Evaluation of the Horizontal Stabilizer for the RAF2000.
Recently, one of my students returned for some additional flight training. After having spent several hours training with three different instructors in RAF machines, mine included, he became very frustrated with his lack of progress and had decided to postpone more training. Upon his return I learned he had added a horizontal stabilizer to his RAF. This gave me an opportunity to make my own evaluation of this controversial equipment. Within four hours training, this student who had such prior difficulty with unstable pitching was making good, consistent take off and landings. This was accomplished in 10-15 mph wind, some cross wind.
The following is my evaluation of the horizontal stabilizers affect in various maneuvers:
- Take off and landings with flights over the runway in and out of ground effect at 50 to 75 mph. Very stable, no up or down pitch tendency. Any uncontrolled vertical movement was noted to be flat, no pitching.
- Vertical descents and turns with low and high power settings at various airspeeds were flat and stable with no pitching.
- At 400 feet reduce power to zero thrust, maintain 60 mph descending through 180 degree turn, flare to land. The rate of descent felt normal, very solid throughout the maneuver. One significant difference was in the flare. With out the horizontal stabilizer, the procedure I teach is a two stage flare with the initial flare for transition from a descent to a horizontal flight path over the runway in ground effect. As the airspeed bleeds off the final flare is performed. Of course each time you move the cyclic the nose does its up and down pitching . With the horizontal stabilizer, the landing can be accomplished with one flare and is much easier for the student to master.
During my evaluation flight I did not encounter any negative effects of the horizontal stabilizer, even in steep climbs and steep turns. I first flew the RAF with the stabilizer, then flew my RAF without a stabilizer, paying particular attention to the nose up and down motion. While it's natural for an experienced pilot to adjust to this motion, you can't expect this from the student.
With so much experience, it's very easy for instructors to instinctively compensate with minor adjustments that are beyond a students level of skill. Using a horizontal stabilizer will enable students to achieve good, safe, flying skills with less frustration and fewer hours of training. I see no reason for it to take 25 hours of training to fly a gyroplane. Over the last twenty five years, I've trained several hundred students in fewer hours using Benson style gyros with no enclosures. Instability in the rotor craft has a direct impact on the students confidence that he or she will be able to successfully learn to fly the gyroplane.
Ron Menzie
CFI Designated Pilot Examiner