#4: What could I actually do with a gyroplane?

So you've learned to fly a gyroplane and are thinking about acquiring one. But now you're wondering, "What could I do with one"? Anyone in aviation will tell you there’s no such thing as the perfect aircraft. It's like the old adage about most products and services: "Do you want it Fast, Cheap, or Good - pick any two". In aviation, there are more variables than that but there's no single craft that’s perfect in all aspects: an aircraft that can take you from A-B fast, with other people and luggage, and do it cheaply, and give you lots of fun in the experience of the flight. Gyroplanes don't score well in speed or carrying capacity, but they score exceptionally well in the fun factor and low operating costs

What this means is that most gyroplane pilots do use them regularly, primarily for flights that allow them to enjoy being in the sky and seeing the world from the gyro’s unique perspective. I’ve flown a gyro pretty much every week for the last 10 years, and I’ve discovered there are different kinds of flights - here’s how I typically categorize them. (Some flights fall into more than one category, but you’ll get the general idea.)

Category 0: The Practice flight

I put this in a special category because ideally, it’s incorporated into all your flights, one way or another. Just because you passed your checkride and are now a pilot doesn’t mean you should stop practicing. A good pilot is always learning and honing their skills. Whether you choose to concentrate on practicing slow flight, vertical descents, steep/rapid turns, particularly smooth takeoffs and landings, emergency procedures or something else, it’s a very good idea to make some aspect of practice part of your flight routine.

Category 1: The Sightseeing flight.

This is the kind of flight you’ll tend to do quite a lot as you begin to build your flying hours. What cool things are there to see in your local area? I’m lucky enough to be able to count the Pacific Coast, the vineyards of Sonoma and Napa counties, and the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay in mine, so it’s a target-rich environment. The thrill of setting out to see something remarkable and the achievement of experiencing it from above is a very exciting and rewarding thing to work towards. Many of my early flights were simply traveling to see these things from the sky.

Category 2: The Sharing-the-Experience flight

Once you’ve seen something yourself and built some confidence in flying the gyroplane, there’s nothing better than sharing the experience. I’ve taken hundreds of people flying over the years and I get great enjoyment from sharing the unique perspective of the gyroplane with others. You may have flown over something yourself many times, but taking someone else up over it too means you see it afresh through their eyes.

Category 3: The Young Eagles flight

If you’re a pilot already, you may be aware of the Young Eagles program. Organized by the EAA, the Experimental Aviation Association, this 25-year-old  program is a great way for pilots to give something back by flying kids aged 8-17 and giving them a cool adventure they will always remember. Insurance for these flights is covered by the EAA and lots of airports organize Young Eagle events. Typically, you take each kid up for 20-30 minutes of flight and the smiles on their faces and their excitement make it more than worth your while.

Category 4: The Going-Somewhere-New flight

I did a lot of this kind of flight in my first few years of gyro flying. Similar to the Sightseeing Flight, this involves traveling to and from something you want to see, usually involving one or more airport stops along the way. California has 58 counties and for no particularly good reason, I decided to visit all the ones that had an airport I could land at (57). It was easy at the beginning, but California is a big State so it got steadily more challenging as getting to each new county became a trip of several hundred miles and multiple hours. It was a great way to build experience and flight hours. And also to encounter, and deal with, different flight conditions, weather and so on. There are still two counties (the bottom two) I have yet to check off my list. But I’ll get there!

Category 5: The Big-Cross-Country flight

This is an extension of the Going-Somewhere-New flight, involving one or more overnight stops. I try to do at least one of these each year and love the challenge of planning the trips: working out where to stop, where to get fuel and stay the night, what sights to incorporate and so on. I have flown my gyro to multiple different US states and seen amazing things like the Yosemite Valley, Lake Tahoe, the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce National Parks and many more. You can watch videos of some of these flights here. (Link to YouTube channel)

Category 6: The Being in the Sky Flight

Many of my flights don’t really fit into any of the categories above. Sometimes I’m not going anywhere new or to see anything in particular. I’m not traveling far, and I don’t have anyone with me. I just need a flying fix – I need to be in the sky.  Sometimes these kinds of flights have been the most magical. Setting off with no particular goal in mind, I’ve found particularly smooth air or witnessed some animals in their natural environment or seen an amazing sunset. Even when you’re covering an area you know well, every flight is in some way different and that’s part of the magic of it.

These are the kinds of flights I do. Whether you experience all of these types and how quickly you try them is of course up to you, but I recommend each and every one of them and find that the gyroplane is a unique and amazing platform from which to live them.