gyropilot
03-26-2004, 02:12 PM
For those of you who couldn’t attend the March PRA Chapter 30 meeting, here’s what you missed:
The meeting was held at the American Autogyro Inc. (AAI) of Seattle “build center” on Boeing Field just south of Seattle, WA. One of the first production SparrowHawk gyroplane kits is currently being assembled by AAI of Seattle owner Randy Coplen and his crew.
A&P mechanic Gordon Kalanquinn, an AAI of Seattle employee, kicked off the meeting with a detailed one hour talk on the status of both the SparrowHawk kit assembly, and current efforts underway to prepare and paint the fiberglass tail and cabin. The work being done on the kit is impeccable and it’s clear this project is Gordon’s “baby.” His talk was very informative and he answered countless questions about his thoughts on the kit assembly, quality, and the work he’s done so far.
Great job Gordon!
At Randy Coplen’s invitation, we were next treated to an informative talk by special guest speaker Robin Wilson. Robin is the Sr. VP and Head of Business Dev. for Groen Bros. Aviation, Inc. For those of you who don’t know, Groen Bros. Aviation is the parent company of the SparrowHawk kit gyroplane project.
Robin has had a long and prominent background in aviation and transportation spanning the continents. From engineering with Rolls-Royce Aero-Engines, to financial analysis and operations at Trans. World Airlines, to the Long Island Railroad, Western Airlines, Burlington Air, Guinness Peat Aviation, and more.
Robin’s talk covered some of his fascinating aviation history punctuated by interesting gyroplane related stories, such as his work on the Fairey-Rotodyne project while with Rolls-Royce. He also covered the history of Groen Bros. Aviation, their philosophy about gyroplane stability, their ongoing efforst in the commercial gyroplane market, and he explained how they came to be producing a kit gyroplane. He closed his talk by answering many questions from those present.
The only bad part about Robin’s visit and talk was that it couldn’t last longer! I’m hoping he’ll be able to spend more time with us when he’s in the Seattle area again someday.
The meeting wrapped up about noon.
Picture of Robin Wilson attached.
The meeting was held at the American Autogyro Inc. (AAI) of Seattle “build center” on Boeing Field just south of Seattle, WA. One of the first production SparrowHawk gyroplane kits is currently being assembled by AAI of Seattle owner Randy Coplen and his crew.
A&P mechanic Gordon Kalanquinn, an AAI of Seattle employee, kicked off the meeting with a detailed one hour talk on the status of both the SparrowHawk kit assembly, and current efforts underway to prepare and paint the fiberglass tail and cabin. The work being done on the kit is impeccable and it’s clear this project is Gordon’s “baby.” His talk was very informative and he answered countless questions about his thoughts on the kit assembly, quality, and the work he’s done so far.
Great job Gordon!
At Randy Coplen’s invitation, we were next treated to an informative talk by special guest speaker Robin Wilson. Robin is the Sr. VP and Head of Business Dev. for Groen Bros. Aviation, Inc. For those of you who don’t know, Groen Bros. Aviation is the parent company of the SparrowHawk kit gyroplane project.
Robin has had a long and prominent background in aviation and transportation spanning the continents. From engineering with Rolls-Royce Aero-Engines, to financial analysis and operations at Trans. World Airlines, to the Long Island Railroad, Western Airlines, Burlington Air, Guinness Peat Aviation, and more.
Robin’s talk covered some of his fascinating aviation history punctuated by interesting gyroplane related stories, such as his work on the Fairey-Rotodyne project while with Rolls-Royce. He also covered the history of Groen Bros. Aviation, their philosophy about gyroplane stability, their ongoing efforst in the commercial gyroplane market, and he explained how they came to be producing a kit gyroplane. He closed his talk by answering many questions from those present.
The only bad part about Robin’s visit and talk was that it couldn’t last longer! I’m hoping he’ll be able to spend more time with us when he’s in the Seattle area again someday.
The meeting wrapped up about noon.
Picture of Robin Wilson attached.