New Single Place-Deluxe G2 Begins!

Good afternoon!

When we sent the airframes to Brazil, there was one  Yamaha Blue G2 MicroLight in the group that was absolutely beautiful. In fact, it was a MicroLight just like I would love to have! It had a ROTAX 582, 14 gallons of fuel, 24V pre-rotator,  the big wheels/tires/brakes, etc, etc.... It will be a great machine for one of our friends in Brazil!  

"Chiming" in on that sentiment, it is not everyday that we get to "group build" an aircraft that that does more  than just get shipped out the door. In the picture above is one that is being "group built" by our guys.  Jimmie is doing some wrenching, Jeremy will build the harness for the 503 harness, I will twist some wrenches once in awhile, Don is going to supervise and make sure that the Builders Log gets filled out.  Our reason for building this aircraft  is to get our guys into a great time-builder aircraft; there is nothing like a G2 MicroLight with 14 Gallons of gas to do that.  

To make it an even better time builder, we are adding a few extras. This Single Place-Deluxe G2 (Fomally known as the MicroLight G2) will additionally have:  

1. The Surround/Arm Rest Option that also comes with the floor
2. The Deluxe Instrument Pod with the Garmin 196, ICOM A210 and the Garmin GTX 327 Transponder so that we can fly into Kent County Airport/Class "C" Airspace. Won't that be hoot! 
3. This frame is going to get a ROTAX 503/46 HP engine installed.  It was a very low-time engine that Tom Taylor redid for me. Overall, the company has about $1,100 in the engine. The 503 is a great engine; wish they were still available. 

More on this Beautiful little G2 next week!

Have a great Holiday!

Exhaust Update

Good afternoon to all of you!

I can't believe that the days are getting shorter and the nights colder. Over the last eight weeks we have so busy attending to business matters, interviewing and hiring staff and making small adaptations of the G2 Line for commercial applications that the Summer has slipped away.  

And now to the point of this post... The Exhaust Update! The game of Baseball is not usually won with home runs. More likely it is won with consistent hits that push players routinely around the diamond.  Don't get me wrong, home runs are nice, but generally the game is won or lost based on hits and RBI's.  When it comes to aircraft design, small hits will consistently produce a continuous improvement on the overall product. Sometimes this means that a working portion of the product that is okay for the time being will get you down the road far enough until you can come back to it and make another "hit" improving the effort even more. In the case of the exhaust, it has been one small hit after another that has finally won the game for the exhaust. I am pleased to tell you that the 2PT exhaust (after roughly six versions) is perfect in spite of the fact that it is almost a complete flow through...and it is QUIET!  It is so quiet that you only hear the rotor blades on the inbound leg to the airport and the exhaust noise on the outbound leg from the airport....until you pull back the power to cruise settings. At cruise, the engine noise is diffused away...it is really cool.  

We have had this exhaust on different airframes this summer and will be testing it again with a completely new ECM Map and prop set-up over the next month for an undisclosed customer. I will post more "data" on this when we have it compiled.  For those that have read this post to this point, know that we have had a major effort underway this Summer to eliminate rotor blade noise too. When the patents are filed and the blades are "perfected" we will go public with all of data on the "flying noise" of the aircraft...silence is golden and patents keep it that way!

Quiet is good! 

Summer Updates

Good afternoon to all of you! It has been a long, yet great Summer. Between the heat, the lessons and the drought, I will never forget this Summer.

To bring everybody up to speed, here is a laundry list of updates to share with you: 

1. If you are going to one of the upcoming Summer Shows, HoneyBee G2 will not be at Air Venture 2012/Oshkosh or the PRA Convention at Mentone.  If you were on the rides list, we will do what we can do to get you rescheduled for another time. 
2. Paul Rogers Update: A review of the accident occurred on July 5, 2012. We too are waiting on a formal report to be released by those that were part of this process.  Thanks for your support.
3. Based on the feedback from those that have ridden with me over the Spring and Summer, the 2PT Revision C Frames  have been given a 12" stretch to the passenger  area. 
4. The Folding Mast works like a dream; 94" folded. Option will also be available on the SP-HP and MicroLight. 

We will have more updates coming to you soon. Thanks for tracking with us.

Take care,

36 Volt Pre-rotator UPDATE

Good Morning! 

For those of you that were at Bensen Days, you saw the first iteration of the 36V Pre-rotator. It worked okay but I had to "baby" it because the motor put out so much torque that it over powered the original mount style.


Once we got home, the new, much stronger and better looking mount (shown) was installed on N421RB and I am happy to report to you that it is working marvelously.  Static performance is good and capable of 120 - 130 RPM's. The soft start is as good as any other electric pre-rotator we have designed to date.  


I will have more information on this part of the total system as get deeper into the summer!


Have a great day!

Engine Oil Pump Vs. Oil Mixing

Great Question From Bob...

Hi Bob!

The MZ 202 is a 50/1 gas to oil mix. In other words, 50 ounces of gas to 1 ounce of oil. The net of that is 13 ounces of oil for 5 gallons of gas. Simple once you have done it a few times.

Currently there aren’t any engines available on the market (that will work for us) that have an automatic oil mixing system.  When we used to purchase (back in the late 1990's) ROTAX 447 & 503 engines with oil pumps, guys would take the pumps off and go with Premixing their gas for assurance that it was being done right. 

I have had it both ways (including years of riding   dirt bikes with and without pumps) and I prefer mixing the gas and oil myself.  If I do it, I know that it has been done correctly; I have never had a problem premixing.  On the other hand, I have seized engines (on my dirt bikes/CAN-AM MX2 250cc) with oil an pump because the material in the filter broke down and clogged the oil line to the pump thus starving my  engine of the necessary oil it needed. When the happened, it didn't just seize, it welded..... When it comes to flying, my preference is to premix….

Hope that helps!

Folding Mast Update!

Good morning!

My post this morning is to let you see first hand how the "Folding Mast" is progressing.  It is moving forward just beautifully. This picture shows how it will look and function.  In a folded position, the Mast is below 96" in total height!  

Just think of all the possibilities that a 2PT that is under 8' in height could do for portability and storing. 

Taking care of the details!

  

Update!

Busy day here for sure... Reasonably good weather but there is no time for flying today! Maybe tomorrow!  I dropped this picture into this post to remind us (and everyone else) why all of us here are working so hard --everyday-- to make a difference in the world of Gyroplanes.  I believe with all of my heart that the HoneyBee G2 Project is worth every ounce of energy that is being poured into it! Every ounce!

With that said...I just wanted to send a quick note to share with you that those that are running the survey are gleaning tons of great information on safety issues.  Specifically, the information is pertinent to Part 103 Ultralight Gyroplanes operations but on a broader sense Gyroplanes at large.   

As a point of clarity, for those that are hesitant to put in the name of the "pilot", just leave the field blank.  I know that the inclusion of the field was intended to give credibility to the reported incident. All that the survey is trying to do is understand what has happened out here in the world of Light Weight Gyroplane operations. No one is going to call or prosecute anyone for flying without a much needed safety item.  I can't speak for all of the FSDO's in the US market, but the Grand Rapids (MI) FSDO has been enormously helpful to anyone  trying to understand the requirements for safe flight.  I still refer to them as "Friends And Allies"; there is no animosity here; these are great people.

One other point that needs clarification, yes you can go on the site (Click Here To Participate:  ASC Light-Weight Gyroplane Survey) and fill out as many surveys as you can legitimately recall.  Maybe this isn't the most "scientific" way to do this, but so much has happened that keeping it "buried and not discussed" has hurt all of us and your help is needed to do it right. We have to approach the issues differently than we have in the past. If we always do what we have always done, we will always get what we have always got. 


As a supporter of this survey, Thank you for doing your part to make a difference!




Wisdom comes from understanding,
Change comes from wisdom!

Survey Feedback!

Good afternoon! 

I just wanted to send out a quick note to all of you that have responded to the "Formal Safety Survey: Part 103/Lightweight Gyroplanes" at SurveyMonkey.com!  I am getting a ton of positive feedback via email for officially as a company supporting this survey!  I am being told that many of you have participated and that the information is going to be very helpful.  It will help everyone better understand  your interest in flying safely; especially in Part 103 Ultralight Gyroplanes.  

If you have not yet submitted your information, please do so soon and join those that are committed to make a difference. 

Last but not least, thank you to Jim & ASC!

Sincerely,

Formal Safety Survey: Part 103/Lightweight Gyroplanes

Good morning! 

For those of you that know me, know that I am committed to the development of safe Gyroplanes, specifically the HoneyBee G2 Line of Gyroplanes. In this group that knows me, some I have met at airshows, some I have met in the back seat of a quick flight, some I have flown with while others have played roles with me on design projects.  Yet there are others that know me from my historical association with national and international groups. I tell you this because in all of my history of developing safe Gyroplanes for commercial and consumer markets there are a handful of people that I know well and look to as a model for character and professionalism.  One such person is Jim Stephenson, President of Aero Sports Connection. I have known Jim since 1998; he is a Champion of our sport and a quality guy who has the best interest of all light aircraft, specifically Part 103. 

With this introduction, I want to personally invite each of you to participate in this AERO SPORTS CONNECTION survey.   Unlike most surveys, this particular one allows you to submit more than one survey.  I have a list of  ten situations that I will submit in this survey in which safety concerns existed. If there are enough submissions, it will make a huge difference for Part 103 Gyroplane operations. 

For the record, I have been told by some people that "I am wasting my time" supporting such efforts or that "I am opening a can of worms". When it comes to safety, it is not a waste of my time nor is it something that needs to be forgotten, no matter how difficult the topic may be.  

Will you do your part in making the sport safer? If so, please click on the link below and do what you can to "officially" participate in making a difference for the sake of safety issues in regard to Gyroplanes. 

Click This Link To Participate:  ASC Light-Weight Gyroplane Survey

I formally want to thank Jim Stephenson for his vision for better and safer aircraft; in this case the wonderful Part 103 Gyroplane! Thank you Jim for not hiding you head in the sand and doing something formally to make a difference!

Thanks for caring!

Moving Mast Improvements: Thank you John!

Good Morning! 

For those of you who have flown with me (Hastings or 2012 Bensen Days) know what I am talking about when I change the Center of Gravity of the HoneyBee G2 2PT while flying.  It is an incredibly innovative feature on the 2PT.

Our Team (in this case John Welt, AKA "Boy Genius") continues to improve on the G2 Line.  I took this picture this morning to show you two areas with "improvements" on this portion of the design.  The first area is an improved stand-off mount for the strobe that makes the bulb less prone to  harmonics from the rotor system giving you longer bulb life. The second improvement is a better "cable track mounting system". This  improvement allows for better centering and alignment of the wires for the "Moving Mast" as it moves along its 12" range of motion in flight.    Now that G2 Fans is innovation! 

I am really pleased with the appearance and function of both items.  These sort of things  happen every day when Team Members take ownership and pride in what is going on at  HoneyBee G2, LLC.  Innovation is our foundation! It is who we are. Just wait until you see what's coming! 

A Member of the most "Innovative Team" in the World,