My First Flight On A Gyrocopter

In May of 2023, I was participating in a Young Eagles Rally at Lincoln Airport and there was a gyrocopter. A gyrocopter looks like a small helicopter but the main difference is that there is no engine turning the rotor blades and the engine is in the back. The rotors self propel due to the way the air flows through them.

The adults that were staffing the event asked all the kids that were older than me if they wanted to fly in the gyro, but no one said “yes.” They hadn’t directed the question at me, so I had to run down there as fast as I could and ask if I was able to ride in it. They said “sure”, and before my parents knew what was happening, I was being strapped into the passenger seat.

Taking Off in the Gyrocopter

Once I was strapped into the passenger seat, I was given a headset so that I wouldn’t go deaf and also be able to hear what the pilot was saying. When we were taxiing I didn’t think it would be much louder than a normal plane but I was proved wrong once we took off. Even with a noise cancelling headset I couldn’t hear a word that Dug, the pilot, was saying. And yes, I do mean “Dug” with a “u”.

Taking off in the gyrocopter was much different than any ordinary plane. There is a spinning propeller blade directly above your head, that isn’t being powered by anything. To take off, you only need to be at 70 MPH. There are no fixed wings.

Flying in the Gyrocopter

Flying in the gyrocopter was loud, but thrilling. We fly at around 1300 feet and I had to wear a jacket because it was cold up there. There were no sides and the only thing keeping me from flying away was my seat belt and my weight. There was a lot of wind going downwards too, so I was smashed into my seat. I was not scared because I felt like I was a bird.

If something were to go wrong in the air, such as engine failure, you are able to land almost vertically using autorotation. If the rotor blade breaks, you are out of luck.

Landing the Gyrocopter

We landed back at the Lincoln airport and my mom and dad were there waiting. They were not part of the decision process of sending me up in one of those, so they were pretty nervous. Because the landing is so short, you feel like you are in a bush plane. I would take another flight in a gyrocopter, but not until I have flown on a bunch of other types of planes.