Chuck, I really honestly don't think some people in the gyro community know how forgiving and easy a truely stable gyro is.
I think that just because the gyro isn't a extreme handful, or that they can even fly it hands off, that they assume it is stable.
In my opinion, if they got to make corrections in flight, that if not done may result in a crash, then that gyro is certainly not stable. If you have to pull the throttle back and pull the stick back to " stabilize " the gyro because it pitched up or down or yawed hard one way or the other because of a gust or thermal or downdraft..... then it is not stable.
Flying a stable gyro in the air, all that any pilot needs to know that is special to gyroplanes, is to avoid low or negative G loading, and don't attempt any loops or other low G risk aerobatics. If a fixed wing pilot used to stick and rudder flying wanted to "learn" to fly gyros, if the gyro is stable all the pilot will really need instruction on is rotor management so he doesn't flap the blades on takeoff or let's them hit the ground, or wind get under them from the side....
The people flying machines like RAF's need to ask themselves, would they let just any pilot fly their gyros? Do they ever have to make corrections in flight that involve chopping power and " stabilizing " the gyro? Then ask themselves why they choose to fly a gyro like that, and if they knew more about gyro design and flight handling, would they still choose the unstable machine.
