My dad is getting interested in building a gyroplane and soon may be getting a ride in someone else's Magni M16 Autogyro (exact one pictured). My impression is that kit planes are amongst the most dangerous forms of aviation. My dad is a structural engineer (PhD), so I am certain he wouldn't take any engineering shortcuts or skip maintenance procedures. However I can't help but be concerned... Thoughts? All the best, Andrew. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Your Dad did a good job raising you, yes? You and your siblings are adequately prepared for independence from your parents, yes? You trust that he would be fully engaged in all activities related to his own safety, yes? If anything should happen to him, he has adequately prepared his affairs so that your mother is taken care of, yes? If all answers are yes, quit worrying and let the man go have some fun!
http://www.ezgyro.com/intro_EN.html How safe is it to fly a gyroplane Consider the following: Gyroplanes will not stall (loose lift), as airplanes can, making them safer at low speeds. Unlike helicopter whose rotors are turned by the engine and a complex pitching mechanism has to be mastered by years of training, gyrocopter rotors are free rotating without any connection to the propeller engine. Aerodynamically stable gyroplanes designs are much safer in turbulent winds. Landings are typically made at very slow airspeeds and can be made safely in very short distances. Rotorcraft are typically much safer structural designs as their structures are compact and do not rely on cantilever wings. Today, pilots who fly more stable designs and earn their gyroplane pilot ratings with professional gyroplane flight instructors fly much safer. If engine quits, you glide. If the engine stops in mid air, the pilot eases the control stick forward to keep his airspeed and glides to a landing. Because the gyroplane flies in autorotation, the pilot doesn’t have to do anything to the rotor blades. A gyroplane has a steeper glide ratio than an airplane, typically four or five feet forward for every one foot downward which means that the forward roll is also very short, great for emergency landing in the smaller of areas (50’ x 50’ or 15m x15m) Advantages of owning and flying a gyrocopter/gyroplane - An open air feeling of real flying, just like flying used to be; - Flies like a baby fighter plane, very maneuverable in the air, narrow place and closer to or as far to the ground as you like it; - Amazing view from front seat/open cockpit or with large windows with no obstruction; - Very low prices, compared to airplanes/helicopters; - Low fuel costs, using unleaded auto fuel; - Very Low maintenance costs, compared to airplanes/helicopters; - No hangar needed, keep gyroplane in your garage; - Take gyroplane to the airport on a small trailer; - In emergency, land on a 50 x 50-foot spot (15 m square); Missions Private Use: flight for fun; passenger transport; Crop Spray works; Utility Company; TV station; etc. Police and Para-military Use: Airborne law enforcement; Air surveillance; cost guard; forest conservation patrol; etc. The most important fact about flying a gyroplane Gyroplane flight training! This is a unique aircraft. If you drive a car you still need to get a motorcycle training if you want to ride a motorcycle. The analogy is the same. Get some gyrocopter training before to see if you like gyroplane flying. Get an instructor to test-fly your gyroplane. Complete flight training for an FAA gyroplane rating to fly safely. Top Ten Autogyro Crashes HI DEF - YouTube KITPLANES The Independent Voice for Homebuilt Aviation - Gyroplane Safety - KITPLANES Magazine Article Like all objects put in motion, they can impact things, especially the ground. The rotor is the most dangerous bit, as in an impact it often hits the ground and breaks apart and flips the cart over. They can be flaired should there be a loss of power with sufficient altitude. Look up Ken Wallis
They are indeed dangerous, even for experienced pilots. The folks that sell the kits underestimate how unforgiving they can be. Your dad's high IQ and advanced education could actually be a liability for him. He probably thinks (subconsciously of course) that he can think his way out of trouble. Not necessarily true. Doctors and dentists (also smart guys) are well represented among crash statistics.
A few years ago, I attended a fly-in at a local airport. One of the participants arrived in a single-seat gyroplane. I overheard some of the fixed wing pilots in attendance refer to it as the "death chair".
It's not a matter of concern for the family, provisions are in place, it's that I'm concerned that it's a pretty dangerous activity for a loved one. I can't say the above reading material was very soothing, particularly with the crash video included... Ken Wallis lived to a good age though and certainly seemed to enjoy his gyroplanes. All the best, Andrew.
Gyroplanes are a cruel mistress, they are much like African prostitutes. You may think you are getting a bargain by entering into congress with a much maligned and under appreciated actor in the art. But what a fools bargain, all that lies beyond is death and disappointment.
OK, to all the prev posters, raise your hand if you have ANY gyro stick time. Hello? Bueller? Yeah - that's what I thought. So, here's the perspective from an EE, and prev gyrocopter pilot. I helped build and flew a Benson B-8M, with a McCulloch drone engine, and also one with a converted VW engine. I've also flown a more modern Monarch with a two stroke Rotax engine. I have about 27 hours total in gyros before I gave up and went fixed wing. Without going all engineering about it, the gyro is both pretty safe, and also pretty darn dangerous. The craft itself has some limitations based on how it's designed and built. Most are pusher style these days which provides some benefits but also some pitfalls. The biggest and most serious can be discussed right now, and that is called PPO, or Power Push Over. PPO deserves it own paragraph because it has been the direct cause of plenty of accidents, and has been contributing in many others. Gyro pilots find themselves in a PPO situation when they get too slow, and try to 'hover' or fly behind the power curve of the rotating wing. Like a fixed wing plane, the gyro needs forward speed to produce lift. As the gyro gets slower and slower in the air, the lift produced by the rotor becomes insufficient to hold the plane up in the air, and the craft begins to descend. The common, and natural reaction in this situation is to: 1) firewall the throttle. 2) pull back on the stick. In a gyro, when you do these two things, the thrust line of the power output is well below the aerodynamic vertical center of gravity. In short - the rotor hub is well above the thrust line, and as you can image visually, the craft then acts like a pendulum with a force imparted below the pivot point(rotor head). When this happens, the pilot will try to pull back more, thinking this will make the craft rise. It does not, and they often will mush right into the ground. Some pilots finally 'get it' and push the stick far forward while keeping the power on, which can lead to a rotor becoming unloaded(supporting no mass), which can be really, really bad by causing all kinds of disasters with the rotor, hub, etc. What needs to happen when a pusher engine gyro gets too slow is to let off the throttle, and push the stick smartly forward to get it 'flying' again on the front side of the power curve, and gently lead in power to maintain forward airspeed. As you can imagine, this is counter-intuitive, and must be learned very well so that muscle memory takes over in that situation. Also, you will lose a significant amount of altitude during the maneuver, in fact it's quite similar to a stall in a fixed wing plane. Given than many gyros are flown close to the ground, one can see where the flaw in this plan is as well. Piloting a pusher engine gyro low and slow is only for the expert pilots. Next, we'll talk about the flight profile, because this is the next regime where gyros get squirrelly. Flying a gyro, in the open air, at low altitudes down valleys and around hills is a fantastic feeling, but it's dangerous as heck. Absolutely no one I know flies their gyro more than 1000' AGL. Some antennas are well above this, and so are the guy wires that hold them. I loved flying along the beach, or around the hills until I got whacked with a nasty down draft. So - what do you do when you are going down 500FPM and you are 1000' AGL? Well, of course - one firewalls the power, and pulls back on the stick. Ruh-roh, see PPO above. Next we get to talk about engine out performance. Cuz engines in experimental planes do fail, and although the gyro will land with very little airspeed, the descent profile of a gyro with the engine off is pretty aggressive. So, you pick a spot right down below you maybe 45deg down, and plan for that. You can stretch your glide a little, but airspeed given up in the air, will cost you when you come to land. Better to have extra forward speed when you get to the ground, so that you can manage your landing with some energy. There's more but this is a start. It can all be managed by some good training. A new gyro pilot needs to be able to recognize and manage situations where the craft is not moving the way the pilot wants. There are a few tractor gyros out there, but most are pusher config and need training to fly safe. Also, in the event of a crash there is almost no structure to protect the pilot. What makes it so great, also contributes to the lack of safety. Now the good news. Gyros are very maneuverable. They are fun, and in a way fairly low cost. You never really 'go' anywhere in a gyro so navigation is rather pedestrian. Rather than a gyro, the BackYard Flyer provides similar recreation to the gyro without the dangers involved. I don't have any link to them, but they cost is lower, and the safety is higher. I would recommend that for anyone thinking of gyros. Some links: Popular Rotorcraft Association :: Gyroplane Stability Gyrocopter Training International - How to fly gyrocopters RAF 2000 Dynamic Rotor Trim Stabilator The Backyard Flyer. Valley Engineering - Back Yard Flyer UL
There are good designs out there and they are all only as safe as you operate them to be. I had an aeronautical engineer friend get killed in one that he modified somehow… I also have friends that have flown the crap out of them for years with nary a hiccup. I've witnessed a crash in one not 50 feet away but they made it out mostly unharmed and damned lucky. When you operate anything outside its envelope you can expect bad things to happen. Fly anything as it is designed to be and fun prevails. As for kit aviation being more dangerous than factory built, I can't agree. A well designed aircraft like any of the Van's RV stuff for example, is as good or better than factory built design wise. The difference is made by the person building it whose skills and attention to detail can vary infinitely.
I'm not a gyro-man, but the one in the OP's photo looks a heck of a lot more substantial and rational than most of those homemade "flying lawn chair with a motor" types That Japanese one in the crash video doing the forward roll was a good example of the weirdness you get when the cg, wings, and thrust axis are offset as docmirror described -- sure looked like, in a moment of panic, he jumped on the throttle, and it just rolled the thing forward.
The NTSB stats and the FAA do not agree with you. No matter the design, and no matter the operator, the stats show that EXP aviation has a significantly higher accident and fatal rate than std airworthiness cert GA. To the point where the FAA is possibly taking action on EXP aviation to solve the 'problem'(I don't have a problem with it being more risky, it is Experimental after all). A 1959 Cessna with a Conti O-200 will go about 102MPH. The same engine with a wood prop will push well designed and built Vari-Eze around 180MPH. There's no free lunch, and the Vari-Eze was supposed to be the safe alternative to two person aviation. Sure, it won't stall(actually it will, and I've done it), but there's much more to aviation safety than stalls. The Vari-Eze even when built as designed by Rutan is twitchy, and floaty, and slick, and poor visibility in landing, and pitch sensitive(with stock canard), and on and on. It was so tricky to fly safe that Rutan came out with the Long-Eze to solve all the issues that Joe Saturday pilot got into with the Vari-Eze, including adding a bunch of weight, and upping the gross beyond spec, which can't be done with the std AW cert. Sorry, I wish it weren't so but wishes aren't fishes.
Andrew, I will again suggest that your father investigate some of the FAA Part 103 single seat ultralight planes such as the Backyard Flyer or another suitable type. If he is still intent on getting into a gyro, it's critical that he get suitable training. Not just in normal ops but particularly in emergency procedures so that at the first sign of some anomaly he can take corrective action to prevent or minimize accident damage. Something with a BRS would be my suggestion. Best of luck.
