https://rotorwayforums.com/ Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:03:50 +0000 MyBB https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-258.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 18:12:51 -0500 Robin Scalzo]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-258.html
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]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-255.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:12:57 -0500 Robin Scalzo]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-255.html ]]> ]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-252.html Sat, 26 Sep 2026 23:59:49 -0500 Steven Young]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-252.html https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-250.html Thu, 24 Sep 2026 15:58:07 -0500 Homer Bell]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-250.html Homer]]> Homer]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-247.html Fri, 18 Sep 2026 08:27:37 -0500 Homer Bell]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-247.html If your trailer is too short and the tail hangs over, you can bolt a 2x8 to the floor and hang it out the back to give you a place to hook your support. I used a 16’ trailer for many years using this setup. Trailers shorter than that should probably be avoided, but some have used 12,14’ with a long tongue and pulled backward. Always remember, if you pull backward, you must secure your doors with a cord or rope around them to keep from blowing open. If doors come open they can break your windscreen as well as the door. Wail a minute forget that, I sell both of those things. Windscreens are now over 2K and doors are over $500. Plus shipping is usually several hundred, not including crating.
It’s best to use tandem axle trailers with lightly sprung suspension and a ridge frame with little or no end to end flex. Snow mobile trailers are not good . I have used them, but we made a truss along both side with a cable which firmed it up a bunch.
Almost every gathering someone pulls in with a damaged tail boom, don’t let that be you.]]> If your trailer is too short and the tail hangs over, you can bolt a 2x8 to the floor and hang it out the back to give you a place to hook your support. I used a 16’ trailer for many years using this setup. Trailers shorter than that should probably be avoided, but some have used 12,14’ with a long tongue and pulled backward. Always remember, if you pull backward, you must secure your doors with a cord or rope around them to keep from blowing open. If doors come open they can break your windscreen as well as the door. Wail a minute forget that, I sell both of those things. Windscreens are now over 2K and doors are over $500. Plus shipping is usually several hundred, not including crating.
It’s best to use tandem axle trailers with lightly sprung suspension and a ridge frame with little or no end to end flex. Snow mobile trailers are not good . I have used them, but we made a truss along both side with a cable which firmed it up a bunch.
Almost every gathering someone pulls in with a damaged tail boom, don’t let that be you.]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-240.html Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:42:09 -0500 Homer Bell]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-240.html This ship was built in Fla. I hauled it to California over ten years ago where it was finished and I actually did a first hover in his back yard. I don’t think it ever flew much there. Then it went to Texas and did fly a get bit there I think. This ship went thru two owners and this thing had these issues till the end.
Right now , I have a ship that had videos of it doing a short flight and declared ready to go. It actually had bolts in the cyclic control that didn’t have nuts on them.

If you buy a ship and you don’t know for sure what’s in side, especially the controls , better check it out really good.]]> This ship was built in Fla. I hauled it to California over ten years ago where it was finished and I actually did a first hover in his back yard. I don’t think it ever flew much there. Then it went to Texas and did fly a get bit there I think. This ship went thru two owners and this thing had these issues till the end.
Right now , I have a ship that had videos of it doing a short flight and declared ready to go. It actually had bolts in the cyclic control that didn’t have nuts on them.

If you buy a ship and you don’t know for sure what’s in side, especially the controls , better check it out really good.]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-238.html Mon, 07 Sep 2026 18:59:58 -0500 Jim Hardy]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-238.html https://hardy-field.com/  I have to fill my tank soon.  Sure hoping price will drop soon!   


  MGC2026 Brief.pdf (Size: 8.03 MB / Downloads: 27) ]]> https://hardy-field.com/  I have to fill my tank soon.  Sure hoping price will drop soon!   


  MGC2026 Brief.pdf (Size: 8.03 MB / Downloads: 27) ]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-237.html Sun, 06 Sep 2026 12:44:42 -0500 Sam Oliver]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-237.html
 I'm building an A600 from two incomplete kits.   The construction factory videos are made with a much earlier setup so they don't help.   The factory construction manual, specifically Section 15 dated Jan 2017 Page 4, Photo #5 starts the process by asking me to refer to Print E49-8600 and card E49 Card 3T, which I do not have (did not come with my set of documents when I purchased this kit from RotorX prior to them folding.   I appear to have the actual parts, minus the "Tension relief block tool (E49-8681) that are shown in the construction manual.   

Does anybody have a pdf or photo of the construction card and factory drawing the instructions referenced--Print E49-8600 and card E49 Card 3T?
A photo of the tension relief block tool along side a ruler would help.  If it's just an installation tool, Maybe something I could fabricate?

Thanks
Sam]]>
 I'm building an A600 from two incomplete kits.   The construction factory videos are made with a much earlier setup so they don't help.   The factory construction manual, specifically Section 15 dated Jan 2017 Page 4, Photo #5 starts the process by asking me to refer to Print E49-8600 and card E49 Card 3T, which I do not have (did not come with my set of documents when I purchased this kit from RotorX prior to them folding.   I appear to have the actual parts, minus the "Tension relief block tool (E49-8681) that are shown in the construction manual.   

Does anybody have a pdf or photo of the construction card and factory drawing the instructions referenced--Print E49-8600 and card E49 Card 3T?
A photo of the tension relief block tool along side a ruler would help.  If it's just an installation tool, Maybe something I could fabricate?

Thanks
Sam]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-236.html Sat, 05 Sep 2026 08:40:10 -0500 Homer Bell]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-236.html You must probably store parts if you want them to be any good years down the road. Rust and corrosion can destroy new parts that aren’t kept on a good environment.
These blades were so old they needed the doublers glued up and all the rivet mods done. The trading skin had the plastic on them and was perfect under that. The spar had some corrosion, but no use really seeing how bad it was after we found the bad patch near the end.
Properly stored these would be worth over $10k today.
If you have parts, better pull them out and check their conditions. If your buying parts that the seller says are new, better check them out before you determine price. May be worth nothing except junk price. I allowed the owner some money on these for a new set.
I once built up a mock up EXEC that went on Christine Onassis yacht hotel in Rotterdam, Netherlands .
If you go to
Her website you can probably still see sitting on the helipad. So that’s what these may be used for , yard ornaments.]]> You must probably store parts if you want them to be any good years down the road. Rust and corrosion can destroy new parts that aren’t kept on a good environment.
These blades were so old they needed the doublers glued up and all the rivet mods done. The trading skin had the plastic on them and was perfect under that. The spar had some corrosion, but no use really seeing how bad it was after we found the bad patch near the end.
Properly stored these would be worth over $10k today.
If you have parts, better pull them out and check their conditions. If your buying parts that the seller says are new, better check them out before you determine price. May be worth nothing except junk price. I allowed the owner some money on these for a new set.
I once built up a mock up EXEC that went on Christine Onassis yacht hotel in Rotterdam, Netherlands .
If you go to
Her website you can probably still see sitting on the helipad. So that’s what these may be used for , yard ornaments.]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-234.html Sat, 29 Aug 2026 13:09:39 -0500 Lyle Swallows]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-234.html
a few of my Favorites:
1. Chickenhawk
2. 71 Lessons from the sky
3. 9 lives of a bush pilot
4. down to a sunless sea
5. wings over alaska
6. N4 down
7. (a few bell 47 Alaskan/Canadian books) the titles are escaping me...

not all are helicopter related and there's no order of fashion there.
i feel like Orv should write a book at this point with all his amazing posts!]]>
a few of my Favorites:
1. Chickenhawk
2. 71 Lessons from the sky
3. 9 lives of a bush pilot
4. down to a sunless sea
5. wings over alaska
6. N4 down
7. (a few bell 47 Alaskan/Canadian books) the titles are escaping me...

not all are helicopter related and there's no order of fashion there.
i feel like Orv should write a book at this point with all his amazing posts!]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-214.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 19:45:14 -0500 Homer Bell]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-214.html

---

Tada! I logged out then came back and it went. Now all I have to do is learn how to post pics and stuff.
Oh, and someone explain the subscribe options to me please.

---

Ok, I have a question for the group. Have a customer trying to put Saturn packs on his 90 to replace the Electromotive packs it had. Not getting any spark even though it appears to be wired right, from where I sit. I can remember what voltage is coming off the crank sensors. If we hook up a digital meter to the sensor leads and crank it over, what should we see? Al Yard could tell us I’m sure, I’ll have to try and get hold of him.]]>

---

Tada! I logged out then came back and it went. Now all I have to do is learn how to post pics and stuff.
Oh, and someone explain the subscribe options to me please.

---

Ok, I have a question for the group. Have a customer trying to put Saturn packs on his 90 to replace the Electromotive packs it had. Not getting any spark even though it appears to be wired right, from where I sit. I can remember what voltage is coming off the crank sensors. If we hook up a digital meter to the sensor leads and crank it over, what should we see? Al Yard could tell us I’m sure, I’ll have to try and get hold of him.]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-212.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:30:29 -0500 Homer Bell]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-212.html Shot 13 autos with the red headed grandson over the weekend . We’re using the composite blades I’ve been running for last few years. We’re playing with negative pitch settings, rotor speeds in the steady state, flare height, and airspeeds to name a few things we are testing. Started some at 400 ft. all the way up to 1000 ft, with some doing a left turn after chopping power. He’s becoming very comfortable with the entry and then making changes during the steady state to get a good end result. I’d post some video here , but I have no idea how to do that here. He showed me how to do that on FB, but we never got around to that here. As I said this is the only place I can find to even start a thread, let alone post a video!
And what the hell is all this subscribe stuff???

---

Patience wearing very thin. Tried to post more stuff to discussion. No good. Quitting for now Wasted too much time already.]]> Shot 13 autos with the red headed grandson over the weekend . We’re using the composite blades I’ve been running for last few years. We’re playing with negative pitch settings, rotor speeds in the steady state, flare height, and airspeeds to name a few things we are testing. Started some at 400 ft. all the way up to 1000 ft, with some doing a left turn after chopping power. He’s becoming very comfortable with the entry and then making changes during the steady state to get a good end result. I’d post some video here , but I have no idea how to do that here. He showed me how to do that on FB, but we never got around to that here. As I said this is the only place I can find to even start a thread, let alone post a video!
And what the hell is all this subscribe stuff???

---

Patience wearing very thin. Tried to post more stuff to discussion. No good. Quitting for now Wasted too much time already.]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-210.html Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:42:22 -0500 Orv Neisingh]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-210.html

To Flight Raining at Rotorway where I was the first student to complete all three phases of flight and maintenance training at the factory flight school.



To earning my CFI




To instructing up to three students in their Rotorway’s at the same time




To purchasing a new R22 Beta ll





To flying Medevac helicopters.



To even being on the Deisel Brothers TV Show



To teaching Dave Sparks (Heavy D) to fly his new Bell Jet Ranger







]]>

To Flight Raining at Rotorway where I was the first student to complete all three phases of flight and maintenance training at the factory flight school.



To earning my CFI




To instructing up to three students in their Rotorway’s at the same time




To purchasing a new R22 Beta ll





To flying Medevac helicopters.



To even being on the Deisel Brothers TV Show



To teaching Dave Sparks (Heavy D) to fly his new Bell Jet Ranger







]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-208.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 17:09:33 -0500 CM Lincoln]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-208.html https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-201.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:27:55 -0500 Orv Neisingh]]> https://rotorwayforums.com/thread-201.html
He then related how he had done his first actual solo night cross country flight just a few days prior. He had been in St. Louis on business and by the time he was ready to fire up his helicopter and leave the airport it was dark. There was a slight mist falling but he could see well enough. His flight would be a distance of around 200 miles at night with overcast skies and light drizzle. The direct route that he chose took him over a very large and mountainous wilderness area of the Mark Twain National Forest where any lights were few and far between. The sky was obscured but he had found enough ground lights that allowed him to maintain visual reference with the ground.

I was perplexed by Jim’s seeming lack of judgment in conducting that flight in the conditions that existed, i.e: night time, after a long and tiring day, overcast skies, mist and drizzle, and over a remote area with very few ground lights that are critical to maintaining attitude awareness. Jim's helicopter was not equipped with gyro instruments so night flight in those conditions was very risky. Jim had a classic case of “get-home-it is” which has often proven fatal to those who succumb to it’s temptations.

There is always that temptation to launch out in our machines to get home but sometimes that decision can get us into situations that we are ill equipped to handle and many pilots have paid the ultimate price for making it. Jim seemed emboldened by the experience of successfully making it home under those conditions. He felt that his piloting skills were to such a caliber that such flights should be no problem now or in the future. There is an old adage that applies as much today as it did many years ago when I first heard it: “There are OLD pilots and there are BOLD pilots, but there are very few OLD-BOLD pilots”. Jim has been flying helicopters for about 2 years now and seems to feel a bit of invincibility due to his piloting skills. His flying skills may be quite good but I sometimes question his decision making.

After our conversation at the airport Jim and his passenger got into the Hughes and headed north. My student and I decided that it was time to put the helicopter up as the conditions were deteriorating. Within 5 minutes Jim had turned around and returned to the airport stating that he just could not see more that a few hundred yards in front of him and was forced to fly lower than he felt was safe.

Several months later my wife and I were watching the lightning strikes from thunderstorms in our area. The wind was blowing and it was raining heavily. We noticed that our landing, approach and wind sock lights turned on. They are radio controlled by 122.9 and I figured it was just reacting to electromagnetic interference from the electrical storm. Soon we heard a helicopter and I asked my wife "who in their right mind would be flying in this weather?". Soon we saw landing lights, a strobe light and nave lights on approach to our helipad. It was Jim returning from St. Louis again at night in a thunderstorm. He was lucky that he made it as far as he did. 

After a good scolding from this old flight instructor, we put his helicopter into the hangar and loaned him a vehicle to continue to his home. Jim again had demonstrated very poor judgement but he again survived. 

A few years later I was notified that Jim was flying with a passenger at low altitude and had struck power lines causing them to crash and burn. That attitude of being invincible had caught up with Jim and his wife was now a widow. 

Every one of us that flies helicopters, whether experimental or certified, will be at some point be faced with the decision of “should I go or not?” If you answer that question with “I am pretty sure that I can make it” it most likely would be safest to stay on the ground. Which is safer? To be on the ground wishing you were in the air, or to be in the air wishing you were on the ground.

When I flew Medevac helicopters it was the pilot's decision as to whether it was safe to conduct a flight. I always leaned on the cautious side and lived to fly another day. 

No Matter which helicopter you are planning on flying, avail yourself of the many avenues of flight training that are available to you. There are instructors that will come to you and instruct you in your own helicopter, helicopter flight schools that you can attend, and articles such as this one in which you can learn from the experiences of others.

I encourage every one of you to look up the NTSB accident database online at http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp and read about the many helicopter accidents and their causes. The vast majority of those accidents were caused by pilot error and many of those involved CFI’s with students who are not as prepared as they should be for the situations that they find themselves in. There are some very good Certified Flight Instructors out there and there are some that are less than adequate for you needs. Get references from recent students that the CFI has trained to insure that the money that you are investing is well spent. Good training is going to cost you something, be sure that you are getting what you are paying for.
Getting the best training that you can find is the cheapest insurance that you can buy.]]>
He then related how he had done his first actual solo night cross country flight just a few days prior. He had been in St. Louis on business and by the time he was ready to fire up his helicopter and leave the airport it was dark. There was a slight mist falling but he could see well enough. His flight would be a distance of around 200 miles at night with overcast skies and light drizzle. The direct route that he chose took him over a very large and mountainous wilderness area of the Mark Twain National Forest where any lights were few and far between. The sky was obscured but he had found enough ground lights that allowed him to maintain visual reference with the ground.

I was perplexed by Jim’s seeming lack of judgment in conducting that flight in the conditions that existed, i.e: night time, after a long and tiring day, overcast skies, mist and drizzle, and over a remote area with very few ground lights that are critical to maintaining attitude awareness. Jim's helicopter was not equipped with gyro instruments so night flight in those conditions was very risky. Jim had a classic case of “get-home-it is” which has often proven fatal to those who succumb to it’s temptations.

There is always that temptation to launch out in our machines to get home but sometimes that decision can get us into situations that we are ill equipped to handle and many pilots have paid the ultimate price for making it. Jim seemed emboldened by the experience of successfully making it home under those conditions. He felt that his piloting skills were to such a caliber that such flights should be no problem now or in the future. There is an old adage that applies as much today as it did many years ago when I first heard it: “There are OLD pilots and there are BOLD pilots, but there are very few OLD-BOLD pilots”. Jim has been flying helicopters for about 2 years now and seems to feel a bit of invincibility due to his piloting skills. His flying skills may be quite good but I sometimes question his decision making.

After our conversation at the airport Jim and his passenger got into the Hughes and headed north. My student and I decided that it was time to put the helicopter up as the conditions were deteriorating. Within 5 minutes Jim had turned around and returned to the airport stating that he just could not see more that a few hundred yards in front of him and was forced to fly lower than he felt was safe.

Several months later my wife and I were watching the lightning strikes from thunderstorms in our area. The wind was blowing and it was raining heavily. We noticed that our landing, approach and wind sock lights turned on. They are radio controlled by 122.9 and I figured it was just reacting to electromagnetic interference from the electrical storm. Soon we heard a helicopter and I asked my wife "who in their right mind would be flying in this weather?". Soon we saw landing lights, a strobe light and nave lights on approach to our helipad. It was Jim returning from St. Louis again at night in a thunderstorm. He was lucky that he made it as far as he did. 

After a good scolding from this old flight instructor, we put his helicopter into the hangar and loaned him a vehicle to continue to his home. Jim again had demonstrated very poor judgement but he again survived. 

A few years later I was notified that Jim was flying with a passenger at low altitude and had struck power lines causing them to crash and burn. That attitude of being invincible had caught up with Jim and his wife was now a widow. 

Every one of us that flies helicopters, whether experimental or certified, will be at some point be faced with the decision of “should I go or not?” If you answer that question with “I am pretty sure that I can make it” it most likely would be safest to stay on the ground. Which is safer? To be on the ground wishing you were in the air, or to be in the air wishing you were on the ground.

When I flew Medevac helicopters it was the pilot's decision as to whether it was safe to conduct a flight. I always leaned on the cautious side and lived to fly another day. 

No Matter which helicopter you are planning on flying, avail yourself of the many avenues of flight training that are available to you. There are instructors that will come to you and instruct you in your own helicopter, helicopter flight schools that you can attend, and articles such as this one in which you can learn from the experiences of others.

I encourage every one of you to look up the NTSB accident database online at http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp and read about the many helicopter accidents and their causes. The vast majority of those accidents were caused by pilot error and many of those involved CFI’s with students who are not as prepared as they should be for the situations that they find themselves in. There are some very good Certified Flight Instructors out there and there are some that are less than adequate for you needs. Get references from recent students that the CFI has trained to insure that the money that you are investing is well spent. Good training is going to cost you something, be sure that you are getting what you are paying for.
Getting the best training that you can find is the cheapest insurance that you can buy.]]>