Gyroplanes, what are they?
A gyroplane is a cross between a helicopter and an airplane:
- like a helicopter, the gyroplane is a rotorcraft and uses
rotor blades as a spinning wing to fly
- unlike a helicopter, the rotor blades are not powered directly
by the engine, they use a propeller for forward movement
Maneuverability and cost efficiency
A gyroplane can maneuver and land in a very small area. They have a wide flight envelope of 0 km/h / 0 mph to 160+ km/h / 100+ mph. Gyroplanes are the most maneuverable of aircrafts and they are among the least expensive to operate. A well made and stable gyroplane, like the ones assembled by The 7 Group, can handle wind and wind gusts better than almost all general aviation craft, if piloted by an experienced pilot (wind limit is 80 km/h / 50 mph / 43 knots / 9 Beaufort).
Compared to other aircrafts gyroplanes are inexpensive to purchase and very affordable to maintain.
Gyroplanes are safe and are one of the safest aircrafts out there, but only if used by a trained and safety conscious pilot. It is essential to train well educated and reliable pilots to fly a gyroplane.
As of June 2011, the three biggest European gyroplane producers have already sold more than 1300 gyroplanes worldwide and not one of these rotorcrafts crashed due to a technical failure or strong wind.
Gyroplane vs. Helicopter
A gyroplane can fly slower than airplanes and will not stall, they can fly as fast as helicopters but cannot hover (The minimum speed of a gyroplane is 0 km/h / mph but at that “speed” it is losing height; the minimal horizontal speed is some 30-40 km/h / 18-25 mph). Since rotor blades on a gyroplane are powered only by the air (autorotation), there is no need for a tail rotor for anti-torque. The gyroplane is a stable flying platform, unlike a helicopter which pulls the air down through engine powered rotor blades making it possible to hover, but also making the aircraft very complicated and expensive to fly. Due to the gyroplane’s inherent simplicity, it is easier to operate and less expensive to maintain than helicopters.
Helicopters at low altitude and out of ground effect, avoid hovering whenever possible, to fix surveillance on one spot, the proper procedure for all helicopters is to circle in a slow orbit. A gyroplane can circle in slow orbit like a helicopter, making it the best and by far most economical platform for surveillance and monitoring purposes.
Advantages of gyroplanes
- no stalling possible, no tailspin, no tail rotor – a main
source of failure and accidents with helicopters),
- uses minimum take-off distances (20–80 m / 65–262 ft),
barely any landing distance required (only 30–50 m / 98–164 ft)
- can fly at extremely low speeds
- has a wide speed range
- uses minimal set-up times
- easy to transport
- uses minimum storage space
- is safe and comfortable even during strong winds and turbulences
- uses about 10% of the acquisition and operational costs of a helicopter, with 10% of the price you can fulfill 90% of the tasks carried out by a helicopter using a gyroplane