Ultralight Autogiro crash

[swaswasawaswaswasawa]

he could have still landed that its just that he messed up while he was approaching the ground

[neuralwarp]

You're all missing the point: after a crash like that, with the aircraft shamshed to smithereens, the 80-year-old pilot stood up, waved to the crowd, and walked back to the control tower.

[tossmonkey1]

eject into spinning rotors = instant decapatation!

[Cinefluid]

eject.

[warszawianka]

Music sounded like it belonged in CHiPs. :) I saw one of these crash one. No one was hurt, but it was a pretty spectacular fail.

[tboy1022]

DDAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNNNNN!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!!

[Firesarm]

Si que sobrevivio, ademas era el autogiro de James Bond "Little Nellie"

[extere]

I thought those are safe after an engine out. it dropped like a an old piece of crap.

Franken just summed it up well.

[Nitrozzy7]

Autogyros are safe as long as you don't crash them to tha ground...

[schlusselmensch]

Is that Ken Wallis in Little Nellie? Wasn't this a downwind forced landing? Looks to be about the best result you could obtain given the conditions.

[yakovlev3a]

that guy did not live through that did he....... damn

[rurmundo]

suddenly the engine cuts outs-ouch! buahahahaha

[frankensteinmoneymac]

Uh....dang.... I had just read about Autogyros being super safe......in the sense that their blades just keep spinning if the engine goes out....and they simply float down like a feather.....guess this video kinda puts that whole Idea in perspective......LOL!

[WECantThink]

I think he was bringing it down "hot" because there was little space to land b4 the dirt "hill"

[frankensteinmoneymac]

Possibly.....actually it makes more sense than what the guy in the video says....it goes against everything Ive ever heard about an autogyro. According to everything Ive ever read (including what at least 2 different autogyro pilots Ive talked to over the years have told me)...an autogyro engine going out is no big bother. The blades keep spinning and U 'fall' quite gently. Plus the video does seem to show the problem as being the pilot coming in too steep and too fast-not the engine failing.

[OlyJeebus]

@ frankenstein~

What are you talking about..

feathers fall at 200 kp/h as well if they weigh 500 kilo's lol

[frankensteinmoneymac]

????? um not sure if you are being sarcastic or not. Have U ever seen a Helicopter Seed from a Maple Tree? Same Idea with the autogyro.... A lightweight feather will catch the wind & drop slowly too...except in a vaccum chamber or on the moon, in fact astronauts did this test with a hammer and an eagle feather (actually D feather they used was too big to be slowed down much by wind on earth, but they needed one big 'nuff to show up on camera...but it was a publicity stunt more than anything)

[OlyJeebus]

@franken~

Yeah pretty sarcastic but eh feathers dont drop like the auto gyro in this video lawl.

[frankensteinmoneymac]

Sorry, Sarcasm is sometimes hard to catch just within these qoute....and you are right....the autogyro in this vid seems to fall basically like a rock LOL!

[MrDavidfuchser]

@frankensteinmoneymac and the pilot had nothing to do with this crash huh? look at how close to the ground he was before he began to pull energy from the rotors. Pilot error.

[frankensteinmoneymac]

@MrDavidfuchser Yep, I said it looked more like the pilots fault myself, about four or five comments above yours that I am replying to right now.....Im not sure what U mean by "pull energy from the rotors" though....Since the main rotor of the autogyro is disengaged from the main engine during everything but take-off.....and even then its mainly to bring it up to speed. Although I know some autoG's have unique systems in regards to this..Some even have jet assisted blades for takeoff!!

[Tecnobingo]

@frankensteinmoneymac what do you think about airliner when occurs an accident?? ....

[frankensteinmoneymac]

@Tecnobingo Eh.....huh? What do I think about it when an airliner crashes? Is that what you are asking me? Do I think its an accident....well of course this is completely dependent on the situation....some airliners crash by accident, some from mechanical failure....and on 9/11 some crashed from kamikazi suicide terrorists. I really think there must be more to your question you are trying to ask.....as it is it is far too vague...what is it you are asking me?

[Tecnobingo]

@frankensteinmoneymac I mean that every vehicle is safe (more or less) and every vehicle can suffer accident.

Gyro is really one of the best flying machines and this video doesn't have any meaning about safeness; let's continue to think it is safe; or stop to use every mchanical device...

[frankensteinmoneymac]

@Tecnobingo No, I think you misunderstand my intention...my first comment was simply to point out the inconsistancy of how Autogyros were supposed to simply fall gently to the ground if their engine goes out, (because of the autorotation of the main blade) and this video which seems to show the craft dropping like a rock. If you look at the comment, my replies to my first comment you will see I allready belive this was more pilot error, than a prob with the gyro itself. I agree with you.

[MillyVanillification]

@frankensteinmoneymac Its wasnt dropping like a rock. If so the pilot would be dead. the gyro was not designed to fly but to look impressive. it was for a 007 movie.

[frankensteinmoneymac]

@MillyVanillification ??? I do hope you are not suggesting that you think the Autogyro itself was invented solely for the 007 movie?!?! LMAO! If so you REALLY need to do some research on the subject. Autogyros predate Helicopters by many years, and actually have quite a few advantages, both in safety and performance. In fact I have read more than once, authors questioning the logic of military research into Helicopters considering that it would've been better spent in Autogyro research.

[AryanKnight]

--and as Wingless'Commander Wallis valiantly emerged from the twisted wreckage he was heard to exclaim as he was waving--- "Thank you, Thank you, -and now for my next act, you will see both i and Aero'commander BobHoover take-off totally 'dead-stick' in a 120mph gale"... [see: " Bob Hoover in his Aero Commander Shrike "]

~R.Vonheck sandiego

[onlinesniper]

cheers atlrcflyer i feel a little better now that i know that the pilot was uninjured amazing, you've got some balls you pilots i take my hat off to you all

[adguy10]

...and suddenly the pilot realizes...I should have flown a ppc

[ATLRCFlyer]

...and what the world does not see in this video is, that the pilot emerges from the pile of rubble and waves at the camera or whomever... Look it up, the full version is on youtube somewhere...

[modelwoddle]

nice flare

[kooger666]

shouldve walked

[cravenmoorrrrrrrrr]

Suddenly the engine cuts out.......Bwahhaaahaaa!!!!!!!.­,,boom!!!

[kbrock78]

the engine cutting out HAD NOTHING to do with the crash. he himself killed the engine to make a soft instant landing, only he just had too much force going against him.

[damaband41]

he should have gotten a roflcopter.

[importsc41886]

should have flared it to slow down

[archerrobinhood]

who the hell makes that grunting sound when he crashes?

[hjajr52]

That was Commander Ken wallas with The Gyro little Nellie. He flew that in the James Bond movie You Only live Once. He actually shot rockets off of it. What happen he was a little low to build up enough air speed for a soft landing and most likely he was down wind. A bad sityation to be in on any aircraft. This Man has built over 20 Gyros and still has them all in flying condition. He is from England and did a lot for theGyro industry.

[FlightLevelHeaded]

He must do well in the spare parts industry.

[pete2778]

Wing Commander Ken Wallis.

[f16c5212345]

that was completely pilot error. he landed with wayyyyy too much airspeed, the gear stuck in the grass and boom. hate to see a good aircraft like that torn up tho

[kamisorikun]

exactly... even if the engine cuts out, a gyrocopter wont simply crash... he was to fast and to low... even if the engine was running and he would have tried to land he would have crashed... especialy on uneven soil/grass

[leopardgeckoWV2]

this was on AFV

[damaband41]

did he survive?

[kulhaar]

yes he did

[drdan117]

did u guys know the pilot was 91 years old? He is :O.

[flightlevel1000]

what can i say other than shit you silly man if it dosent have wings  and seatsn o more than 4 why bother u asked for it

[iamezram]

its called autorotate, not autogiro

[POWERMOVEvideo]

funny ! didn't have milk , i guess !

[180mph]

Yes, tends to do that when out of petrol, duh.

[sikkko1]

sounds more like a wasp forcing out a reluctant fart.

[neil9327]

lol

[jezardavao]

nice stunt da!!!!

[continental757200]

written off

[bluesbandmn]

with an auto gyro, the rotor is free wheeling, not powered like a helicopter. It is pre rotated by a flexible shaft, but it's angle of incidence and the fact that the pusher motor propels the craft forward causes the rotor to keep rotating. It cannot successfully autorotate like a helo and once forward momentum is lost- the craft will come down.

[namsinc]

Well thats not quite true. A gryroplane is always in auto rotation unlike a helicopter which must quicky go into autorotation when its engine dies. The aircraft does not need forward motion for its blades to continue spinning as evidenced by vertical descents. Forward speed in not dependent on the propeller. By tipping the nose of the aircraft down forward speed can be obtained with or without an engine and is in fact a maneuver that is practiced by all gyropilots routinely.

[TonyAirlines]

FIXED WING > HELICOPTERS

[Thewhitewookiee]

in many respects the autogiro flys more like a fixed wing than a heli

[joshs088008]

except in an emergency, in which a gyrocopter normal crashes and kills its crew and passenger

[TonyAirlines]

yeah but personally I like a wing over my head instead of a giant rotor a foot above my head lol

[kitfoxflyer]

yikes

[pigmie1]

seatbelts!!!!!!!!

[TheRooster602]

this is a perfect illustration of what Martin Hollman says - you HAVE to have a horizontal stab. He couldn't flare in thsi case without one; he has no aerodynamic pitch authority, only a slower acting form from tilting the head to move the CG back. Wasn't enough in this case. Get a littlewing.

[TheRooster602]

OK he has a tiny HS, but no elevator. It also looks like he is flying it into the ground even before the engine quits; almost immediately before the crash, at :10. Maybe he was counting on the engine thrust to help him him rotate at the last minute.

[bunjit1]

If he had flared a lot earlier he would have been fine

[purge98]

Did he hit his head?

[italianubian]

..........if he didn't, I am sure he f***ed up some other of his body parts!

[miniheli]

Ah good point:) But I just saw a turbine powered auto gyro that has collective pitch and the rotor head pivots in both aileron and elevator deflections. Its really cool. Its the hawk 4.

[miniheli]

Im really new to auto gyro's. Why don't they have powered rotor heads and collective pitch like helis? That would make for a ultimate flying machine.

[andrewnielsen]

Because if they did, they would be a heli.

[efesair]

@andrewnielsen Autogyros are safe and the blades keep spinning no matter what. the mistake the pilot did was he had the nose too high which caused the tail to strike the ground. if he would have kept it straight, he would have landed nice...

[justcruzzinn]

damn chinese engine...

[barnydan]

I don't think he was high enough to get the prop spinning fast enough for a good autorotation.

I've only flown RC helicopters. Though the principals are the same.

That was mechanical error the engine died! I feel for this pilot.

[max64mobil]

Autogyros are autorotating all the time...That's how they work, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to take off in the first place!

[barnydan]

Definitions of Autorotation on the Web:

The ability of a rotary wing aircraft to land safely without engine power. This maneuver uses the stored energy in the rotor blades to produce ...

[barnydan]

Autorotation The ability of a rotary wing aircraft to land safely without engine power. This maneuver uses the stored energy in the rotor blades to produce lift at the end of decent, allowing the model to land safely.

[max64mobil]

This definition is incorrect as it indicates that DURING the descent there is no lift. What would happen to a helicopter if that were true? WOuld it descend with only let's say 1500 FPM? Rather not..

[krbosak]

this qould require variable blade pitch. most autogyros don't have that for simplicity and cost.

[max64mobil]

A autogyro flies because the air is moving UPSTREAM through the rotor disc causing the rotor to rotate, just what it does at a helicopter during autorotation without engine power whereas the helicopter can stay at altitude (e.g. hover) by rotating the rotor with engine power and causing a DOWNSTREAM airflow through the rotor disc. Compare the different inclination angles of the swashplate: helicopter versus autogyro and You understand.

[bunjit1]

Autogyro - the Auto part means autorotation which they fly in all the time.

If this guy had pulled his flare earlier he would have been fine.

[niitr0]

thank god he lived!!!!!!!

[bjeah]

That went fairly well, right? :D

[caioghiotto]

nice autorotation LOL

[zombie1469]

human error

[Renz123546515]

auw

[unapro3]

Pilot error

[DeepGrey]

I saw this video on TLC, I think. It's surprising he wasn't seriously injured.

[chevypower1930]

he lived he was over 60 years old saw it on real tv

[JetJockey87]

gyrocopters can only autorotate to float down 'safely' when there is positive Gs present, since he was relatively in a dive, when the engine cut that low to the ground, its normal that he was farked

[Nmemonicus]

that wasnt a bad landing for a chopper considering he lost power.

[Techy111]

Yes the guy lived he is now 87 and i met him this year and Uno86 it was not pilot error when the pushing rotor fails gyrocopters cannot auto-rotate like the big choppers.

[wrdturkey]

gyrocopters fly from auto rotation. That's what turns the rotor.

[krbosak]

not so. this is not steered autorotation. he doesnt have variable pitch, he can only slowly tilt the rotor to bleed horizontal speed.

[ssapebut]

Nice theory.

[uno86]

pilot error, gyroplanes aren´t supposed to crash in case of engine faliour

[c208pilot]

nothing is supposed to crash following loss of an engine. It wasnt pilot error, Ken Wallis (the pilot) is more experienced than any other autogyro pilot on this planet

[tuttt99]

That was definitely a Wallis Autogyro like James Bond's "Little Nellie". Was that Wallis himself piloting?

[krbosak]

c208pilot, space shuttle?

[gsxrboy18]

daaaammmmm i wounder if that guy lived

[WarlordTim1]

OUCH!