GyroSchool News

7 February 2012 - Gyro Awareness Course

The first Gyro Awareness Course was run at Stoke airfield 27 January 2012 and was well attended by a number of pilots with a variety of hours flown on differing aircraft types The course looked at Human Performance, Meteorology and Gyroplane Technical. It also looked at the most recent recurring incidents eg tail strikes, roll overs and take-off performance or lack of it. Why they happen and how to prevent them from happening. Experiences being shared by the participants and the instructors alike. The course was devised by Marc Lhermette (FIE), Peter Davis (FIC) and Kai Maurer (FI) and is designed for pilots to explore how and why some of these incidents occur and how we may respond, react and apply ourselves to prevent or reduce the risk of these types of incidents happening. There will be a certificate awarded to those attending (the course is not compulsory) which has the added bonus of an insurance discount with some insurers. For more information on further dates please get in touch via email here at Gyro School.

11 November 2011 - Cavalon at Stoke

The Cavalon was a huge success at Stoke airfield when it was introduced to everyone this week. Various pilots flew in for the event which was well attended and gave everyone a chance to sit in it as well as a close-up look at the superb engineering. The day got better as the sun came out in its full glory and allowed various flights in the Calidus for those interested in finding out what it was like to fly in the enclosed tandem aircraft. Build quality and outright styling will put both aircraft at the top of their game with little to match. The aircraft do not look dated and certainly remain head turners wherever you may fly into. It is good to see things advance and develop and we are happy to be part of this development.

19 August 2011 - Flying in France

We have finally received our exemption to fly in France. The DGAC have issued an exemption to fly a UK Gyro in France as a ULM under 'arrêté modifié du 23 septembre 1998' - which means in basic terms that a 500kg UK registered autogyro can fly legally in France as long as it flies legally with a max MTOW of 450kg. This stipulation forms part of your validation of a foreign airworthiness document / Permit to fly as issued by the DGAC. Cost for the exemption is 50 Euros.

3 August 2011 - 1st British Gyroplane Competition a huge success

After a lot of preparation, logistics and obtaining the Rule 5(3)b exemption from the CAA to fly low, the competition and fly-in at Damyns Hall Aerodrome on July 30th was an enormous success. 14 Gyroplanes arrived for the fly-in on the day in glorious sunshine with 10 Gyroplanes taking part in the competition. Many more spectators and supporters made the journey by car. As the airfield was very busy with Helicopter and fixed wing traffic, it was important for the organizers that safety was at the forefront and a thorough briefing was held beforehand. This was the very first time that the UK has seen any sort of competition for gyroplanes of all types and the response has been exceptional. The judges were judging on precision flying and precision positioning so all participants are to be congratulated for their efforts and enthusiasm in taking part. It was a joy to see so many Gyroplanes being flown and handled by their pilots in a professional and precise manner, whilst maintaining professional airmanship at a very busy airfield. The winners of 1st British Gyroplane Competition 2011 were: 1st Place: Phil Robinson, 2nd Place: Kevin Snell and in 3rd Place: Rob Slight – many congratulations from everyone and well done.

18 March 2011 - 1. Open Gyroplane Competitions & Fly-In 2011

It is official: The first open gyroplane competition are being arranged this year at Damyns Hall aerodrome EGML. We are very excited to be party to organizing it as this has never been done before. We are hoping for a nice turn-out with all sorts of different gyros participating and flying in. For those of you simply wanting to fly in to have a look, please do so - there is no obligation to part-take in the competition. Although support is a must, so we hope to see you there. Please register for this event by clicking on the competition entry tap and simply fill in the form. We look forward to seeing you there. Even if you do not have a gyro, do pop along in support. All the details including entry forms to the competition can be found here www.autorotation.net