Tue, Dec 30, 2003
100 Years And 4 Minutes, "Two-To-Tango" Flies!
The first flight of an aircraft you've crafted for yourself is
ALWAYS an extraordinary milestone... but when it's one of the first
of a new breed of sport helicopter, it's particularly
noteworthy.
ANN Reader Tom Sled tells us that, "Back in 1969 I became an
Army helicopter pilot and flew Huey's in Vietnam. I saw BJ Schramm
flying the HeliCycle at El Mirage in 2000 and I decided to build
one. In August of 2001 I took delivery of the first crate of
HeliCycle parts from BJ's Eagle R&D. I watched the videos
during the week and did the construction mainly on weekends. With
the detailed videos and well packaged aircraft quality parts, I
found the HeliCycle a very easy to build kit. No costly tools or
special training is needed, and the techniques for the different
parts of the assembly are well explained. The factory runs a check
out program, mine is the first Turbine to be finished and go thru
it. BJ Schramm and Homer Bell came to my airport (L52) in Oceano,
CA for 6 days to check, adjust, fix what needed fixing, fine tune,
high speed balance, and test fly the ship. I finished her 27 Nov.
of 2003, (and finished) my FAA inspection 9 Dec. 2003."
"On the morning of 12/17/03 at 10:39, my HeliCycle Helicopter
N3722T (that I have been working on for over two years) made its
first flight! At the controls was designer BJ Schramm. After three
days spent inspecting, balancing the main and tail rotors, fine
adjusting of all the controls, and tuning the Turbine, BJ
took her for a short 10 minute first flight after doing a few
"Quick Stops". He came back and did an autorotation -- nice and
soft. He was raving about how smoothly she flew, and said he had
her up to 118 (mph), flying smoothly through the whole range. I had
to take my truck to get more Jet-A fuel from a near-by airport to
feed the beast. When I got back BJ took her up for a last sun-set
flight down the beach.
The next day was my turn to start hovering the ship and doing
quick stops. I, too, found her to be smooooth and responsive, and
with that Turbine, the power is always there."
Congrats, Tom... we're jealous... VERY jealous.
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