Another accident that seems to be a wire strike in a gyro? I have heard of a gyro hitting a single wire which held back the machine by the mast and cheek plates, luckily the rotors managed to climb over the wire without breaking anything and released the gyro.... to wobble off and land without further incident, from what I remember..... a very lucky pilot. I believe it was in the USA many years ago?

Most medium to large helicopters have wire cutters these days, not because they want to hit wires, but just in case.... maybe it is time for us to think about fitting something on our machines? I often use the old style wire (quite loose) from the front keel to the rotorhead cheek plates, just so if I run into a fence or wire, my head has a better chance of staying where it is.... however, am seriously considering fitting some sort of cutter on the nose leg, instrument pod leg and front of mast were a wire would likely slip to.... the things a wire would likely snag if a pilot found him/herself faced with a powerline?

I know in now, powerlines are absolutely everywhere and the single wire is so hard to see.... a friend of mine (and Chris's) caught a fence wire with his nose wheel on take off and it pulled him into the ground (broken sternum worst injury) had he had some sort of cutter (even sharpened aluminium) perhaps the wire would have cut and been gone, rather than pull down the machine?

Some of the cabin gyros could easily adapt something similar to what the bigger helicopters use.... it might save someone from disaster?

Any comments? What are your thoughts?

An open gyroplane would require a guide to steer the wire to the cutter. More weight.
A scissor action would be needed to cut the steel leader somehow initiated by the forward motion and inertia of the weight of the craft.
Otherwise a light aircraft will merely hang on the steel leader.

It would work better on enclosed gyroplanes or ones with a wind shield. It would be necessary that the cowling not have any protruding parts to interfere with steering the wire to the cutter.
Just make sure no ones head is above the shield.

The wire cutters I have seen is the type on a ranger that protects the swash plates etc.... they are an alloy 'finger' with a steel V shaped blade where the wire will slide to .....

Yes, a light machine might hang on a wire, or a cutter might not work properly, but even just having a sharp edge on the nose leg or instrument pod leg might help? If the nose leg is round, it will not snap a wire easily, if it has a sharp leading edge, it might just break a wire?

I don't think a small gyro would have enough mass to cut a wire.

It might if I happened to be the pilot.

That's why I said something would have to steer the wire to a scissor cutter of some sort possibly spring loaded and cocked for such an event.
The wire would initiate a trigger that would release a large enough spring to operate the scissor cutter.

The easiest thing to do would be stay high enough to avoid the need for such an implement.

I know what you are saying Ray, but mechanical cutters would have greater scope of not working? A wire will not likely snap easily if hit by a 2" wide piece of aluminium (a mast or instrument pod or nose wheel leg) but if something sharp is mounted on the round or square tube, it is more likely the wire will be bent over a relatively sharp point an snap easier?

On the helicopter cutters, the only steel is the final cutter where the wire hopefully will eventually go... other than that, all alloy (the guide)

As well as being more vigilant, I would rather have some sharp bits that 'might' help, than have noting....