RE: How does a Gyro work on Rudder Application?
More old war stories.
Twinman
Twin Engine Saga: So You Want To Do Twins ? {Part 8} By Twinman
Rule Number 1- Don't Do Twins- Four Times the Trouble
I guess if you're still reading this section you obviously aren't going to
listen to rule number one so here is a suggestion to try and ease some of
the anxiety associated with flying twin's. Are gyro's the answer?
I have previously explained how losing an engine on a twin can result in an
inverted flat spin faster than you can imagine. It's worse on Warbirds with
high wing loading and wide engine spacing (P-38, B-25, etc)
I have decided to see if the problem can be solved by using two gyro's on
the plane. One gyro on the rudder, and a dual inlet/ outlet Hobbico "Aero
Gyro" on the ailerons. This in mind, and for the glory of Bayou City Flyers
I programmed my kit bashed Twin Ugly
using a 8 channel Futaba to intentionally cause an engine failure and
possible crash! Via a rotary dial channel, my copilot, and son Kyle, (who
was only too happy to deliberately cause a crash) was able to bring one
engine from full power to an idle on my command. As a side bonus this
allowed me to sync the engines at idle very easily. After the initial setup
and trim in flight I noticed a much more stable aircraft. Maneuvers became
really rock solid. Hanging on the prop straight up was almost hands free.
Now for the test. I flew level at half throttle, pulled the nose straight up
and went to full power. At this time I signaled to the copilot (who was
dying to help) to cut one engine to idle. This should have caused an
immediate inverted snap roll. It did not. The plane slowly yawed toward the
retarded engine. (I said retarded engine not pilot!) I then applied down
elevator and flew three laps around the field, at various power levels, in a
tense but controlled manner. The plane was flying at almost a 30 degree yaw
angle in level flight, but fly it did and it should not have. I signaled my
copilot (who had his mouth open in amazement or disappointment!) to bring
the idling engine back up to speed. The engine promptly died! Naturally
there was a cross wind, and I'm starting to have chest pains! The landing
however was uneventful.
This test did prove that the concept works. The gyro's, as used here, do not take control of the plane
but rather dampen unexpected actions sufficiently to allow you time to
react. If you have to rely on your reflexes to do this you are already about
a second or two behind the plane which, in a lot of cases, is too late!
As a side note I used the Hobbico "Aero Gyro" because it allowed me to use
separate channels for the two aileron servos so I could mix in aileron
differential.
This gyro also allows me the option of turning it
off in flight as needed for aerobatics.
Are gyros the answer? Nothing replaces ability, but they do allow you to
relax a little while flying twins. I have already had my heart attack trying
this and could use a little relaxation.
Additional. This concept was further tested on an Areotech P-38 and was
proved to be a viable way to control the P-38.
This was written seveal years ago and I now use them on all my P-38's.
Twinman