About Gyroplanes

So what is the big deal about gyroplanes?

Gyroplanes (or gyrocopters) represent a silent revolution in personal aviation that has taken off in recent years: like microlights they are small two-seater flying machines, but unlike microlights they fly as stable as a Jumbo Jet even in gusty conditions, cannot stall, and can land in spaces as small as a tennis court.

How gyroplanes fly

Although they look similar to helicopters, their construction and way of flying is completely different. To put it simply, gyroplanes have spinning blades on top to provide lift (similar to helicopters), but the rotors are not powered by the engine. Instead, gyroplanes have a propeller engine at the back that provides thrust. As the propeller moves the gyroplane forward, it pushes wind through the rotor blades, which self-propel (auto-rotate) due to the way the air flows through them. This makes them spin progressively faster until the lift they produce raises the gyroplane into the air. The diagram below shows the main difference in operation between a helicopter and a gyroplane.

Gyroplanes cannot stall

If the engine fails, the pilot does not even need to keep up the airspeed. As the gyroplane begins to descend, air still flows into the rotors from below, keeping them auto-rotating and damping the descent to a speed similar to a parachute.

Mind you, you would not want to land this way, as you would seriously damage your machine and hurt yourself! But it does make it feasible to land in a very short space.

They are stable and easy to fly

Gyrocopters tend to be easier to fly as they have only three flight controls (rudder pedals, a throttle and a control stick) — far simpler than a plane or helicopter, making them perfect for beginners who have never flown before. They also don’t require as much space to take off or land: most modern gyrocopters need only around 20 metres of runway to get airborne, and about the same for the touchdown roll. That means they can be flown from practically anywhere and, above all, can land safely even in very rough fields given their extremely low touchdown speed (typically 15 mph).

They are very manoeuvrable

Because the stick controls the entire rotor — not just small flaps on wings as in an aeroplane — gyroplanes can perform extremely tight turns impossible for other small aircraft: a very welcome ability should you need to manoeuvre into a small field during an emergency landing.

Can they take off vertically, and hover?

No, they cannot: that would require a powered rotor, so only helicopters can do it. For the same reason they cannot hover without losing height. However, gyroplanes can fly as slowly as 35 mph, so holding position over the ground is practically possible on a breezy day by simply pointing the gyroplane into wind.

When were gyroplanes created?

The father of the gyrocopter is Juan de la Cierva, a Spanish engineer who in the early 1920s was determined to create an aircraft that could fly safely at low speeds. De la Cierva built several prototypes (the C1, C2 and C3), but all failed due to mistakes in the rotor design — until 1923, when he completed a full flight with the C4 model, which he called the autogiro. And thus the modern gyrocopter was born.

So why their recent rise in popularity?

After the invention of the helicopter, gyroplanes took the back stage and were limited to home-built machines. This all changed in recent years, when factory-built gyroplanes certified to strict aviation standards arrived on the market. Today, dozens of companies offer models with different seating capacities, in open or fully enclosed versions.