www.PSFmagazine.com | September-October 2019 | 33 32 | September-October 2019 | Powered Sport Flying Details and Registration MasterTheGyroplane.info Dr Phil Harwood Founder: IAPGT Three Great Symposium Events, One Awesome Location Master the Gyroplane Biosphere2, Oracle, Arizona ü “Gyroplane Technical Made Simple”. Understand the Gyroplane. ü “You Don’t Fly a Gyroplane Like a Fixed Wing Aircraft”. Learn the Differences. ü Review Lessons Learned Worldwide. Promote “Risk Averse” to your Insurer. Instructor Collaboration Symposium Instructor International Masterclass 23rd-25th October 29th Oct-1st November 26th/27th October 2019 Master the Gyroplane by Stephanie Gremminger Gyroplane Record Attempt Catching up with James Ketchell I hadn’t attended Oshkosh in a good 15 years, and I was just as wowed at this year’s ‘Kosh’ (as I saw on many t-shirts) as I was then. Airshows, fireworks, big planes, little planes, loud planes, exhibits, you name it. Kosh does not disappoint. I also caught up to James Ketchell, soon to hold the world’s record for circumnavigating the globe in a Magni M16 gyroplane. I had to ask why. “As a young boy I was interested in aviation, but never believed I could fly anything because I thought you had to be rich,” he explained in his British accent. So he pursued other things—big things— like rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic, climbing to the summit of Mt. Everest, and cycling 18,000 miles around the world. Since he was able to do things like this, he thought maybe flying was in reach. He saved up money and decided to learn to fly the gyro. He jokingly said everyone and their dog flies fixed-wing, including himself, but he was wanting to do something different. He paid a visit to his local airport, Popham Airfield in Hampshire, England and as luck would have it, he met experienced Magni gyro instructor Steve Boxall, whom he connected with very well and caught on to flying the gyro pretty quickly. The wheels were turning and another record making adventure was taking shape in his mind. He didn’t tell his instructor about his plan until he was halfway through his training. His response was predictable—"Yah, sure!” At that point James worked for three years flat-out to get the funding needed for such an adventure. He chose the Magni gyro for a couple of reasons. “First off, it ’s what I learned to fly and when I met the Magni family, I liked them instantly,” Ketchell said. “They were very supportive and didn’ t dismiss my around-the-world idea. I learned just what great people they were when I found myself in a very awkward predicament.” James had secured funding for the gyro from a fairly wealthy contributor, but when push came to shove, the offer was withdrawn. “You only find out what someone is really like when you tell them something they don’ t want to hear,” he said. “I had to explain to the Magnis Press Pass AutoGyro Achieves Type Certification AutoGyro reports that following on from their initial acceptance and pre-approvals, the faa has released certifications for their Cavalon and MTOsport 2017 version models. AutoGyro usa ceo Terri Rose commented, “The day we have been waiting for has arrived, all three of our models are now available as Factory built aircraft here in the usa.” “No other gyroplane company has earned this status and we are proud to be the trailblazer in the gyroplane industry here in the US. We would like to thank the faa for their support and dedication to this project.” The collaboration between the faa, Rotorsport UK ltd, AutoGyro usa and AutoGyro GmbH yielded the success. The faa held a signing ceremony for each of the Type Certificates and invited the team to join the celebration of this major milestone in General Aviation. Type Certificated Gyroplanes, what does this mean? What this means for consumers and others is that factory-built serial production aircraft can be built and test flown in Germany prior to shipping to the United States. Gyroplane assembly as an experimental kit is no longer required to fly these gyroplanes in the United States. For flight instructors owning type certificated AutoGyro models, they will no longer have to apply for Letters of Deviation Authority (lodas) in order to offer flight instruction! New owners can train in their own aircraft immediately after airworthiness, without worrying about Phase One 40 hour fly-offs for amateur-built certificates. The aircraft can also be used for limited commercial use. The type-certificated gyroplanes can be used for rentals or leasebacks, which can provide revenue for those looking for that extra income source. Chief Certification Officer Gerry Speich said, “Flight Instructors are now able to fly their instructional gyroplanes without a loda, and our reliable and safe aircraft can even be operated for commercial use, such as aerial surveillance, police and military use. And let’s not forget they are fabulous fun to fly!”
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