On my 2nd Benson I had symmetrical helicopter blades cut down on the root end.
I then mounted them on the Benson.
The small pre rotator I has was just enough to get them to flying speed after I started moving.
The ROC was the pits and when I came in do land I dropped the throttle, went nose down like it should but when I went to flare the gyro started to vibrate so bad I never used the blades again.
Here are some of the things I had and I was told the only thing I needed was a small generator and I would have the most upgraded gyro around
1. Electric fuel pump
2. Full instruments.
3.2 Six gallon fuel tanks.
4.Tenp gauge for each cylinder.
5. Battery voltage meter
6. Battery AMPS meter.
7.1.5 HP 2 stroke under the seat to drive a flex shaft to the head.
8. Mufflers.
9. The Benson main wheels were removed and one was used for the nose wheel.
10 The main wheels were from a J-2 Cub.
11 Strobe lights.
12.Rotor TAC.
13.Engine TAC & hour meter.
. Brakes on the main wheels were from a Go cart.
Modified hub made here in Princeton, NJ by a Bell helicopter structural engineer and was close to 4 feet long.
It also was pre set to 0* and when I pushed a button on the joy stick the solenoid would pull out a pin and the blades snapped into a 4* pitch letting the machine jump off the turf.
I sold that hub to a Benson dealer (Ron Menzie) in Ashaway,RI.
Last I heard it was sold to Benson but Benson said it would cost to much to produce and so he had it on display at Kitty-Hawk,NC.
I had the 72 pound 100 HP 2 stroke MAC and really l,liked it.
I put 600+ hours on that gyro and never had any problems and that MAC was always Tacked out at 4,300 RPM
Sure miss flying them but I had to move and had no place to keep them so I had to sell all 4 Gyros.
Vegas/
ORIGINAL: normgoyer
Hi, the problem with the first certified autogyros like the Air and Space and McCollough was cost. They used stock helicopter rotor heads and blades and that shot the price sky high. Also they are not fast, won't VTOL and the vibration level is quite high, at least in the ones I have flown. You must remember that when they were invented in the late 1920s there were no helicopters and the gyros were the only game in town. That is no longer the case. Norm