I can now consider myself an autogyro pilot since I have successfully flown and landed my gyro several times. I have to say that the learning curve is steep even though I am an experience fixed wing pilot. Alot of my questions were answered at www.autogyro.com, but it seems that the website is no longer working. No one in my club has any experience with this type of flying and I was left searching this and other sites to try to learn. So, I was wondering if there would be any interest in a beginner's thread. Maybe a sticky at the top of this forum that pilots new to autogyros could read before asking questions that have no doubt been asked many times. It could also have tips that new pilots wouldn't think of asking.



I'll start with some of the lessons I learned the hard way.

1) Gyrocopters are hard to see in the air. They don't have a large wing for reference and are easy to lose orientation with. Although it is against what I would do with a fixed wing aircraft, I would recommend keeping the first few flights relatively close and low.

2) Coordinated turns are almost a must. At least with my gyro, if I try to bank with aileron (rotor tilt) alone and pull back on the elevator, it results in a very steep and scary turn. Coordinated rudder makes the turns much flatter and more calm.

3) Hand launching may be the best option if you're having trouble taking off the ground. Although it's a little unnerving having a rotor spinning above you and a prop in front, mine at least is easy to hand launch. I just tilt the craft up at about a 45 degree angle into the wind and let the blades spin up. When they're up to speed, just open up the throttle level the gyro and give it a toss.




I encourage everyone to add what they've learned or maybe some general tips. Maybe we can all learn something.