Hi from Pennsylvania Harrisburg area

pilotarix

Newbie
Joined
May 29, 2017
Messages
6
Location
Hummesltown
Hi all,

My Name is Chris and I am pretty new to the gyro business. I had a PPL in the past but stopped flying about 10 years ago mainly because I moved from Europe to the US and time was pretty limited.
Currently I am in the process to get my Sport Pilot license I am set up with a flight school, have my TSA approval and eagerly awaiting my first training lesson.
Actually I was looking around for something low and slow flying with good STOL capabilities, I already have scheduled a factory visit and flight with the Zenith (CH 750) company in Mexico Missouri next month. However, about three weeks ago I stumbled across a gyro advertising and have since spend hours with reading information and looking videos on youtube and I am impressed.
What I like most are the great STOL capabilities, slow flying speed, tight turns and that cross wind seem to be not such a big problem.
What I don't like is the significant price of these machines but well, I assume (hope) you get what you pay for.
In addition it doesn't seem to be easy to find an instructor, at least in our area, closest I could find was an instructor with AutoGyro in Maryland.
At the moment I am thinking about to skip my "wing" training, I can fly a plane, I just need a couple of hours to get current again, and rather direct go to gyro training and do get the Sport Pilot license on the gyro, which seems to be an option.
I have probably still a lot of questions and hope to find some answers here.

Thanks,
Chris
 
Greetings Chris and welcome to more fun than is usually allowed by law.

Yes skip the FW training and do not develop any bad habits that FW'er are reported to make that non-pilots do not make who are only trained in gyroplane.

The 1st place to look for instructors is PRA's web site here: http://www.pra.org/default.aspx?p=Training&i=82

Here is a listing:
Pennsylvania -------------------
James Nadig (724) 458-4665
PO Box 724
Grove City, PA 16127
[email protected]
(RAF)

---

You are lucky to have Jim so close to you most of us have had to travel. In my case from San Diego Ca to Utah.
But it is worth the effort!
 
Welcome to the Rotary Wing Forum Chris!

Gyroplanes are very maneuverable and can land in a very short distance.

In my opinion the takeoff is not short, usually 300 to 500 feet for lift off in no wind conditions.

If you don’t have a USA issued pilot certificate you will have a minimum number of hours in either fixed wing or gyroplanes including solo time.

Knowing what I know now; I would get some dual instruction in a gyroplane before I decided how to proceed.

Different style gyroplanes fly differently so there is value in getting training in a gyroplane similar to what you are going to purchase.

There is a lot to learn even for a Sport Pilot certificate so it is a big commitment.

I wish you all the best on your aviation adventure.
 
Hi all,

thanks for the welcome and the information!

the info on pra.org is very helpful.

Yes, doing a sport pilot license is a commitment but at the end the there is hopefully a great reward... flying.

Chris
 
No Title

As a PPL guy in Texas, I finally gave in to my interest in gyros one day when a couple of Magni M16s flew to my home field for lunch. We talked and I decided to give it a try. The pilots turned out to be famous (in a gyro way) record holders who had flown transcontinental gyro flights, and who recently flew their gyros to Cuba! The instructor is also a DPE and is really good. I got excited and after I got my gyro sport pilot endorsement, I bought a gyro (AutoGyro Calidus) and then got more specific training in my new machine. I just checked my log book and I've flown my gyro 12 of the last 14 days! Be careful!!That much fun can be addictive! Find a good instructor in a safe machine. When I lived in Germany, and most recently when I visited, there were safe, modern gyros at almost every small airfield we visited. By the way the guys in Bay Bridge Maryland were pretty great to work with. Have fun! Ray
 

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pilotarix;n1120724 said:
Hi all,

My Name is Chris and I am pretty new to the gyro business. I had a PPL in the past but stopped flying about 10 years ago mainly because I moved from Europe to the US and time was pretty limited....

Hi Chris, i believe we've briefly ineracted on the German gyroforum a couple of weeks ago.

Here is my piece of advice: before commiting to any specific model/type/class/category of flying machine, go get some actual time in it. Don't cut this process short or you might regret it later on. Take whatever time you need and fly in as many different machines as possible. Youtube will not give you the kind of input you need to make an informed decision.

I have met several people who started out one way and later on regretted their choice. Don't become one of them.

Greetings (another) Chris.
 
Hi all,

life takes unexpected turns sometimes and other than I thought and expected I haven't started the Gyro training and that was due to multiple reasons. Certainly the most important were that I couldn't find flight instruction in my area and it would have been hours of driving for one hour of instruction.
So finally I ended up in helicopter flight training and my flight school is just 45 min away from home. Meanwhile, I am close to solo and working to pass the written test.
It's exciting and a lot of fun.
I think I am still in the right forum for that...

Thanks,
Chris
 
It reads like progress to me Chris.

In my opinion learning to fly a helicopter is harder and more expensive than learning to fly a gyroplane.

I wish you all the best on your aviation adventure.
 
Just a heads up that Jim Nadig's telephone number has changed to 724-967-2745. The PRA website has not updated the info yet. Also he has changed internet providers and is having problems with emails going into spam. Best to call or text this number. He is available to teach and his hours are very flexible.
 
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