what made you wanna fly gyros?

Dennis's video DID make me want to fly gyros but by the time I got the video I already had an AirCommand in my Garage.

I have wanted to fly as long as I can remember.

During my first few years of Collage I took a few FW lessons in a 152 & 172 but found that the Cincinnati weather was not good for regular weekend lessons.

Once I figured out that when you wait a week (or often more) between lessons you really don't gain ground very fast and I quit lessons figuring I could not afford it.

I then decided I was going to buy a used Ultralight fixed wing. Most likely a weedhopper or similar.

One day when installing a computer network near Blue Ash Ohio I went into an office that had some aircraft photos. Figuring the person in the office was a pilot I struck up a conversation.

I told him that I wanted to fly and was hoping to start saving up for an "ultralight" soon. (Back then Ultralight meant FW UL)

He replied "Those light things will get you killed, one strong wind and they will fold up".

That was not an unexpected reply.

Then he said something I did not expect...

He said "You should get a gyrocopter, they are made of strong metal components and can fly in strong winds. They cost about the same as a FW ultralight"

That struck me as odd and I was not sure if he was credible.

He gave me some sort of brochure or hand out. I think it might have been some kind of early PRA material. I don't know. I wish I still had it.

I read up on gyros and sure enough he was right. I was depressed that I could not fly out of my back yard with one.

At this point I decided to go with a used AW95 or what ever they called the Triumph motorcycle powered single place helicopter.

For some reason I was never able to find a complete flying AW95 for sale :rolleyes:

Life got in the way and I did not re-visit the dream of flying until after I got divorced.

I started talking flying with my neighbors son-n-law who used to own an FBO in Texas. I told him that I could not afford an aircraft but if I could find one for the price of a used motorcycle I would buy it. ( I had seen the price of RAF's and thought gyros were 15K + )

The next day I found a bunch of classified ads for aircraft stuffed in my mailbox with several Bensen gyrocopter for sale ads circled.

That got me started (again) and I ended up trading a MINT '73 BMW R75/5 Toaster I resorted for a VERY customised unfinished AirCommand. The unfinished aircommand had a custom engine conversion of a EA-81 (or 82 which ever one is the rare truck motor) and one-off redrive with NO STARTER.

I did not like the idea of trying to prop-start this thing and then I learned about high thrust lines (the thrust line of the MODIFIED AC was above my head!). I bought a CLT conversion kit from AirCommand, but before I got it installed I found a deal on a flying Stock 447 commander.

I sold the modified AC with the CLT kit and put a HStab on the flying 447.

I don't know who the guy was that gave me the brochure but I guess he and my neighbor's son-n-law are the ones responsible for getting me started.

Before I had done more then taxi my 447 I went to GA on biz trip and took some time with Steve M in the Black.

After the first lesson I was not sure if I could do it.

After the second lesson I knew, without question, that I was going to be a gyro pilot.

.
 
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After much scrimping

After much scrimping

and saving I found that I was not going to be able to come up with the remaing 400 million dollars for the Apache gunship I wanted.
Oh and darn that "little Nellie" for the bug in the first place.
 
When I was about 8 years old and fell out of a tree for the first time. Figured there has to way to have a softer landing.

Then "we" landed on the moon, but I ain't got the smarts to be and Astronaut.

Air Force. See how fast a fighter plane will go before the wings snap off! (ain't that's what a parachute is for?). I don't have the eyesight.

Marriage, house mortage and I don't as heal as fast as I use too....gyros seem to be the perfect solution!
 
Their ability to handle stronger winds, ease of installing the wing vs the trike I had.
 
I learned about gyros while reading about the history of helicopters. As I did more research into gyros I found this forum and the PRA. I already had my fixed wing private and next thing I knew I called up Jim Logan for a lesson. I only was able to get 2 hours in, but I hope to eventually get my rating in gyros.

Those 2 flights in Jim's RAF were probably some of the most fun I have had in aircraft, only rivaled by flying seaplanes and hovering a helicopter.
 
I first saw the ad for building a Bensen Gyrocopter in the back of a Mechanics illustrated, but I didn't get one.

Then I saw a Bensen flying out of Lodi Airport while I was waiting to load up on the DC-3 for a skydive, I asked about it and the other jumpers said "thats a gyro, those guys are crazy!"

I finally got the bug after I bought an underpowered powered parachute and could barely get it off the ground. I remembered the gyro and how it was able to fly in windier conditions, handle crosswinds etc. etc. I called around for gyro lessons and finally found someone available, when I got home I immediately looked for one to buy.
 
At this point I decided to go with a used AW95 or what ever they called the Triumph motorcycle powered single place helicopter.

For some reason I was never able to find a complete flying AW95 for sale :rolleyes:

.

Tim if it had the Triumph engine still,it would have been the early Adams/Wilson Hobby copter, later called the Choppy. I had one that I put a 750-4 Honda motorcycle engine in. when i first got the project, it still had the Triumph T-120R engine in it, and I knew after riding my old Triumph chopper, that I sure was not going to try and fly behind that thing..lol



I had it running smooth and the blades tracked well, but the Clutches would not hold the load. it is now in a private museum in Hubbard Or. owned by Jack Lenhardt.

that was the First helicopter I had that was close to flying.

as for gyros, yep like so many, Lil nellie did me in. then all those bensen adds in the flying magazines.
 

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My flying addicting started when I was maybe 4 or 5 year old. We lived on a farm so I got to see the crop dusters all the time. That was great. Plus the low flying military planes over our house. I took flying lesson when I was 16 and 17 but didn’t finsh. I started flying again in 2007.

On 9/7/2004 I posted on this forum under a different name the following:
looking for a instructor and i have a few questions

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I live in southwest Georgia 165 miles south of Atlanta , 100 miles north of tallhassee FL. Are there any instructors close to me less than 100 miles?


A little about me. I took flying lesson about 5 years ago in a cessna 150 and logged 50 hrs with 12 being solo. I never finished my training. SO now i want to get back into flying.

Now some questions about the gyro.
What is the cheapest well designed kit that i can buy in a single or double place model?

Are the tractor type gyros eaiser to fly that the pusher type?

How do these things fly in the wind compared to a Ultralight airplane fixed wing?
Can you put a brs on a gyro?
how does the gyro fly compared to a fixed wing? do the flight controls work the same?
What is the worst thing that you can do in one to hurt yourself?
if your engine dies on the takeoff climb will you fall hard or just auto gyrate down easily?
Thats all i can thing of now.
Thanks,
Grant

So I guess at that point I didn’t know crap about a gyro. I was fresh out of College working with my family at the time. The earliest memory of a gyro I remember was from the cover of an ultra flight magazine. I am 99% sure it had a yellow dominator on the cover. That magazine may be at my parents house. Anyway I saw the gyro on the cover and had to read the article. I guess it was interesting to me obviously! Around 04 I was more focused on taking lessons in a quicksilver and buying one. At that time there was a instructor about 60 miles away. I really didn’t care about going back to Cessnas and getting my PPL.

I would have gotten into this stuff earlier but my parents though ultralights and especially gyros were extremely dangerous and didn’t want me getting into that. They more or less said why don’t you finish taking the flying lessons and get your license. Well I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to fly for fun not for travel. Plus a Cessna is expensive to own and operate compared to ultralights.

So basically low funds and no support delayed my reentry to flying. After I got married in 06 the flying bug bit me really hard! I took a lesson with Steve in August 07 and a lesson in a challenger in 07. I went the fixed wing route 1st but soon found out how much these light planes are affected by wind and thermals. So I revisited gyros by attending Bensen days 09 and this time I committed to it by buying a gyro!
 
When I was a kid, I saw The Road Warrior at the local theater.. and that was it. Although this shot is the gyro after it is wrecked, it's still the best photo I can find of it. One thing that I never realized was that there were pinups plastered to the rudders. LOL

WreckedGyroAndBruce.JPG



Of course I also saw all of those Bensen Ads in the back of Popular Mechanics, which peaked by interest, But seeing that gyro fly in the movie is really when I became fascinated.

I've only returned to the idea of flying my own gyro within the last year.
I'm made the decision fly within the next three years, before I get too damn old to do it. :der:
 
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Hey look thats birdy! :)

When I was a kid, I saw The Road Warrior at the local theater.. and that was it. Although this shot is the gyro after it is wrecked, it's still the best photo I can find of it. One thing that I never realized was that there were pinups plastered to the rudders. LOL

WreckedGyroAndBruce.JPG



Of course I also saw all of those Bensen Ads in the back of Popular Mechanics, which peaked by interest, But seeing that gyro fly in the movie is really when I became fascinated.

I've only returned to the idea of flying my own gyro within the last year.
I'm made the decision fly within the next three years, before I get too damn old to do it. :der:
 
For me, it was a guy in Okinawa that built his own Bensen glider. He flew mostly during hurricane winds coming off the beach and tethered by a long rope. He allowed me to fly it on an abandoned runway towed behind his car. I never forgot the feelings invoked by that flight……
 
Ken Brock was the reason I started to fly gyros. I was at the Torrance California airshow around 1997 or so and saw this strange looking thing flying around. I had never seen a gyro fly before, only seeing the cheesy ads in popular mechanic. Just as his performance was about to finish, the gyros engine stopped,and down he came very steeply. Waiting for the "splat", he landed without drama. It almost looked safe......

The following year the timing was right , and I decided to start flying again after a 25 year break (started learning in airplanes when I was 14). I went to Ken Brock's business in Garden Grove a few months later with the cash to buy a gyro in my back pocket. I met with him ,and started asking questions for about 10 minutes. He then said he was busy,and had to leave. So did my money, he must have taken me for a tire kicker, bad business mistake. I went to SportCopter next while on a business trip. After a hour with Jim Vanek, my wallet was much lighter, for about the same price as a KB-3, I got a open frame SportCopter Vortex. That alone was the best gyro decision I had ever made....but I digressed.

I started attending El Mirage yearly first as a spectator,and then as a pilot. Ken always acted as the great ambassador to the sport that he was. Truly, he was one of the nicest men you would ever want to meet . His vast knowledge of gyro piloting, and his willingness to share some of his past mistakes was very helpful to me. He took alot of time and shared with me some of his self training experiences, and admitted that he had gone through more "than a few sets"of blades learning. He was the kind of person that after every contact with Ken, my flying knowledge always grew, and Ken freely shared his life experiences so that others could learn and become safer pilots. He was the main reason I enjoy the freedom of gyro flight today.

Scott Heger, Laguna Niguel,Ca N86SH
 

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I was given the Air Command video by a friend, and watched it ten thousand times.
I had grown bored with other internal combustion propelled toys, and started researching gyros. I was fortunate to be reaquainted with a neighborhood gearhead who
had flown gyros with his father. With his wisdom, and endless info here on the forum, I am now close to my dream of gyro flight. Thanks Dennis, and Lee.
 
I accidentally came across Timchick's video of Birdy on Youtube -

I had always wanted to fly (thinking light aircraft), but never had time, and knew in the back of my mind that my flying would end up being the occasional pointless short cross country hop whenever I could squeeze it in. Also I'd held onto the stick a few times in Cessnas, and in a glider, and was slightly disappointed at the feeling of just hanging in the air....

Then I saw that clip, found this site, and followed up and read all I could, found more clips - and completely overturned all my previous misconceptions about gyros (well, they weren't misconceptions, more like old outdated "truths").

Finally, got a backseat ride a few weeks ago on a trip to back to Oz. (MT-03) What I loved was the open cockpit, maneuverability, and especially the low level, slow flying. (and the way they handle wind and thermals, and I really love those "bird-style" landings). This is really flying.

Lessons coming up soon .... hopefully before this year is out.
 
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a cadillac ride with fighter jet maneuverability, just what I want in an aircraft :)
 
what made you wanna fly gyros?
Got tired of liven life the hard way.
 
I was an aviation nut like my dad since I was a tyke. I was always distantly intrigued by gyros, at first by the ads in Popular Mechanics, then seeing Brock at an airshow. Finally, watching forum member Lee Scatt and his dad go through the process of building and flying one demystified and "unscaryified" the whole thing for me back around the 1989-1990 time frame. The next thing I knew I bought one (before I had ever flown in one!) and was taking dual instruction with Bill Parsons. I already had a fixed wing ticket but something about gyros clicked with me. Hundreds of solo gyro hours later and it's still the only consistently exhilarating flight experience I've found. I can fly in conditions that would make me nervous in a Cessna 150. When it gets so windy that the ultralighters start getting out the tie downs, I'm just starting to have fun flying backwards.

Tangental but related side note: I think I've mentioned this before, but if this forum had existed when I was an uneducated newbie contemplating taking up gyro flying, I probably wouldn't have. I appreciate all the great expertise offered here, but on balance this site is pretty intimidating in a weird "we all love flying gyros but if you try it there's a good chance you'll get killed" sort of way. I have no solutions to offer, and I don't mean to hijack the thread. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
 
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