I agree the gyroplane accident rate is too high;

Of course, the Gyropedia can be integrated with any national training syllabus, and so far 4 non-English speaking countries have their syllabi mapped to the Gyropedia "International Lesson Structure."

I well remember a guy from the Czech Republic coming to York in 2017 to do just that...

My own training followed that structure, despite learning in the UK (and Portugal)
About two years ago we had a guy from the UK here, if I can find his name I will list it, he was from some place in mud Island (Uk) sorry I say that but my wife comes from that place ( as do two of my super cars😉 - see nothing wrong with made in Sussex or Gaydon) he was trained and had exposure to Gyropedia ..... he had never flown into a controlled airport, had never had to select a squawk code and enter the airport QNH, he came on a flying holiday and I was his, dare I say it saftey pilot.
We make it part of our course to see to it student pilots can fly into controlled airspace and land at a busy international airport under tower instruction

I think he returned somewhat wiser, apart from being blown away with the breathtaking scenery he enjoyed, he also enjoyed good old SA hospitality and was relieved of his passport and camera 😂
 
Hi Charles

I think he has Go-Pro chest and helmet (including rear facing), and mast camera both forward and rear facing. Sometimes keel and H-stab cameras too.

On his channel you will also see some great 360 degree films which you can manipulate in "real-time".

One of the best gyro YouTubers in the World, imho. (y)

And he flies around my home patch, so I learn a lot from him...
You certainly do have some stunning green scenery, do you ever get to fly over the cliffs at Dover?
Also in the vid it seems so clean 👍👍 also it seemed a perfect Wx day thx for sharing
 
We make it part of our course to see to it student pilots can fly into controlled airspace and land at a busy international airport under tower instruction

Greg... I trained AT an international airport with a Gyropedia instructor.

I did my first solo AT an international airport... [maybe one of just two pilots in the UK to have done that, and if so, I was the first]

I also had my first go around, ON my first solo, AT an international airport....

Cleared by ATC to land in front of a Passenger Jet.​
Rather late in the day, they figured that wasn't going to work...:oops:
"Go around, I say again GO AROUND ! Acknowledge !"
"Vacate the centre-line ! Fly down the disused runway ! Acknowledge !""
"Orbit right for two minutes..."
I remained calm and focused on AVIATING. Plenty of fuel. Nothing to worry about.​

And of course, I had a great Gyropedia instructor. (y) [who never trained me for that precise scenario, but who nevertheless trained me enough...]
 
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Ironic, as Phil Harwood of Gyropedia co-wrote the UK PPL(G) "syllabus" in 2009....:LOL:
Tyrogyro if your go a few posts back you will see I did try to explain that Phill along with Kevin and two other scribes were the guys who were authors for the UK PPL ( G)
And I had the pleasure of dealing with Richard Craske of the CAA and Phil Harwood BRA in May of 2016 in getting the single seat PPL(G) syllabus accepted in the present version of SD44 which I co-wrote with Tony Melody and Viv Freke.
 
I am happy with full ATC... [professionals, paid to get it RIGHT, or else.... You are in THEIR hands. Cool... (y) ]
I am also happy with unattended airfields / Safetycom [Most likely no-one there. YOU can judge and are mostly in control of your own fate]

Air/Ground, on the other hand, scares the Bejesus out of me....

Already, in just a few weeks or months:-

Encountered a fixed-wing going the WRONG way around the circuit....

Watching a fixed-wing attempt to land while a gyro was taking-off on the same runway. Luckily he was a high-wing, but.....there were also two low-wing in that circuit at that time... Luck was with the gyro, that day...

Listening to the repeated complaints of fixed-wing pilots at my club: "We can't see gyros..." [?]

My engineer has added extra strobes to my machine [the first such mod in the UK], under the nose and behind the mast, and is authorised to make such mods to gyros in the UK.
20200417_121641 (1).jpg
 
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Listening to the repeated complaints of fixed-wing pilots at my club: "We can't see gyros..." [?]

In my opinion based on my experience gyroplanes are very hard to see particularly if I am above them; they get lost in the ground clutter.

Fixed wing pilots don't expect gyroplanes to linger on the runway for takeoff.

In the USA we have towered airfields and non towered fields.

At a non towered field with an unusual amount of traffic (local fire or aviation event) they have a temporary tower typically without radar.

We also have remote towers that are managed from a tower at another field.

I am unfamiliar with a Air/Ground.

How does that work?
 
Some folks just don't look. Leaving the runway with my instructor rolling 300 metres along a single tarmac route back to the parking and a fixed wing with instructor and student left the parking rolling towards us, we were probably 100 metres along the route at the time. Grass either side of the route, we slowed to a stop and waited for them to eventually notice us and then they diverted onto the grass. The route from the parking to the stop and the runway all clearly visible from the parking, time 1410h so no sun in face issues. Stupid is as stupid does.
 
Greg... I trained AT an international airport with a Gyropedia instructor.

I did my first solo AT an international airport... [maybe one of just two pilots in the UK to have done that, and if so, I was the first]

I also had my first go around, ON my first solo, AT an international airport....

Cleared by ATC to land in front of a Passenger Jet.​
Rather late in the day, they figured that wasn't going to work...:oops:
"Go around, I say again GO AROUND ! Acknowledge !"
"Vacate the centre-line ! Fly down the disused runway ! Acknowledge !""
"Orbit right for two minutes..."
I remained calm and focused on AVIATING. Plenty of fuel. Nothing to worry about.​

And of course, I had a great Gyropedia instructor. (y) [who never trained me for that scenario, but who nevertheless trained me enough...]
Tyrogyro if you did your training as you described above and your instructor had not paid his gyropedia subs....do you think you would not have learnt from the experience? Sir you should immediately take up a job as Sales and Marketing Director for the Gyropedia 😉😉

Now did you on landing contact the tower and ask how they cleared you in front of a Jet? Did you not give them your aircraft code on first contact ( normally on first contact they ask for aircraft type) and did they not register what it’s performance limits are? Seems a few holes were about to line up in the cheese here? I find it unlikely a ATC controller would have instructed you to final in front of a jet unless said jet was 30 miles out on long final?

Did you not hear the Jet on frequency calling final approach ..... ( speedbird cleared to land RW xyz) surely as gyropedia trained pilot you must have heard about situational awareness? You should have been aware of circuit traffic? As the tower would have told you about his circuit traffic?. And if you were paying attention prior to turning from base to final you would have confirmed with tower if your landing at 65 Mph will impact a heavy ...

I also doubt they would have even afforded you the option of joining the circuit (with a gyroplane) knowing they have a jet on final approach? If they did then there is also a problem? Go find the answer in Gyropedia 🤔

I agree they would allow you to do a touch and go but only at a very quite time at an international airport....imagine you scribble your contraption on the threshold and they have a few heavies incoming...😳

Lastly did your Gyropedia instructor take you up to the tower during your training? introduce you to ATC and did you learn the difference the various airport frequencies offer and the responsibility of ’Approach versus ‘tower, versus ground? and how the system works?

Tyro I fly Helicopters in controlled airspace often and even Helicopters are not the all time favorites at a busy airport where there primary concern is the safe movement of passenger jets, one thing for sure if I was cleared in front of a jet the controller would have some things to answer for because the jet has collision avoidance systems and it would have been triggered by your transponder and the protocol for the jet pilot is to do ago around if he has any doubt ...each airline has there own rules when it comes to this but there are standard rules that apply.
 
I am unfamiliar with a Air/Ground.

How does that work?
In the UK there are basically three types of towered airports

Full-ATC, callsign "TOWER", but often with separate frequencies for "RADAR", "APPROACH", "GROUND"
basically you do nothing, either on the ground or in the air, without clearance. You are instructed or controlled at all stages, from the hangar onwards, until you leave the ATZ

FISO (Flight Information Services Officer), callsign "INFORMATION"
You are controlled on the ground during manoevering, but not in the air. In the air, the tower provides information, about wind, runway in use, and known traffic, etc. but take-offs, landings and flight safety are all the pilots' responsibility. The FISO will say "land at your discretion", etc. but that is NOT a clearance. The person in the tower has an ATC qualification. Quite rare in the UK.

Air/Ground, callsign "RADIO"
like FISO, except the tower does not control either on the ground or in the air. It's all the pilots' responsibility. You must listen and look very carefully for other traffic. Some people are better than others at doing this.... This system is very common at smaller airfields, flying clubs, etc which can nevertheless be very busy! The person in the tower is usually formally unqualified in ATC, but an experienced pilot, etc. Sometimes the tower doesn't respond, because the person has gone to attend to some other issue at the airfield, or the tower is not manned 24/7. My home airfield is Air/Ground.

Then there are unattended airfields, with no tower. Callsign "TRAFFIC"
Pilots make "blind" calls on a common frequency, announcing their presence and intentions. Usually found at small grass strips, etc., which often appear deserted. But you should be aware that there may be craft without radio operating there...
 
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Some folks just don't look. Leaving the runway with my instructor rolling 300 metres along a single tarmac route back to the parking and a fixed wing with instructor and student left the parking rolling towards us, we were probably 100 metres along the route at the time. Grass either side of the route, we slowed to a stop and waited for them to eventually notice us and then they diverted onto the grass. The route from the parking to the stop and the runway all clearly visible from the parking, time 1410h so no sun in face issues. Stupid is as stupid does.
I think it is mental conditioning. The human visual system is mostly in the brain, not the eye.
If you don't see what you're looking for, you see... nothing... [check "The Invisible Gorilla" experiment]
As pilots, they are looking for... a pair of wings.

I also wonder why, unlike most helis, gyros don't have any markings on the rotors....
 
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gyros don't have any markings on the rotors....
There have been a number of marking on rotors. Some worked very well and are in earlier threads.

I seem to remember a discussion with fiveboy one of the Forum members who had the Jungle Jet on just that.

Have searched but cannot find the thread. It had links to where one could get reflective film to apply to rotors that did not disturb the balance.

One or two members did apply it and seemed happy with the results.

As for strobes am attaching these to my cheek-plates. ( Recommended by Scottessex)
 
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Resasi,

I am unaware of any on the Eurotubs, which is what I fly.

On the strobes, etc, we are so regulated in the UK that I was surprised my strobe mod was possible. But my excellent engineer tells me it is "kosher".
[he did the pre-flight and service on G-YROX before it completed the first cicumnavigation of the world, last year]

I also believe the side-strobes were previously replaced for more powerful ones.

Anyhow, I am the first adopter in the UK. [Actually they were placed on my instructor's machine, a few weeks before I bought it off him !]

They are very nice, and are phased differently to the existing side-strobes. The gyro lights up like a Christmas tree !
 
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Likewise, have seen none in the UK.
 
I also wonder why, unlike most helis, gyros don't have any markings on the rotors....
All the gyros I've owned have white upper blade surfaces with contrasting chord-wise striping, plus red/yellow/green tips, just like my old Sikorsky.
 
Having had several instructors, my 2c on what is a good instructor.

1. Calmness. If the instructor is not calm at all times, neither will the student be. And a tense student is a poor student.
2. Encourage. Praise the student for what he does well. Accept mistakes with total equanimity. The student is there to make mistakes.
3. Do not build an instructor/student barrier or wall. Try to positively break that wall. The student is not a child, and is looking for a friend in the air. Fly "together".
4. Accept feedback readily, and encourage discussion. The instructor just might learn something too.

Of the 4 instructors I had, 2 had all of the above, one had most, and one was lacking in most...
I have a few suggestions for this list.

First, the instructor must know exactly how big a deviation/mistake he can permit the student to make while remaining confident that he/she can intervene timely to salvage the situation; knowing these limits is what makes an instructor seem "calm", and what engenders the student's trust.

Second, the instructor should be evaluating and critiquing the maneuver, not the student, and should praise the performance. She/He's not there to judge you as a person.

Third, the proper role for the instructor is as a mentor/coach, which isn't quite the same as a friend.

Fourth, the instructor must have a broad enough repertoire that he/she can change methodology to suit the student's learning style, background, and progress, and the awareness of when such a change is called for.
 
I have a question for those outside the UK. What happens for students who want to fly a single-seat, can they get training?

It’s extremely difficult for a single-seat student to qualify in the UK. We have one veteran instructor who has been trying to ease up for the past 30 years (bless him!), one assistant instructor who can only train under our veteran’s supervision (is that right, Leigh?), and one new recently converted two-seat instructor who has bravely taken the plunge.

The CAA allow instructors to teach exclusively two-seat – and that’s the vast majority – but don’t allow instructors to teach purely single-seat. It’s nuts. There are plenty of options for doing the two-seat bit, yet our regulations mean that to teach on a single-seat, we first have to invest in an expensive factory built machine and train them on that before doing the conversion. No common sense at all.

How do other countries do it?
 
I have a question for those outside the UK. What happens for students who want to fly a single-seat, can they get training?

It’s extremely difficult for a single-seat student to qualify in the UK. We have one veteran instructor who has been trying to ease up for the past 30 years (bless him!), one assistant instructor who can only train under our veteran’s supervision (is that right, Leigh?), and one new recently converted two-seat instructor who has bravely taken the plunge.

The CAA allow instructors to teach exclusively two-seat – and that’s the vast majority – but don’t allow instructors to teach purely single-seat. It’s nuts. There are plenty of options for doing the two-seat bit, yet our regulations mean that to teach on a single-seat, we first have to invest in an expensive factory built machine and train them on that before doing the conversion. No common sense at all.

How do other countries do it?

Good afternoon Shirley,

I don’t know how other countries do it or even how it is commonly done in the USA.

The FAA does not limit the gyroplanes I can train in.

Most of my friends will not train in a single seat gyroplane.

I do not have a lot of flight time in single seat gyroplanes so I may not be the best choice for a single seat flight instructor.

I teach a client to fly in a two place tandem until I feel they are ready to solo.

There is a fairly extensive FAA list of requirements to solo including a knowledge test that I must keep in their file and correct all the wrong answers with the client.

After a careful condition inspection done by a mechanic I trust, I fly their aircraft until I feel like I understand the differences so I can transition them into their single seat gyroplane in the preflight briefing.

We develop check lists for their model gyroplane.

I encourage them to interact with pilots of similar gyroplanes.

I solo them in their single seat with very low wind limits and watch them carefully.

I emphasize rotor management, balancing on the mains and crow hops unless it is something similar to a Dominator.

I fly from an 8,000 foot runway and encourage gentle increases in power for takeoff.

I have also done solos at El Mirage dry lake although I prefer my airport.

I start with power on landings and slowly transition to engine at idle landings.

I slowly increase their wind limits and eventually they build up to solo cross country to airports we have flown to in the tandem.

It is a lengthy process and not cheap.

I have a designated pilot examiner that will issue them a Sport Pilot, Gyroplane rating watching them from the ground limited to single seat privileges.

If they get their Sport Pilot, Gyroplane rating in a two place the FAA allows them to fly a single place with no additional training.

I feel this is a bad idea and encourage clients to get additional instruction to transition into a single place or even a different model two place than they trained in.
 
The U.S. regs would let you fly a three engine turboprop tractor taildragger amphibious 10 seat gyro (if you could find or build one) with no additional endorsements or testing beyond a Private gyroplane rating.
 
It’s extremely difficult for a single-seat student to qualify in the UK. We have one veteran instructor who has been trying to ease up for the past 30 years (bless him!), one assistant instructor who can only train under our veteran’s supervision (is that right, Leigh?), and one new recently converted two-seat instructor who has bravely taken the plunge.

Yes Shirley it is difficult but, although it took a while, we managed to preserve a way to keep the single seat route open expensive and difficult as it is. At least we do have I think a reasonable syllabus that when followed should produce a safe single seat pilot.
Tony remains the only Instructor/Examiner in Eire though Shay Bennan is now a qualified Instructor, and we produced their syllabus for two seat and single.

There are I think possibly two or three besides Tony who can do single seat instruction, Chris Jones up in Kirkbride/Carlisle is one, I think David Beevers another, I believe Phil Bennet has expressed interest, Tony and I were with Andy Jones in Wales when he converted to single seat and he was sharing Tim Morely’s LA-8 and he has expressed interest. Mike Concannon in Ireland who is presently intending to produce the LA-8 does have I think three he is building for people, one of whom may be Andy.

At this stage I continue to assist Tony and love doing so but have given up the idea of continuing the rating as I am neither interested in doing it as a profession or buying a two seater either to fly or to train on. I had been a fixed wing Instructor for many years and just enjoy passing on the little knowledge I have. Viv who was also doing it with us I think has dropped the idea but continues to join us at Enstone where Tony and I continue with three of his single seat students.

I think there may slowly be some interest building in single seaters in the UK as the two seaters are pretty expensive to buy and run. There certainly aren’t many active single seat gyros around. Francis down in St Meryn has a friend building one who is interested. He has a couple in the hanger, a Bensen which I will be flying this summer, ( COVID willing), has taken nearly two years to get a permit to test, let alone fly. G-BCGB which I was flying has been in bits for a while. Working on the new one, which has now been slowed by the present virus lockdown.
(Doesn’t life get in the way sometimes.)
 
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