no major inspections, but certain things have to be looked at to insure they have not loosened up, etc. Will have some new photos when the rotorhead is on. The blades were shipped today and should be here on Monday, the 12th, from the manufacturer.

Nate inspecting fitting of the instrument panel.

Doors installed on 3 Feb. 2007.

May 18. As soon as I get the lights and bench installed and some tools purchased, we’ll start the building process. With no heat in the building, it is still a bit chilly to work out there.

May 9th.

April 21st. The changes from SparrowHawk to SparrowHawk II are taking more time than expected and I have been advised the kit will ship the first week in May. Also, Dan Banks has told me that the kit’s changes will result in knocking some hours off the build time. This is good news and worth the additional waiting time. It will be interesting to see just how long it takes to build the machine. The latest word from the factory as of 16 MAR 06 is that the kit will be shipped on the 27th of March. As soon as it arrives, I’ll start posting photos and a log of how we are progressing on its construction.

April 10th. Due to setbacks caused by the upgrading of the SparrowHawk II Kit, the first installment of the kit is supposed to ship this week. I have asked the company to expedite the remaining three sections of the shipment, so there will be no dead time in the construction.

The latest word from the factory as of 16 MAR 06 is that the kit will be shipped on the 27th of March. As soon as it arrives, I’ll start posting photos and a log of how we are progressing on its construction.