Homemade Helicopter by 102 year old Boeing Engineer

https://youtu.be/oB9EYOtCOYs ^ | Mar 9, 2021 | Carson Thompson

[taildragger]

"Some gyros do use power to spin up the rotor before starting the forward motion. It makes for a much shorter takeoff run."

Yes, look at the video again. He has the friction wheel (It looks like a hockey puck) that runs of a hub in front of the Prop with a flex drive up to the rotor to spin it up before take off, and yes they can be engaged and dis-engaged...

[sonova]

A friend built a similar craft a few decades ago.
Took him five years or so.
He died on one of the first flights. Rotor blade snapped off.

[rellimpank]

—saw one of these in Shoshone, California-—about $100,000—

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2016/december/06/two-german-gyrocopters-certified-in-primary-category

[TChad]

It does look like it has power to the rotor to spin it up before starting his run.

Most autogyros use a battery-driven electric pre-rotator.

[CrazyIvan]

I once read that homemade rotorcraft had a one in seven fatality rate. My first thought was that that was one better than Russian Roulette.

[White Lives Matter]

The movie was called “You Only Live Twice” and the gyro was named “Little Nellie”. Was armed with a rear flame thrower, twin forward machine guns, heat seeking missiles and parachute bombs. Here she is in action. The thing could haul @$$.

Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/xFozWDLne7c

[taildragger]

Ah Yes! I had the wrong movie! Thanks! This is also the movie with the only Toyota 2000 GT Convertible! Sean Connery was too tall to fit in it so they made it a convertible so he'd fit!

[Nailbiter]

flr

[Widget Jr]

I think you mean Areonaut, don't know what happened.

[faucetman]

John Denver had a homemade airplane.

[White Lives Matter]

Yep, and forgot to turn his fuel switch on behind the seat.

[Sirius Lee]

John Denver had a homemade airplane.

'Cause Boeing engineers and singers of fagpop have the same skillset.

[Hot Tabasco]

That's not a helicopter, it's a gyrocopter.

So the old guy is a fraud......thought so.

[antidemoncrat]

Looking at the video of the crowd watching him it appeared to me about half of them was his age.

[Regulator]

He’s a good stick. Relaxed, crisp command of the controls, short takeoff with early rotation.

One of the older generation of Boeing guys who actually knew how to build and fly airplanes.

[PROCON]

The late Evening Star inherited the aviation ping list from aeronaut.

[Flick Lives]

[House Atreides]

MY HERO! That’s how I want to be when I’m 102 years old.

Props to the old guy!

[Hulka]

Gyrocopter, not helicopter.

Bensen used to make these and in kit form. . .https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bensen_B-8

[Truthoverpower]

As an engineer a classic train chemical engineer from Berkeley back in the 1980s I can tell you that the old timer engineers in the 1920s were among the very best there ever were