John built his Gyrobee as a registered Experimental machine. Since he did not need to be as concerned about weight, his machine includes items such as a Wunderlich prerotator. John opted to try a V-tail and the classic overhead stick.
Great News:
Looks like we will have to add the words "Award Winning" whenever we talk about John's V-tail 'Bee. He took it to the EAA Arlington 2000 fly-in and won the Reserve Grand Champion Rotorcraft award! Great testimony to the effort John put in on his machine!
Bad News!
John flipped his machine while getting a bit over-enthusiastic on a high-speed taxi run. It can be repaired, but will take some time!
Good News #2:
As of June 2001 John's Bee is rebuilt and ready for flight test. Note that there are some significant changes from the first version:
(1) The overhead stick has been replaced by a conventional "pump-handle" joystick
(2) The V-tail has been replaced by a Watson tail. In fact, it is the Watson tail that Doc Watson built and passed on to Doug Riley. Doug used it on his machine last year (2000) but wanted to experiment with some approached to all-metal tail feathers for the sake of builders who don't want to work with composites.
The rebuilt aircraft looks like another gem with respect to workmanship, so maybe John will gather some additional awards in the years ahead!
Good News #3:
John elected to have his flight instructor, Scott Malone,
conduct the initial test flights on the rebuilt gyro. Needless to say,
it does fly!
Scott was complimentary with respect to its handling and
enjoyed the flight-test chores!
Nice shot of Scott doing a low pass!
John is to be commended for taking a very conservative
path in testing the machine. Too many builders want to rush in after finally
finishing their pride and joy, but you need to make sure you are really
ready. If an experienced pilot is willing to take your Bee
for a test drive, it might be a smart move!
John has become one of the most active Gyrobee pilots, flying around western Washington and Oregon. Finally we get to see the intrepid pilot!
Here is a nice shot of John and his Gyrobee, snapped by Al Cunningham from Al's RAF200. The two pilots commuted to the Arlington (Washington) fly-in for several days back in 2003.
The Arlington fly-in provided another nice photo of John and his aircraft which later appeared in the EAA Sport Pilot magazine.