Gyroplane Lands on Capital Hill Lawn?

Marketing your product by spitting in the faces of others, and by employing half-truths, however, is obnoxious and does the community no favors...The U.S. Autogyro pitchmen are biting the hand that feeds them.

And here I thought it was just me.

Doug, Dayton Dabbs (Magni) did the same thing in his interview, with comments which pander to misconceptions about safety. The general public sees a totally open cockpit and is afraid. If they knew how little crash protection is really offered by pods, they'd be just as afraid.

We're trying to work out insurance with a couple of brokers right now for a single-place trainer here in Utah, so students have a way to solo. Last time I checked, a trained pilot in a eurotub isn't statistically any safer than someone in a good open-frame single-place, and may have a passenger who was unprepared to evaluate the real risks.
 
Isn't that Scott's custom 3 wheel scooter in the background at the beginning of the video as reporter Kristen Sanchez is speaking?

It sure is....:D It's a wonder he didn't do a stunt show in the background while the interview was on? ;)

I want one....just needs ape hanger handlebars and wheelie bars out the back... much fun to be had :party:
 

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I believe in our security and intelligence, and I believe that the way they handled this actually went just fine. They knew he was coming, they knew he was pacifistic, and they let him enter the restricted airspace and land with as little fuss as was practical while maintaining commensurate security and safety.

This was an ultralight gyrocopter cruising at 45 mph with a gallon and a half of reserve left on board, after all, and not a triple 7 loaded with 180 passengers, 10,000 lbs of Jet A, and some Al Qaida habib wearing a diaper on his head, with a box knife in his pocket, at the yoke doing 560 KTS bearing down on the Capital.

Like he says in his pre-launch video: any boyscout with a BB gun could bring him down, you don't need a wing of F-16's or Cobra's to keep him in line.

Hi GT
Obviously, all of this is just my opinion as well, but I'm still having trouble with your reckless statement "they let him enter restricted airspace".
I understand that his intentions were non violent which could be considered pacifistic, but I feel he deserves praise for really sticking his neck out for what he and I believe.
By the way, If you look up the word activist you'll see it's a better description of Doug's actions.

Once again
Thank you Mr.Hughes !!
 
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The comments by the Autogyro guys are both inaccurate and offensive. This is exactly the sort of BS that I referred to in the "RAF Spindle bolt" thread.

People peddling homebuilt-gyro kits try to create the impression that they represent some Cessna-like factory selling certified aircraft. Nothing could be further from the truth.

They are, in fact, selling boxes of parts that, when assembled by an amateur, are the exact equivalent of a homebuilt, N-numbered Bensen. Eurogyros are largely eyeball-engineered Bensen clones with slick cowlings and price tags to match. The owner is the only "factory" that the FAA recognizes.

Th irony of the Autogyro rep dissing other homebuilts while standing in front of his open aircraft with the word "experimental" on the canopy should not be lost.

The announcer says that a Gyronimo-type craft is "very unsafe because they aren't regulated." Try a hard slip a full throttle in a bathtub lowrider gyro, and the same maneuver in an open-framer, and see who lives to tell the tale.

"You can buy all the materials at the hardware store." Again, offensive lies. Try buying 6061-T6 1/2/.125 extrusions ANYWHERE, never mind at a hardware store. Rotorblades? Props? Rotor heads? Give me a break.

I don't object to full-dress gyros, but the liars who tout them as flying Hondas deserve scorn. They have mine.


I too have heard some ridiculous statements from Euro people who claim that they have a much safer machine, but when asked why they are safer, they cannot answer with any intelligence.

They are also claiming that they are built much better because they are "Builder Assited by Approved Factory Reps", which is also BS. We have had (and still have) many builders that can put their builders to shame in quality and workmanship.

Just too many untrue statements being made just for the sake of selling their products
 
Great Interview

Great Interview

Fox 5 did this one with me. A second segment was shown LIVE the same morning. Yeah, CNN and Fox 45 also called but I only did Fox 5 and I am pretty sure I am glad about that. No sales pitching, just plain talk. Bob Barnard is an up and up guy.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/28820526/gyrocopter-able-to-fly-undetected-into-restricted-airspace

Very good Interview Chris......we happened to catch a glimpse of a Sport Copter in the background!
 
It's "hilarious": the day after I caution us against attracting the ire of Congress, a one Doug Hughes busts a dozen FARs and craps on our sport by flying over the Mall and landing on the U.S. Capitol lawn for his foolish and futile political stunt. I'm sure he is indeed a "nice man", but that merely lessens the embarrassment he's needlessly caused us.

He could have HAHO'd in for the same notoriety and less fallout.

His protest will do nothing to repeal the campaign finance reform legislation, and like everything else in this country will be forgotten by next week. But, he's earned his "15 minutes of fame" so I hope he enjoys it.

btw, has the irony of a grossly overpaid and overpensioned U.S. Postal employee hollering about bloated government been lost on most people?
:)
Regards, Kolibri
 
Obviously I don't have a stake in this debate as I am not even American, I applaud this man for his courage and civil disobedience to speak out against an issue which seems to eat away at the very foundation this country is built upon. I wish we had more of those where I live. the way he is dealt with and treated now will speak a lot to America's level of political maturity and willingness to change.

-- Chris.
 
Kolibri,

First of all, what are you afraid of that causes you to not list your real name?

So I don't know who you are. But this is what I do know from first hand experience: Having personally known many postal workers in my life, I can tell you that your characterization of them ("of a grossly overpaid and overpensioned U.S. Postal employee") shows blatant ignorance on your part. You really blew it buddy.

Why are you so upset about a person who works very hard for a decent wage and was smart enough to get into a profession which happens to still offer a pension? This country was in much better shape when a large majority of middle class America worked for corporations that did not out-source their labor, could be depended upon to provide a man or woman a career-length lob with possibility of their hard work leading to continual promotion and retirement with a moderate pension.

Are you upset maybe because you did not make such wise choices?
 
Uh Oh.... Now Rick's goin' Postal!
 
Sometimes I feel like it John. If we don't get some of this stuff straightened out, I think there will be a lot more people feeling the same way.
 
My name and address is listed here,I have found that people who hide in the corner of

there basement in the dark,and never want anybody to know who they are, seldom really know whats going on in the real world.



Best regards,eddie.....
 
I'm sure he is indeed a "nice man", but that merely lessens the embarrassment he's needlessly caused us.
Regards, Kolibri

Who is "us"? I'm not at all embarrassed, why would anyone be embarrassed?
 
Chris Burgess, nice interview. The "visual aid" with the FAR-AIM book was priceless.

Euro-bathtub gyros are better insulated from engine failure than most homebuilt gyros in that they all seem to use Rotax 900's. These pricey mills really are quite fine engines, with better reliability than either converted car engines or converted snowmobile engines. So these manufacturers have indeed bought some safety. But...

IMHO, the fact that they persist in using the HTL lowrider config to mimic "sports car" styling is evidence that eyeball engineering still takes precedence over actual engineering. If the Euro-gyro marketers really wanted to advance safety, they would spring for some wind-tunnel time to explore the torque-slip-roll-coupling issue -- a problem that is likely attributable precisely to the lowrider-with-pod styling.

OK, enough rant on this subject. :focus:
 
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