AutoGyro USA Gyrocopters

 That Italian design is an open cockpit tandem seating experience that opened my eyes to the fact that a fixed wing pilot can make a reasonably fast transition to rotorcraft ... so long as we're talking gyroplane. To make another of our video pilot reports, Bob and flew around for nearly an hour. I was reintroduced to the ease of flying gyros and introduced to the AutoGyro family.

The German company is reportedly the largest buyer of Rotax 912 engines of any airplane producer on the planet and they are having a great run overseas. Their models include the open cockpit tandem MTO Sport, fully enclosed tandem seating Calidus, and deluxe side-by-side seating Cavalon.

One thing is sure: these are not your Benson gyros of years past. The Europeans have shepherded these flying machines into the new millennium and they are some impressive works of construction.

Building an AutoGyro kit will consume about 40 hours, said Robert. They offer a guided program at their Stevensville, Maryland facility and like to start people first thing on a Monday morning so a kit can be finished at the end of a single week (naturally depending somewhat on the aptitude of the builder). So while you must build and cannot buy ready-to-fly other than as a used aircraft, the kit endeavor is one of the shortest in aviation.

Prices are good, too, running from around $70,000 for a very complete MTO Sport to about $88,000 for the enclosed Calidus to roughly $120,000 for the top-of-the-line Cavalon. At below $90-grand, the model I flew represents a good value in a most interesting aircraft. Especially given a gyro's ability to handle winds much more easily than a light fixed wing (let alone powered parachutes or weight shift trikes), and since gyroplanes fly significantly like a fixed wing, I found myself wanting more.

You can get training from Robert via their link to Chesapeake Sport Pilot and a Sport Pilot certificate is acceptable to fly gyros.

http://www.ultralightflyer.com -- Calidus Autogryo - Dan Johnson gives us a look at the Calidus Autogyro from Autogyro USA, during the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, held at the Sebring Regional Airport Sebring Florida.

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