Been there, done that.
The Long Beach CA FBO where I worked in 1971 was the first dealer and school for the McCulloch J-2 Gyroplane. I'd had no prior rotor experience but the school trained me to instruct in them and I was among the first 25 or so to have soloed the beast. It was also the machine in which I have had my only aircraft accident. But more on that anon.
Gyroplanes of that era, and the McCulloch J-2 in particular, were marketed as offering the best qualities of fixed wing and helicopters. The reality, however, is not so rosy.
First, compare the stats on a McCulloch J-2 with the 1966 Cessna 150F I used to own:
Engine: (J-2) Lyc. O-360,
180 hp; (C-150F) Cont. O-200,
100 hp
Useful Load: (J-2) 456 lb; (C-150F) 491 lb
Cruising Speed: (J-2) 95 mph TAS; (C-150F) 110 mph TAS
Vne: (J-2) 109 mph CAS; (C-150F) 162 mph CAS
Cargo area capacity: (J-2) 95 lb (under seat); (C-150F) 120 lb
Fuel capacity: (J-2) 20 gallons; (C-150F) 22.5 gallons
Range: (J-2) 150 statute miles; (C-150F) 300+ statute miles
Takeoff over 50' obstacle: (J-2) 1,200 ft; (C-150F) 1,385 ft
Approved operations: (J-2) Day VFR only; (C-150F) day & night, VFR & IFR.
Max approved pressure altitude for takeoff: (J-2)
4,000'; (C-150F) no limit
Max approved pressure altitude for flight: (J-2)
8,000'; (C-150F) no limit
A Super Cub would beat the J-2 just about all around. Even a 100-hp Sport Cub LSA would beat the J-2 in every category except landing distance.
Yes, a J-2 touches down very slowly. In a moderate breeze I have touched down at zero ground speed. But though the manual doesn't prohibit it, crosswind landings and landings on other than paved surfaces were strongly discouraged. Witness the photo below,
May 5, 1971, Compton, California. I was getting post-solo dual instruction in a 7-knot crosswind and the laws of physics with close-coupled landing gear and a high CG took over (yours truly on the left):
That was the third such accident among the six J-2's that had been built up to that time. The
first involved another CFI at my FBO, an experienced police helicopter pilot, who was also being trained in the J-2; the
second was when a McCulloch factory pilot, a friend of mine, "duplicated the malfunction" four days later. The NTSB's probable cause for that one was "poor/inadequate design ... design deficiency in nosewheel self-centering device." The FAA grounded the fleet after my accident until the factory modified the nosegear (essentially adding an off-the-shelf Cessna shimmy dampener). A few months later I went out to the factory at Lake Havasu to fly a modified J-2, but I couldn't tell much difference.
A J-2 can't hover, but you can reduce it to zero airspeed in flight, in which instance the aircraft goes straight down in autorotation. It does not stall.
But, if you are low and slow and the engine quits you will not have enough energy to autorotate and flare to a safe landing. Just like a helicopter, the J-2's manual has a height-velocity curve showing altitude/airspeed combinations that must be avoided. For instance, it's a no-no to fly at 50 mph or less at 150' AGL -- where a Sport Cub with its 32-mph Vs0 might be perfectly happy.
I was amused by some of the factory promotional materials. For example, this photo raises a few questions:
1. Who gets left behind when the two-seat J-2 takes off?
2. Which hard-surface runway will it use when it takes off?
3. Is the pressure altitude on that mountaintop over 4,000'? If so, the J-2 can't take off at all.
Then there's noise. The J-2 sounds like a DC-6 outside and a jackhammer inside. Back in 1971 headsets were rare, but we sure used 'em in the J-2. And then there's maintenance. Ugh.
We were based at Long Beach, then the fourth busiest airport in the country. ATC hated us. When you take off in a J-2 you have to
stop in position on the runway, engage the rotor clutch, then push the spring-loaded collective down slowly, which spins up the rotor. At about 450 rotor rpm you're good to go, but the process takes about 45 seconds -- tying up an active runway. Rotate at 47 mph and accelerate in ground effect to 65 mph, then climb (that's why a C-150 just about equals the J-2's takeoff performance). ATC eventually agreed to let us use a parallel taxiway for takeoffs in the J-2.
For more background on the J-2 and gyroplanes in general, Download the complete
J-2 Flight Manual and the
McCulloch Flight Training Manual and syllabus.
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Get a Bo, or at least a C-182, if you don't follow the herd the herd won't know how to rank your coolness. Is that gyropter pilot cooler then me in a Mooney? oh I'm getting the vapors just thinking about it.
