Gyroplanes

[C.W.E.]

Flying gyroplanes was the most interesting and fun kind of flying I ever did.

Are there many of you out there who have flown them or would like to?

I always wanted to start a gyroplane training school but never got around to it.

I did go to the U.S. and got a FAA commercial gyroplane pilot license which sure cost me a lot of time and money. However it was for me money well spent as it was real interesting and real fun flying.

I sure have the spare time now and am thinking of finally doing it.

Anyone care to comment?

[photofly]

I took a dual flight in one, a couple of years ago, at Guelph. I think the operation moved to Kitchener. It was fun; the open cockpit took a bit of getting used to.

[C.W.E.]

I took a dual flight in one, a couple of years ago, at Guelph. I think the operation moved to Kitchener. It was fun; the open cockpit took a bit of getting used to.

Do you remember what make the gyro was?

The big drawback to starting a gyroplane training business is the cost of buying one that is fully enclosed, they are really expensive.

I did my Commercial license on a McCulloch J 2 which is a FAA certified machine.

[photofly]

It was yellow ... does that help?

[C.W.E.]

It was yellow ... does that help?

No.

Would you fly one again?

[photofly]

Absolutely I would. The practicalities aren’t there for me though: expensive and hard to maintain, and I don’t have anywhere to hangar one.

[C.W.E.]

Absolutely I would. The practicalities aren’t there for me though: expensive and hard to maintain, and I don’t have anywhere to hangar one.

You can build your own machine and have the fun of building and then flying it.

In my opinion the best place to go for information and advice is Sport Copter in Oregon.

Jim Vanek is just plain awesome to get to know.

[youhavecontrol]

I got a ride in one in my early teens and I absolutely loved it. I was a volunteer at the Rocky Mountain House airshow and the pilot gave me a ride for helping with all the aircraft fuelling. The pilot did a demonstration of just how short they could land... it was impressive! They're can be pretty pricey though for a closed-cockpit one... I doubt I'd ever get one. They sure look fun though.

[C.W.E.]

For pure fun the gyroplane is way ahead of anything I ever flew.

As to manoeuvrability there is nothing out there that compares to them.

I flew eight years in the airshow circuit in Europe and held a unrestricted airdisplay authority for
Europe, the most manoeuvrable airplane I flew was the Pitts Special and the gyro was way more fun to fly.

[Posthumane]

I'm currently sharing a hangar with a few RAF2000 gyros and got a ride in one a few months back. It was definitely a fun little machine to fly. The owner of the hangar owns one, and instructs on and maintains the rest.

They used to be built in Canada (sask I believe) but the company was sold to South Africa and the price of a kit has apparently gone up considerably. They are fully enclosed and Subaru powered with a belt PSRU.

[C.W.E.]

The RAF 2000 in its original configuration with no horizontal stabiliser was a deadly killer and it killed a lot of people.

The addition of an effective H/S makes it a far safer machine to fly.

I offer this opinion because I used to own one and I wouldn't even think of flying one without a H.S.

The aerodynamics of a pusher powered gyroplane are very important to understand if you wish to stay alive.

The tractor powered gyroplane on the other hand is a very stable safe flying machine.

[Posthumane]

Interesting, I've never seen one without an Hstab and I'm not really all that versed on their history. Would you own another one now if the price were reasonable?

[C.W.E.]

Interesting, I've never seen one without an Hstab and I'm not really all that versed on their history.

The RAF 2000 factory refused to install a H.S. and eventually they went out of business, the RAF 's with a H.S. are all aftermarket owner installed.

Would you own another one now if the price were reasonable?

I wouldn't own one if it was given to me.

[trey kule]

There are some pretty amazing gyroplanes out there.

[C.W.E.]

There are some pretty amazing gyroplanes out there.

That is for sure, unfortunately they are really expensive to buy and the cost of operating them is also high.

I do not think there is a big enough pool of interested people to justify trying to start a new gyroplane flight training school and then there is the cost of getting approval from TC for a operating certificate both in money and time.

[Taco Joe]

I've been seeing a lot of them flying throughout my travels in the US recently. It always seems like the people in them are having a blast when we taxi by each other. I'd love to go up for a famil flight in one.

[C.W.E.]

There are a couple of gyro schools in Canada I wonder if they read Avcanada?

Maybe they could join this thread?

[photofly]

There are some pretty amazing gyroplanes out there.

That is for sure, unfortunately they are really expensive to buy and the cost of operating them is also high.

I do not think there is a big enough pool of interested people to justify trying to start a new gyroplane flight training school and then there is the cost of getting approval from TC for a operating certificate both in money and time.

You don't need an OC for a gyroplane school.

406.03 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), no person shall operate a flight training service in Canada using an aeroplane or helicopter in Canada unless the person holds a flight training unit operator certificate

Applies only to aeroplanes and helicopters.
Here's what you do have to do:

406.05 (1) No person shall operate a flight training unit using a glider, balloon, gyroplane or ultra-light aeroplane in Canada unless the person notifies the Minister in writing of
(a) the legal name, trade name and address of the operator of the flight training unit;
(b) the base of operations;
(c) the category of aircraft;
(d) the type of flight training to be conducted; and
(e) the name of the flight instructor who will be responsible for operational control of the flight training operations.
(2) The information referred to in subsection (1) shall be provided to the Minister by the flight training unit
(a) prior to commencing flight training operations;
(b) within 10 working days after any change in the information; and
(c) upon the service being discontinued.

It's not onerous.

[C.W.E.]

It has been a long time since I flew gyroplanes ( Got my FAA Commercial Gyroplane Pilot License in 1992 ) and now that you mention it you are correct.

Not having to get an O.C. would really help as far as time and money goes, time is money.

[C.W.E.]

So when do we decide what machine we will use in our gyro school photofly?

We could get Andy to be our T.C. delegate to handle the government communications.