On 2005-04-05 19:06:32 -0400, Dennis Fetters
said:

The Air Command Gyros that I manufactured all lived up to their
performance specifications, all 1,200 of them.

You had 1,200 specifications?

Oh, 1,200 gyros. Yep. Most of which had dangerously high thrustlines. I
will say that this hazard was not at all widely understood in the sport
at the time, and that by the time that it was clear, Air Command was in
new hands.

The fact is that we traveled world wide and demonstrated the aircraft,
and out performed everyone, every place and every time, hands down.
That is why we sold 98% of all gyros being built in the worlds market
when I owned the company.

I think that you are giving far too much credit to your gyro and not
nearly enough to your own ability and skill as a salesman.


ly, since we stormed the market and took 98% of all world gyro sells
within two years, our competitors had to lie about their performance or
bite the big one. The fact was that they could not compete with the
price or performance of Air Command aircraft, except to lie or copy it,
as you can see what happened.

The Rotax engine was a natural addition to gyroplanes (it was already
storming the ultralight world), but you do deserve credit for being the
first to see that and take action. Of course, it led inevitably to a
higher thrustline, because the geared Rotax needed a longer prop than
the direct-drive Mac.

The unintended consequences of high thrustline gyroplanes are now well known.


Even Bensen Aircraft closed it's doors less than two years after we
started selling, they just couldn't compete.

Dr Bensen was dead. I think that he had a similar gift of sales
ability, although I never knew the guy. But it is pretty hard to run an
aircraft company, I would suppose, when the fellow with the ideas is
gone and has not been replaced.

But I do believe, Dennis, that your marketing of both the Air Command
and later, the Mini-500, was textbook quality. With the Air Command,
buyers were made to feel part of a community.

Also -- credit where credit is due -- it is my understanding that if
you bought an AC during the Dennis Fetters area, Dennis reciprocated by
buying you membership in the Popular Rotorcraft Association for a year.
It would be in the PRA and in informally associated online fora that
the battle over centerline thrust would be fought.

gree with you. Most do lie about their performance, and most do not
know what the true performance numbers are. In fact, most don't
understand why they fly. As one so called manufacturer told me once,
"it's the dully-whoppers on top what make it fly".

Jesus H. Christ. I think that the current state of the market is not
that dreadful; there are certainly people who understand RW
aerodynamics and other aeronautical "facts that is facts" and can
explain autorotative flight without recourse to "dully-whoppers".

Some of those manufacturers include Ernie Boyette (dominator), Ron
Herron (little wing), and Groen Brothers (AAI/Sparrowhawk).

As I see the basic problem, it is one of resources. There are few
barriers to entry as a kit manufacturer, so there are many
manufacturers operating on a shoestring, desperately undercapitalized.
None of them can afford to instrument a gyro and collect the data, even
if they knew what to do with it once they had it. I tend to be leery of
kit aircraft specifications in general. Manufacturers have strong
incentives to, at minimum, select the most optimistic numbers available.

Even magazine tests are usually meaningless because (1) the numbers
records depend on the aircraft's own instrumentation, and (2) the data
is not corrected for a international standard atmosphere. Ergo, the
data can't be reasonably compared to other data gathered at other
places and times.

The influential makers of gyroplanes today all design safe, centerline
thrust machines. Air Command still makes an upgrade kit for those of
the Fetters era that remain unconverted. I consider an unconverted AC
an unstable, hazardous machine, best converted, grounded, or only flown
by expert pilots in favorable weather.
--
cheers

-=K=-

Rule #1: Don't hit anything big.