# Magni M24 Orion: Colorado Gyrocopter Training and Discovery Flights > The enclosed, side-by-side Magni M24 Orion is the gyroplane you train in at Vance Brand Airport in Longmont, Colorado. Full specs, instruction rates, and a $175 discovery flight with a gyroplane CFI. Source: https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/magni-m24-orion-colorado-gyroplane-training Author: Sean Michael Published: 2026-07-24 Last updated: 2026-07-24 --- The [Magni M24 Orion](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/magni-gyro/m24-orion) is the aircraft most people picture when they picture a modern gyroplane: a fully enclosed, side-by-side two-seater with a composite fuselage and wide panoramic glass. It is built by [Magni Gyro](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/magni-gyro) of Italy, flown for training and touring on several continents, and it is the machine you climb into for a gyroplane discovery flight in Colorado. If you have wondered whether learning to fly one is within reach, this is the aircraft, the field, and the instructor that make it real. The short version - The M24 Orion is an enclosed, side-by-side two-seat gyroplane on a turbocharged Rotax engine, which is what makes it climb well on hot, high-altitude days. - Side-by-side seating puts the instructor next to you, not behind you, so demonstration and correction happen in real time. - Training runs out of Vance Brand Airport (KLMO) in Longmont, a quiet non-towered field north of Denver. - A discovery flight is $175, and it counts toward your rating if you continue. ## What the M24 Orion actually is A gyroplane flies on an unpowered rotor that spins from the air passing up through it, with an engine-driven propeller for thrust. The M24 wraps that layout in a closed cabin, which is the part that matters for a student. You are out of the wind and noise, you can talk to your instructor at a normal volume over the intercom, and a lesson does not end early because the weather turned cold. The side-by-side cabin is the other half of the case for it. In a tandem trainer the instructor sits behind you and points over your shoulder. Sitting beside you, an instructor can show you where to look, put a hand near a control, and read your inputs as you make them. ## Specifications These are the figures the aircraft is sold and flown on. The Orion is offered in the United States with a turbocharged, fuel-injected Rotax, and that engine choice is the one that earns its keep in Colorado, where field elevations and summer temperatures both work against climb performance. Magni M24 Orion, as configured and sold in the United States. Confirm the exact build with the distributor. Specification | Figure | Configuration | Enclosed cabin, two seats side-by-side, dual controls | Engine | Turbocharged Rotax 915iS / 916iS | Empty weight | 695 to 725 lb | Max takeoff weight | 1,320 lb | Useful load | 595 to 625 lb | Fuel capacity | 21 gal (fuel burn 4.5 to 6.5 gph) | Cruise speed | 95 mph | Maximum speed | 115 mph | Rate of climb | 1,500 ft/min | Service ceiling | 12,000 ft | Range | 325 miles | Rotor diameter | 28 ft | ## Learning to fly it in Colorado Colorado is a demanding place to teach any light aircraft and a good place to teach a gyroplane. The demand comes from altitude: a warm afternoon on the Front Range gives an aircraft the air of a much higher field, and a lot of trainers feel it. The turbocharged Orion holds its power up there, which is exactly why it fits the region. And the gyroplane itself likes the terrain. It needs very little runway, it handles wind better than almost any light aircraft, and it is content at the small, uncongested fields that a fixed-wing school finds limiting. The home field is [Vance Brand Airport (KLMO)](https://gyrocopters.com/training/colorado/longmont/klmo) in Longmont, three miles southwest of town and about a half hour north of Denver. It sits at 5,055 feet, it has no control tower, and it has a single 4,799-foot runway. For a student that adds up to a calmer place to learn than a busy metro airport: no tower sequencing to fight, room in the pattern, and airspace to spare for the slow, repeated circuits that early training is built on. ## The instructor and the rates Instruction at Longmont is with [Tim Arter](https://gyrocopters.com/cfi/tim-arter), a Sport Pilot gyroplane CFI who is night and tower endorsed. Training in a gyroplane starts with a discovery flight, which is a real lesson with a real instructor, not a ride. If you go on to train, that first flight counts toward your rating. Magni GyroFlight Colorado, flight instruction rates at KLMO. Item | Rate | Discovery flight | $175 | Instruction, company gyroplane and fuel | $250 / hr | Instruction, your gyroplane and fuel | $175 / hr | Ground instruction | $50 / hr | To book a discovery flight or ask about the path to a rating, contact Tim Arter directly at [tim@magnigyroflight.com](mailto:tim@magnigyroflight.com) or 720-202-7401. Tell him what you are after, a first flight or the full rating, and he will lay out the steps. ## What the rating takes Most people learning the M24 are working toward a Sport Pilot certificate with a gyroplane rating, the most direct license for this kind of flying. The time it takes depends less on the hourly rate than on how often you fly: students who come out weekly finish sooner and spend less overall than students who fly once a month and re-learn the last lesson each time. If you are weighing the whole picture, our guides on [what gyroplane training costs](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/how-much-does-gyrocopter-training-cost) and [the license you need](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/do-you-need-a-license-to-fly-a-gyrocopter) go through it in detail. When you are ready to compare instructors and schools beyond Longmont, the [gyroplane flight school directory](https://gyrocopters.com/training) lists options by state. ### Fly the Magni M24 Orion in Colorado A $175 discovery flight at Vance Brand Airport in Longmont is the simplest way to find out if gyroplane flying is for you. Start there, and it counts toward your rating. [Book with Tim Arter at KLMO](https://gyrocopters.com/cfi/colorado/longmont/klmo) [See the M24 Orion](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/magni-gyro/m24-orion) ## Sources - Magni M24 Orion, technical specifications — https://www.magnigyro.it/en/products/m24-orion/ (Magni Gyro) - M24 Orion, US specifications — https://www.magnigyroflight.com/m24 (Magni GyroFlight) - Colorado (Longmont) training and rates — https://www.magnigyroflight.com/colorado-longmont (Magni GyroFlight) - Vance Brand Airport (KLMO) — https://www.airnav.com/airport/KLMO (AirNav)