7 ms·

Man completes first round-the-world autogyro flight

77 points by howard941 7y ago

Tepix 7y ago
"To arrive back at the same place, approaching from an entirely different direction from the one you set off on, can only be achieved by venturing right around the other side of the globe to get there," he said. or you could fly in a large circle /s Kidding aside, sounds like an epic achievement!
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- growt 7y ago
  I thought the same thing: if I go around my house I achieve the same thing. Not the same epic adventure though.
  - saalweachter 7y ago
    Really depends what happens along the way, doesn't it?
  - OJFord 7y ago
    You have to turn though.
- YaxelPerez 7y ago
  You could say it's a Great Circle https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_circle https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_circle
pcl 7y ago
From Wikipedia: An autogyro (from Greek αὐτός and γύρος, "self-turning"), also known as a gyroplane or gyrocopter, is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, typically by an engine-driven propeller. While similar to a helicopter rotor in appearance, the autogyro's rotor must have air flowing across the rotor disc to generate rotation, and the air flows upwards through the rotor disc rather than down. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro
- ultrarunner 7y ago
  The thing that made autogyros (and helicopter autorotations) click in my mind was when someone pointed out that the outside of the rotors is spinning faster than the inside. As such, there's a balance where some point inward of the rotor tips will be driven by air flowing through causing the outside to spin fast enough to generate positive lift. There's obviously more to it, but if anyone is wondering why air going up through a rotor somehow causes that rotor to push air back down, this might be a helpful way to think of it.
  - taneq 7y ago
    Huh, that makes sense. I always wondered about that. It's a little like the related (though different) question of "can you sail downwind faster than the wind is going" (and the answer is yes: https://inhabitat.com/wind-powered-vehicle-travels-faster-than-the-wind/ https://inhabitat.com/wind-powered-vehicle-travels-faster-th... )
w0mbat 7y ago
This is the model of aircraft he used: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RotorSport_UK_MT-03 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RotorSport_UK_MT-03
- protomyth 7y ago
  Is there a site that talks a bit more about the technical aspects (aircraft, modifications, how he made it across the oceans, maybe a route map) than the article?
neonate 7y ago
http://archive.is/OMpNP http://archive.is/OMpNP
quickthrower2 7y ago
Gyro facts: https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-pros-and-cons-of-a-gyrocopter https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-pros-and-cons-of-a-gyroc... I heard from a private license pilot that these are very unsafe, but he told me that in 1990 but it sounds like things have changed.
- FDSGSG 7y ago
  > sounds like things have changed Nope, compared to fixed-wing aircraft these things are still horribly unsafe.
  - ncmncm 7y ago
    Their inventor died in a Douglas DC-2. The instability causing most of the crashes is now understood and prevented by construction. They are now considered no more dangerous than other light aircraft. That means that to be safe they must be operated by a well-trained pilot in safe weather conditions. Some frequent causes of fixed-wing aircraft fatalities, such as engine failure, are much less worrisome in an autogyro, because they can land unpowered at very low speed.
- Xunxi 7y ago
  Gyroplanes (autogyros) are regarded as a relatively safe and stable type of general-aviation aircraft. https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/46103/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-autogyro-aircraft https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/46103/what-are-... There was quite a discussion on rotary forum about safety. https://www.rotaryforum.com/threads/gyrocopter-safety-and-reliability.36407/ https://www.rotaryforum.com/threads/gyrocopter-safety-and-re...
- gravelc 7y ago
  My dad sadly passed a way in a gyrocopter accident (one he designed and built himself). A good number of his flying buddies have passed over the years too. Safety is an issue for gyros due to a combination of reasons - they're often home built/maintained and flown out of home airstrips, pilots don't have a lot of training (a pilot's licence is not required in Australia), and they can get into situations that are difficult to recover from (blade unloading from my understanding). Generally people who fly them know the risks, but it's not something I'd do.
FatDrunknStupid 7y ago
Da Nah na Nah, 'Da 'Nah 'na 'Nah - Duuunnna dun dun. Love it. EDIT: Could someone reply with anything, suggest 'your drunk' or something. It's just that some people are saying I'm marked as dead whatever that means. I'm rather hoping that it's HN that's done that and not anyone else!
bscphil 7y ago
Unfortunately the article is somewhat unclear about how it's using the words "round-the-world" and "flight". I assume he didn't follow a great circle, so what is the minimum path length needed for a flight to be round-the-world? > In Thailand, he even crashed into a lake. So it wasn't a "flight"? More like a successive series of flights.
- ncmncm 7y ago
  All round-the-world flights have had stops for fuel and rest, except one. Not counting orbits, of course.
  - owenversteeg 7y ago
    Two, actually! Both built by the incredible Burt Rutan. From Wikipedia on the Rutan Voyager: "Sanctioned by the FAI and the AOPA, the flight was the first successful aerial nonstop, non-refueled circumnavigation of the Earth that included two passes over the Equator (as opposed to shorter ostensible "circumnavigations" circling the North or South Pole). This feat has since been accomplished only one other time, by Steve Fossett in the Global Flyer."
    - bscphil 7y ago
      > that included two passes over the Equator (as opposed to shorter ostensible "circumnavigations" circling the North or South Pole) This is a really funny way of describing what I assume was a great circle path. It's certainly possible to do a "shorter ostensible circumnavigation" that passes over the equator twice: take an axis through the earth that passes through the equator twice, and take a circular path around that axis of any size. It's only a bias that says such a path counts less than circling the North / South pole. You can even circle one of the polls and cross the equator twice without it being a real circumnavigation. Fly a path around the Arctic circle, dip down just past the equator, and come straight back...
      - dTal 7y ago
        It is possible to cross the equator twice without following a great circle, but it's not possible to follow a great circle without crossing the equator twice; perhaps this is the source of the confusion. In other words, you can reasonably say that crossing the equator is a necessary, but not sufficient, criterion for circumnavigation (it is of course not possible to cross the equator only once and return to your starting point). A good additional stipulation might be that the equatorial crossings must be separated by 180 degrees of longitude, plus or minus however tolerant you're willing to be.
mrfusion 7y ago
So autogyros cant bank when turning? If so Is that a problem?
- ncmncm 7y ago
  They can, and must. No bank, no turn. How they bank varies. Some tilt the rotor directly. Others use aerodynamic control surfaces.
andrewjrhill 7y ago
> Opens article. > Assaulted by popups. > Closes article
tim333 7y ago
The late Ken Wallis was a great enthusiast for these things and built and flew 'Little Nellie' in the Bond movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VTXVbHz1m4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VTXVbHz1m4
JetSpiegel 7y ago
> An autogyro is a small, helicopter-like aircraft made famous by the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. I though it was made even more famous by Mad Max 2.

77 points by howard941 7y ago

"To arrive back at the same place, approaching from an entirely different direction from the one you set off on, can only be achieved by venturing right around the other side of the globe to get there," he said. or you could fly in a large circle /s Kidding aside, sounds like an epic achievement!

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
growt 7y ago
I thought the same thing: if I go around my house I achieve the same thing. Not the same epic adventure though.
- saalweachter 7y ago
  Really depends what happens along the way, doesn't it?
- OJFord 7y ago
  You have to turn though.
YaxelPerez 7y ago
You could say it's a Great Circle https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_circle https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_circle

pcl 7y ago

From Wikipedia: An autogyro (from Greek αὐτός and γύρος, "self-turning"), also known as a gyroplane or gyrocopter, is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, typically by an engine-driven propeller. While similar to a helicopter rotor in appearance, the autogyro's rotor must have air flowing across the rotor disc to generate rotation, and the air flows upwards through the rotor disc rather than down. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro

ultrarunner 7y ago
The thing that made autogyros (and helicopter autorotations) click in my mind was when someone pointed out that the outside of the rotors is spinning faster than the inside. As such, there's a balance where some point inward of the rotor tips will be driven by air flowing through causing the outside to spin fast enough to generate positive lift. There's obviously more to it, but if anyone is wondering why air going up through a rotor somehow causes that rotor to push air back down, this might be a helpful way to think of it.
- taneq 7y ago
  Huh, that makes sense. I always wondered about that. It's a little like the related (though different) question of "can you sail downwind faster than the wind is going" (and the answer is yes: https://inhabitat.com/wind-powered-vehicle-travels-faster-than-the-wind/ https://inhabitat.com/wind-powered-vehicle-travels-faster-th... )

w0mbat 7y ago

This is the model of aircraft he used: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RotorSport_UK_MT-03 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RotorSport_UK_MT-03

protomyth 7y ago
Is there a site that talks a bit more about the technical aspects (aircraft, modifications, how he made it across the oceans, maybe a route map) than the article?

neonate 7y ago

http://archive.is/OMpNP http://archive.is/OMpNP

quickthrower2 7y ago

Gyro facts: https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-pros-and-cons-of-a-gyrocopter https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-pros-and-cons-of-a-gyroc... I heard from a private license pilot that these are very unsafe, but he told me that in 1990 but it sounds like things have changed.

FDSGSG 7y ago
> sounds like things have changed Nope, compared to fixed-wing aircraft these things are still horribly unsafe.
- ncmncm 7y ago
  Their inventor died in a Douglas DC-2. The instability causing most of the crashes is now understood and prevented by construction. They are now considered no more dangerous than other light aircraft. That means that to be safe they must be operated by a well-trained pilot in safe weather conditions. Some frequent causes of fixed-wing aircraft fatalities, such as engine failure, are much less worrisome in an autogyro, because they can land unpowered at very low speed.
Xunxi 7y ago
Gyroplanes (autogyros) are regarded as a relatively safe and stable type of general-aviation aircraft. https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/46103/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-autogyro-aircraft https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/46103/what-are-... There was quite a discussion on rotary forum about safety. https://www.rotaryforum.com/threads/gyrocopter-safety-and-reliability.36407/ https://www.rotaryforum.com/threads/gyrocopter-safety-and-re...
gravelc 7y ago
My dad sadly passed a way in a gyrocopter accident (one he designed and built himself). A good number of his flying buddies have passed over the years too. Safety is an issue for gyros due to a combination of reasons - they're often home built/maintained and flown out of home airstrips, pilots don't have a lot of training (a pilot's licence is not required in Australia), and they can get into situations that are difficult to recover from (blade unloading from my understanding). Generally people who fly them know the risks, but it's not something I'd do.

FatDrunknStupid 7y ago

Da Nah na Nah, 'Da 'Nah 'na 'Nah - Duuunnna dun dun. Love it. EDIT: Could someone reply with anything, suggest 'your drunk' or something. It's just that some people are saying I'm marked as dead whatever that means. I'm rather hoping that it's HN that's done that and not anyone else!

bscphil 7y ago

Unfortunately the article is somewhat unclear about how it's using the words "round-the-world" and "flight". I assume he didn't follow a great circle, so what is the minimum path length needed for a flight to be round-the-world? > In Thailand, he even crashed into a lake. So it wasn't a "flight"? More like a successive series of flights.

ncmncm 7y ago
All round-the-world flights have had stops for fuel and rest, except one. Not counting orbits, of course.
- owenversteeg 7y ago
  Two, actually! Both built by the incredible Burt Rutan. From Wikipedia on the Rutan Voyager: "Sanctioned by the FAI and the AOPA, the flight was the first successful aerial nonstop, non-refueled circumnavigation of the Earth that included two passes over the Equator (as opposed to shorter ostensible "circumnavigations" circling the North or South Pole). This feat has since been accomplished only one other time, by Steve Fossett in the Global Flyer."
  - bscphil 7y ago
    > that included two passes over the Equator (as opposed to shorter ostensible "circumnavigations" circling the North or South Pole) This is a really funny way of describing what I assume was a great circle path. It's certainly possible to do a "shorter ostensible circumnavigation" that passes over the equator twice: take an axis through the earth that passes through the equator twice, and take a circular path around that axis of any size. It's only a bias that says such a path counts less than circling the North / South pole. You can even circle one of the polls and cross the equator twice without it being a real circumnavigation. Fly a path around the Arctic circle, dip down just past the equator, and come straight back...
    - dTal 7y ago
      It is possible to cross the equator twice without following a great circle, but it's not possible to follow a great circle without crossing the equator twice; perhaps this is the source of the confusion. In other words, you can reasonably say that crossing the equator is a necessary, but not sufficient, criterion for circumnavigation (it is of course not possible to cross the equator only once and return to your starting point). A good additional stipulation might be that the equatorial crossings must be separated by 180 degrees of longitude, plus or minus however tolerant you're willing to be.

mrfusion 7y ago

So autogyros cant bank when turning? If so Is that a problem?

ncmncm 7y ago
They can, and must. No bank, no turn. How they bank varies. Some tilt the rotor directly. Others use aerodynamic control surfaces.

andrewjrhill 7y ago

> Opens article. > Assaulted by popups. > Closes article

tim333 7y ago

The late Ken Wallis was a great enthusiast for these things and built and flew 'Little Nellie' in the Bond movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VTXVbHz1m4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VTXVbHz1m4

JetSpiegel 7y ago

> An autogyro is a small, helicopter-like aircraft made famous by the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. I though it was made even more famous by Mad Max 2.