A Colorado Air Crash

[Darrell]

I heard about this last night, wow:

Gyroplane Crashes Into Colorado River, Killing 2

LOMA, Colo. — Oct 5, 2014, 6:34 PM ET

Helicopter Crash

A yellow, two-seat helicopter crashed into the Colorado River Saturday evening, Oct. 4, 2014 not far from the Loma exit off Interstate 70. A witness confirmed two fatalities as a result of the crash. Due to the remote nature of the accident scene,... View Full Caption

Two people aboard a helicopter-like aircraft were killed when it crashed into a river in western Colorado, but no one on the ground was injured, authorities said Sunday.

The gyroplane went into the Colorado River shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, the Mesa County Sheriff's Department said.

The Mesa County Coroner's Office identified the victims as Mark Shook, 61, of Peyton, Colorado, and Rebecca Jane Molle, 50, of Grand Junction, Colorado.

Shook died of multiple injuries from the crash, and Molle drowned after the crash, the coroner's office said. Both deaths were ruled accidental.

The sheriff's department said no one else was on board.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the aircraft was a Xenon gyroplane. Gyroplanes look like helicopters but are powered by propellers. Air flow created by the aircraft's forward motion spins the rotors, which provide lift.

The FAA and the National Transportation Board are investigating.

Witness Ron Jenkins said he and another man were fishing on the bank of the Colorado River when the gyroplane crashed nearby.

It began to fishtail and sparks were flying from it before it crashed nose-first in shallow water, he told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (http://tinyurl.com/mnzu54k).

Jenkins said he and the other angler hurried to their boat, went downriver to the gyroplane and then waded to it. They were able to remove one victim by cutting a seat belt, he said.

The sheriff's department said the crash disrupted electric service to some areas, but no details were available. Grand Valley Power said service had been restored by Sunday morning.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/heli ... g-25972890

The wiki page on the gyrocopter:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celier_Xenon_2

And a pic:

xexongyrosm.jpg

Sounds like maybe the guy hit powerlines. Pic at the link. Loma is over near the Utah line, but the guy was from just NE of here, other side of the state. I heard the guy had trailered the craft over there.

[SoupOrMan]

Or pitch-induced oscillations. I've read those are common killers of pusher-prop autogyros.

[TabascoKid]

Don't think so. PIO is common on Bensen-based gyros due to high thrust line, but the Xenon was designed with center line thrust. Maybe unloaded the rotor while making side-to-side sweeps?

[SoupOrMan]

I stand corrected. I figured you'd have that trouble with any of the pusher-configuration autogyros.

[Greg]

I stand corrected. I figured you'd have that trouble with any of the pusher-configuration autogyros.

Can anyone explain the appeal of autogyros?

It seems like you take an airplane, and then replace its wing with the wing equivalent of the German anvil with 70 moving parts, without getting any real advantages in return. (Helicopters have the same drawback of course, but they offer major advantages as well compared to a conventional aircraft.)

[BDK]

Not sure, but the [strike]new Sikorsky[/strike] is one, in a fashion. (Interesting link, but a test bed. The Raider is the new one.

[Greg]

I stand corrected. I figured you'd have that trouble with any of the pusher-configuration autogyros.

Can anyone explain the appeal of autogyros?

It seems like you take an airplane, and then replace its wing with the wing equivalent of the German anvil with 70 moving parts, without getting any real advantages in return. (Helicopters have the same drawback of course, but they offer major advantages as well compared to a conventional aircraft.)

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=19331&

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=24040&

There's a couple more.

So you're saying I'm on to something.

It's an impractical potentially dangerous niche toy with few advantages, more than overcompensated by the accompanying flaws. If you want to fly slow and take off and land on a soccer field, there are probably better fixed wing STOL options (and have been, oh since before WWII really even I know about the Fiesler Storch). Gotcha.

[Cobar]

Is a there a particular reason that light planes (with modern materials and engines) can't do such short take-offs and landings?

I am just guessing here but I am assuming that a plane that can do that gives up a lot in cruising speed/fuel range.

[Darrell]

I daresay most peoples' first knowledge of gyroplanes was the Bond movie You Only Live Twice, people of a certain age at any rate. I know it was for me. That little plane was impressive to a kid. I was astounded to learn they first appeared in the '20s or '30s; didn't one appear in the movie the Rocketeer? Maybe I'm thinking of something else.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro

[Netpackrat]

Can anyone explain the appeal of autogyros?

It seems like you take an airplane, and then replace its wing with the wing equivalent of the German anvil with 70 moving parts, without getting any real advantages in return. (Helicopters have the same drawback of course, but they offer major advantages as well compared to a conventional aircraft.)

Boom. (headshot)