Plenty of Power, in Turbine Installation

We'll be bringing you a photo or two of the first customer-flight Helicycle, built by an extremely handy (he's a designer and a machinist himself, for instance) Doug Schwochert, of Burlington (WI) ASAP.

He flew the little single-place helicopter, after an extensive checkout procedure by the machine's designer, BJ Schramm (seen flying the prototype here), just a couple weeks ago. He hovered, made quick stops, and eventually transitioned to horizontal flight, as BJ showed the way. Doug himself is an R-22 pilot, and, according to what we've heard, made the transition from that piston-powered, two-place machine, to the turbine-powered single-seater that he built himself, without any troubles, in the course of a very few hours, spread over several days.

(Due to some publishers' agreements, the photos on the Helicycle website aren't available for us to show you -- but you're free to see for yourselves: www.helicycle.com/news/FHF.htm.)

Doug, wanting plenty of power, opted for a GPU-derived single-spool turbine. This engine, although plenty powerful in its own right, posed some interesting problems. For one, it's a GPU -- a ground power unit -- and as such, is carrying a lot of unnecessary gearing, etc., around. That's just pure, unnecessary weight -- weight which will soon be turned into useful load, perhaps increased fuel, for the smooth, thirsty little powerplant. For another, it's a single-spool design, which means its throttle response is, um, slow. Fortunately, and against Schramm's original intuition, the lag, in the small, lightweight design, was not a show-stopper. One other thing: it turns the wrong way. That put a lot of Doug's genius to the test; but he overcame it, and the rotor blades now produce lift.

As BJ explained, "Of course, as it is right now, that machine is 'way too heavy. The engine's a GPU, with all kinds of extra equipment on it, that doesn't need to be there, for flying. The gearbox needs to be redesigned. Of course, it won't carry a lot of fuel, until he gets the weight of the turbine down." After that, Mr. Schramm thinks, "then, he could probably run it an hour and twenty minutes, an hour and a half, with reserve." Power most certainly isn't a problem. BJ figures, "Airspeed should eventually be about 105mph -- in cruise." That way, "He should have at least 100, maybe 120 miles' range, with reserve." Sounds good -- plenty good, for a decent-performing single-place chopper. "The disadvantage is, you have to get jet fuel -- you can't just fill up at a gas station. I suppose, if you're around home, you could fly it on 60-cent kerosene, rather than jet fuel..."

That checkout:

BJ Schramm, who saw what can go wrong in a customer-built helicopter, through his RotorWay days decades ago, doesn't want that to happen with the Helicycle. In fact, part of the sales agreement requires the customer to have BJ check the machine out before any flight. How can he enforce that? The factory withholds a few critical parts, and brings them along, when the checkout is scheduled. The checkout itself is rather comprehensive, and covers both the machine and the pilot. Here's what Doug went through, over the course of several days:

• A thorough mechanical conformity and construction checkout using an itemized check list and special factory tooling.
• A rigging inspection of all controls & rotor system components.
• A physical weight and balance hang test to insure that the c.g. is absolutely correct for the very first liftoff.
• The main and tail rotor systems are final dynamically balanced and readied for flight.
• Power plant break-in procedures are completed.
• The factory test pilot performs a comprehensive series of flight tests including power off autorotations to insure correct adjustment of all controls and flight surfaces prior to customer operation.
• The customer is briefed on pre-flight checks and begins the first tethered lift off's. 
• Following a brief period on the tether bar, the customer lifts into his first free flight hover and continues to gain confidence in his ability by performing in-ground effect maneuvers under the test pilot's watchful supervision. Hovering the HELICYCLE is quite easy for anyone with some training in the R-22.
• Flight into and out of translational lift is practiced until the customer has successfully completed accelerations and decelerations (Low altitude, high angle quick stops) through incrementally-increasing airspeeds up to 50 - 55 mph. Doug was able to complete this phase in approximately and hour and a half. When a helicopter pilot can capably perform a 55 mph high-angle quick stop, he can also adequately perform the flare maneuver at the end of an autorotation, so the factory check out is not completed without the test pilot's confirmation that the customer understands and is becoming proficient in this highly important maneuver.
• Climb out to altitude and, very soon thereafter, autrotative entries may begin to be practiced by the customer during the checkout. If not, he will continue with this practice on his own and report his progress to the factory pilot who will consult with him as he proceeds.

Although it sounds like a lot of additional hassle, Doug was grateful for the opportunity. He didn't need too much help in the mechanical/building department, given his considerable expertise, and what he called the "great" construction instructions and videos; but the flying -- that was a whole new thing.

As for the customers who are waiting for that checkout, BJ says there are already "too many" waiting to see him show up, final critical parts in hand, for that. Some already have the 90-hp T-62 APU, a much-easier, but more-expensive, option...

What Happened Recently, and What's Happening Next

BJ, like just about everyone else who has to drive from the northwest corner of the country to Florida in April, was a tad rushed, as he set out for Sun 'n Fun. "I wasn't really ready to hit the road for Sun 'n Fun. I forgot to drain the water -- I didn't have any anti-freeze in it -- I was just test-flying." He remembered to drain it, but then, in the haste of leaving, forgot. "I forgot to drain the water," he told us. "I was in Rawlings (WY), and the water jacket cracked in about five places," in the freezing night. He made it to Sun 'n Fun for the opening, but he couldn't fly until he had patched up the engine. "For 2 1/2 days, I'm at Sun 'n Fun, super-glueing the engine together," he said. "Carolyn, my wife, was so upset, she said she didn't want me to fly over the trees and the swamps."

There's still plenty to do, though, if only an audience would become available. BJ, quiet, but still a showman in the machine he knows can do so much, wanted to show the meager crowds what his creation could do: "I demonstrated throttle chops -- from about ten feet. So, everybody thought I was having a lot of hard landings..." That wasn't the worst of it, though. "Everybody comes on the first day or two, or three," BJ noted. What happened was, it took him a couple days to get the engine apart, glued-up, and back in the Helicycle. "By the time I did get flying, 80% of the people had already left the show. It's a poor show - poorly organized. Everybody said it was the deadest show anyone had seen, ever."

High-altitude Testing

The country's tallest airport was almost in the way, on the way home. BJ had to have a shot at it, glued-up engine and all. "On the way back, we stopped in Leadville (CO); I got a certificate of flying there." It was cold that day, so the density altitude was "something just over 9000 feet," he said. "Actually, I want to go back with the Hirth engine (90 hp), and do a complete checkout. The rotor is lifitng close to 12 lbs per square foot. It has tremendous inertia, for its diameter, because of its tip weight and design. It flew well on the Rotax at Leadville -- I wasn't even at full throttle," he told us.

More Engine Options, Including an All-New, Fuel-Injected 90hp Hirth

In response to customer requests for a four-stroke powerplant, BJ has worked out an arrangement with Rotax. It's just about finished, and ready to fly. In fact, "We'll be flying the 912 (pictured) at Arlington."

Now there's something for everybody. The original Helicycle has a Rotax 582 in it, and there are more in the works. BJ said, "The people that want 4-strokes, two-strokes, turbines -- we can satisfy them all. Of course, a two-stroke is by far the easiest installation."

There's a completely-new Hirth on the way. "At first, it'll be generally-considered as the less-reliable engine; but it's fully fuel injected; its's a pretty nice design -- time will tell," BJ said. "It's a whole new thing for Hirth. They've spent a lot of money -- some fabulous dyno rooms, some fantastic development -- this engine is an outgrowth of that." It's a three-cylinder, 90hp, water-cooled design, based on the model 3701. BJ is enthusiastic: "They know what they're doing; and now that they have the money, they're doing everything right. This newest engine will be the basis for a whole new line of engines, I'm sure. I think this may be the first [two-stroke] design to rival the Rotax, for power density and reliability. It's really advanced."

FMI: http://www.helicycle.com