Rotor

Matthieu de Quillacq told us Monday at Oshkosh that he is “a lucky man” and not because he survived his trip to Oshkosh from the south of France in his Italian-made Kompress CH-7 very light helicopter. Long before the weeklong trip that brought Quillacq to AirVenture Oshkosh 2010, Quillacq won a timed point-to-point navigation...
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gas turbine turboprop ultralight part 103 flies about 10 minutes around river valley over golf course and lands. Turbine flight #53
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Autogyro / Gyrocopter Emergency landing on video Engine Out, Emergency Landing of a gyroplane ( gyrocopter / autogyro ) in a cow pasture. This is the only known video footage of an engine out captured Air-to-Air. Greg Spicola captured what is believed to be the only existing Air-To-Air footage of a gyro engine out event. Greg...
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“Copter simulator Even has collective on the side of training chair, and left, right tail rotor pedals. I know its an RC but what a way to train people.”
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According to NASA, the way to make a helicopter safer is to crash it – under strict guidance, of course. In order to test the effectiveness of a new “airbag” system – which is actually an expandable honeycomb cushion called a deployable energy absorber – NASA aeronautics researchers at Langley loaded four crash test...
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Norman Surplus encountered a major setback recently in his bid to circle the globe in an autogyro when he was forced to ditch his heavily laden aircraft in a lake after attempting a takeoff from Nongprue, Thailand in cross-winds and high temperatures. Norman, who departed Northern Ireland in late March and planned to be on...
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A Dominator tandem gyrocopter being demonstrated at a microlight open day at Hamilton New Zealand. The owner and pilot Grant Simpson can sure fly this thing. He told me a single seater is even better for manoeuvering. It has a turbocharged Sub4 engine and an Autoflight gear reduction gearbox. These were made by Neil Hintz at Autoflight...
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A man died after the rotor blades of his gyrocopter cut through the tail section as he prepared to land at an airfield in North Dorset, a report has found. Brian Errington-Weddle, 57, was killed on impact when his RAF 2000 kit-built gyrocopter came down near the village of Kington Magna, close to Henstridge airfield,...
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Boeing’s A160T Hummingbird UAV has successfully completed a simulated mission test proving the unmanned rotorcraft’s ability to resupply frontline troops in rough terrain. The demonstration saw the A160T carry 1,250-pound sling loads over two 150-nautical-mile round trips operating autonomously on a pre-programmed mission. The demonstration proved the craft is capable of delivering at least...
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The Dragonfly DF1 is a helicopter that uses rockets attached to the tips of its blades to power it instead of a conventional fixed motor attached to the body. The rockets produce no pollution and are fueled by 70 percent hydrogen peroxide (H202) supplied by a pair if fuel tanks surrounding the pilot’s seat....
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Quick recap of the 2009 Bensen Days in Wachula, FL. Gyros and Helicopters flying along with powered parachutes and airplanes. Everybody is welcome. Join us again in 2010, April 21-26.
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The Autogyro Calidus ‘09 was launched in March of 2009 as a result of strong demand for an Autogyro that had a fully enclosed canopy. The new Autogyro now makes it even more comfortable for those pilots who prefer not to have the wind rushing through the cockpit. With all the features that make the MTO...
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Trying to fly my new Mosquito Air Ultralight Helicopter. Notice the last clip my right leg got stuck to the ground! Turns out the builder put the rivets that hold the pads on upside down so it’s like cleats instead of being smooth bottoms like the instructions call for. Mosquito Air ultralight helicopter by Innovator...
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Some pretty remarkable footage of Helitack Operations at Yosemite National Park. In this training the copter gets right up against the rocks in Yosemite.
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Students at Virginia Tech’s Unmanned Systems Laboratory are perfecting an autonomous helicopter they hope will never be used for its intended purpose. Roughly six feet long and weighing 200 pounds, the re-engineered aircraft is designed to fly into American cities blasted by a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb. Its main mission would be to...
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The builder said, “after the first mako I built some year ago, here you can find some pics of my new enclosed autogyro (named Mako Executive), few tecnical data engine 912 rotax + turbo added by me to get 120 hp rotorblades Dragon wings 28 feets gross weight 280 kg with ballistic parachute (in case of shoting the...
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…you’ll like this impressive video: This is a promotion video of the Auto-Gyro MTO-Sport. www.auto-gyro.com www.gyrokopter.se Special thanks to Rikard Erixsson on Yearzero.
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Rare footage of the submarine launched observation autogyro, the Fa-330. The gyrocopter was folded up and stored in a watertight tube and would be carried underwater by the u-boat.
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An autogyro, also known as gyroplane, gyrocopter, or rotaplane, is a type of rotorcraft which utilises an unpowered rotor in autorotation to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller, similar to that of a fixed-wing aircraft, to provide thrust. While similar to a helicopter rotor in appearance, the autogyro’s rotor must have air flowing up...
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Mosquito XET Turbine helicopter – the flagship model of the five Mosquito ultralight and experimental personal light helicopters. With a purchase price of just over $40,000 and total operating costs of just over $30 per hour this is the most economical high performance jet helicopter available. The XET can be used for personal and...
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While on a short flight this pilot experiences an engine out. As he says, “yes it is a mac…..It burned a piston…..there was a cow in the field so I just put it down not to have any roll in the tall grass” Numbi Airfield, close to the Kruger National Park, South AFrica. What an awesome...
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The year was 1975. Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and Mitchell are convicted of Watergate crimes. “Wheel Of Fortune,” debuts on NBC-TV. Lynette Fromme is sentenced to life for attempt on President Ford’s life. And Igor Benson and others gather to celebrate the gyrocopter! Oh, and high quality video cameras are a distant...
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Kernersville, NC — Kernersville Police are investigating a plane crash behind a home on Graves Mill Road. The experimental aircraft went down around 2:00 Saturday afternoon behind the home of the pilot. Police have not released the pilot’s name, but say he is an aeronautical engineer who was testing the aircraft when the crash happened. Read More
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Nice footage of a two seat gyrocopter from a German TV show. Even if you don’t speak German, the video shots are very good. Includes a tour of the gyrocopter factory. German Website
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“We almost died!” “And now I am almost going to kill you!” Low level flying due to fog and for a joke the pilot turned on the stall alarm, pointed the nose down and screamed out. I screamed out too thinking we were going to plow into the ground 2 seconds later, life flash! Send the...
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An experienced helicopter pilot’s quick thinking prevented disaster when he steered his powerless craft away from houses in Mountain View to ditch into an open field at the weekend. Anton von Willich, 49, walked away from the wreck without a scratch on Saturday after crash-landing his home-built single-seat Helicycle in a field along Merwede Street. Von...
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In the late 1930’s after the first flight by the Wright brothers still fresh in the memory of many Americans and most of the world, many flying machines were built by enthusiasts around the globe. In Medellin, Colombia, late 1930’s, one of my older of 7 brothers and his cousin began with the idea of...
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A collection of the most recent YouTube clips of RC Autogyros, followed by a series of recent Full Scale Autogyro clips. Modeled after the Awesome Apache Longbow Ah-64, this AG-64 autogyro is easy to fly and is aerobatic 1º vuelo del autogyro “el Gallego” motor .25 Glow- 4 canales RPG AUTOGYRO I put it together in 20...
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While military concerns first brought the helicopter to Alaska, commercial success soon proved rotary-wing aircraft were indispensable to the U.S.’s northernmost state, as Bob Petite reports in this article from the December-January issue of Vertical. Alaska’s vast regions of spectacular mountains, majestic forests, glaciers, rivers, streams and coastlines have fascinated explorers since before the United...
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Some claim this is a fake, a homebuilt Gyro in China.   Some of the pictures give it a VERY crude look.   Seems like a lot of work to fake.
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Bensen Gyrocopter The basic Bensen Gyrocopter design is a simple frame of square aluminium or galvanized steel tubing, reinforced with triangles of lighter tubing. It is arranged so that the stress falls on the tubes, or special fittings, not the bolts. A front-to-back keel mounts a steerable nosewheel, seat, engine, and a vertical stabilizer. Outlying...
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Playing around in my ELA gyrocopter on New Year’s Day Start und Landung in Marl mit einem Gyrocopter. lernfliegen in NRW. Die Tragschrauber – Flugschule in der Kulturhauptstadt 2010 in NRW. Gyrokopter Pilotenschein ..
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It’s entirely possible Don Lafleur’s Kindersley-based company bore no responsibility whatsoever for the home-built “gyroplane” crash that killed a man named Ken Becker in Michigan on July 4, 2005. But the very existence of an American lawsuit pointing a finger of blame at the family run Saskatchewan firm was enough to destroy the business, Lafleur...
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THE family of a man who died when his gyrocopter crashed in the Murraylands watched helplessly from a houseboat moored on the river as the tragedy unfolded. Terry Arnold, aged in his 50s, was the sole occupant of the small helicopter when it crashed in a paddock in Purnong, near Mannum, about 1pm. It is believed...
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