Technology

A Gyrocopter basically works like his older sibling, the helicopter. However, the Gyrocopter is controlled by tilting the rotor. The Rotor, once off the ground, is powered not by an engine but by the air stream (“Autorotation”).

Gyrocopters only need a small runway of 10m to 100m in order to become airborne.

History

In 1920, Juan de la Cierva invented the first Autogyro. The Spanish engineer, who had just survived a plane crash, was looking for an aircraft that would not allow for an airflow disruption to occur. After years of experiments, he developed an early version of the Gyrocopter, that, in case of engine failure, would gently float to the ground – similar to maple keys.

Security

Since the rotor is powered by the upward passage of air, the Gyrocopter is only exposed to very little mechanical stress. No complex gear is required that could hold the risk of failure.

Famous Gyrocopter Flights

In the movies, the Gyrocopter first gained worldwide attention when Sean Connery was steering “Little Nelly” across an Asian island in the James Bond flick “You Only Live Twice”. Unlike our Gyrocopter, Little Nelly was equipped with two flamethrowers, two rocket launchers and a pair of maschine guns. We thought we’d do without those “extras”.