In June, my friend, Robert, treated me to a training ride in a gyroplane with his favorite flight instructor at Yolo County airport out Davis. I had never been up in a two-person plane before, let alone a gyroplane, where there are these whirly blades above you can barely see, no canopy, and a complete novice (me) at the controls. What a rush!
Robert taking my picture with his digital camera in front of the training gyro.
Robert getting ready to fly with our instructor (Scott).
To get started, Scott manually spins the rotor before taxiing out on the runway. From then, the forward motion gets the blades going faster, eventually providing enough lift for take-off.
The trainer gyroplane on the ground -- click on the picture to load the MPEG of its landing.
My turn in the gyroplane....