# Gyrocopters.com

> A marketplace and reference site for gyroplanes (also called autogyros or gyrocopters).
> Three record types make up the database: aircraft listed for sale by dealers and private
> sellers, profiles of the manufacturers building the airframes, and flight schools that
> publish gyroplane instruction.

Notes for machine readers:

- Prices are seller-stated asking prices, not transaction prices or appraisals.
- A listing marked "price on request" carries no price field at all. Do not infer one.
- Training approval references are reproduced as the school publishes them. This site is
  not a regulator and does not verify a school's current approval status. Check with the
  relevant civil aviation authority before acting on anything here.
- Specification fields absent from a record are unknown, not zero.
- Nothing on this site is airworthiness, legal, or financial advice.

## Brands

- [Air Command International](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/air-command-international)
- [Apollo Aircrafts](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/apollo-aircrafts)
- [ARGO Aero](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/argo)
- [AutoGyro](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/autogyro)
- [Aviation Artur Trendak](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/aviation-artur-trendak)
- [Aviomania Aircraft](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/aviomania-aircraft)
- [Brako](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/brako)
- [Butterfly](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/butterfly)
- [Celier Group](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/celier-group)
- [DTA](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/dta)
- [ELA Aviacion](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/ela-aviacion)
- [Fusioncopter](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/fusioncopter)
- [Gyro Technic](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/gyro-technic)
- [Jokertrike](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/jokertrike)
- [Magni Gyro](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/magni-gyro)
- [NIKI Rotor Aviation](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/niki-rotor)
- [OSKBES MAI](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/oskbes-mai)
- [Rotorvox](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/rotorvox)
- [SilverLight Aviation](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/silverlight-aviation)
- [Skycruiser Autogyro](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/skycruiser-autogyro)
- [Sport Copter](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/sport-copter)
- [Titanium Auto Gyro](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/titanium-auto-gyro)
- [Wagtail Aviation](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/wagtail-aviation)
- [Xi'an Supersonic Aviation](https://gyrocopters.com/manufacturer/xian-supersonic-aviation)

## Training schools

- [AdventureAir](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-adventureair)
- [AirGyro](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-airgyro)
- [Bay Area Gyro](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-bay-area-gyro)
- [Blades Over Me](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-blades-over-me)
- [Blue Skies](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-blue-skies)
- [Flight School Tulsa](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-flight-school-tulsa)
- [Foxtrot Aero, LLC](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-foxtrot-aero-llc)
- [Fun Flight Aviation](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-fun-flight-aviation)
- [Glass Cockpit Aviation](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-glass-cockpit-aviation)
- [GyroMojo](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-gyromojo)
- [Gyroplane Training](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-gyroplane-training)
- [HASE Aviation](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-hase-aviation)
- [Lone Star Magni Gyro](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-lone-star-magni-gyro)
- [Magni Gyro Flight — Colorado](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-magni-gyro-flight-colorado)
- [Magni Gyro Flight — Gulf Shores](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-magni-gyro-flight-gulf-shores)
- [Magni Gyro Flight — Sauk Prairie](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-magni-gyro-flight-sauk-prairie)
- [Magni Gyro Flight — Sebring](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-magni-gyro-flight-sebring)
- [Mantis Aviation](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-mantis-aviation)
- [Music City Rotors](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-music-city-rotors)
- [New England Gyro](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-new-england-gyro)
- [Oahe Gyro](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-oahe-gyro)
- [Oregon Sport Pilot](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-oregon-sport-pilot)
- [Pegasus Aviation Group](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-pegasus-aviation-group)
- [Ron's Gyros](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-ron-s-gyros)
- [Sportcopter](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-sportcopter)
- [Texas Autogyro](https://gyrocopters.com/training/gyro-texas-autogyro)

## Journal

- [Magni M24 Orion: Colorado Gyrocopter Training and Discovery Flights](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/magni-m24-orion-colorado-gyroplane-training): 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.
- [The MOSAIC Rule Reopens Gyroplane Flight Training in America](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/mosaic-gyroplane-flight-schools): The FAA's MOSAIC rule lifts the barriers that kept gyroplanes out of American flight schools: a first-ever factory-built certification path, no weight cap, and freed rotor designs. What it means for students and schools.
- [Why Aren't Gyrocopters More Popular? The Honest Answer](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/why-arent-gyrocopters-more-popular): An old reputation, a regulatory box, scarce instructors and pricey insurance stacked up against a genuinely good aircraft. Two of the four are changing now.
- [How Do You Land a Gyrocopter? Steep, Slow and Short](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/how-do-you-land-a-gyrocopter): A steep approach, a flare that spends the rotor's stored energy, and a touchdown that can use just a few feet of ground. Here is how the landing works.
- [Gyrocopter vs Airplane: Which Should You Actually Buy?](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/gyrocopter-vs-airplane): The airplane is transportation; the gyrocopter is the flying itself. Speed, safety, cost and mission, compared honestly for a first-time buyer.
- [What Are Gyrocopters Used For? From Sport to Police Patrol](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/what-are-gyrocopters-used-for): Mostly for the joy of flying, and then a working resume: patrol, pipeline and powerline inspection, photography, agriculture, and a real military history.
- [Gyrocopter Insurance: Real Costs and How to Lower Them](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/gyrocopter-insurance): Liability commonly runs $1,500 to $1,800 a year and full coverage several thousand more. Why it costs so much, and what actually brings it down.
- [Gyrocopter vs Drone: What Actually Separates Them](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/gyrocopter-vs-drone): Opposite lift principles, different laws, and barely overlapping jobs. Why the quadcopter comparison fails, and which machine fits which mission.
- [How Much Horsepower Does a Gyrocopter Need?](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/how-much-horsepower-does-a-gyrocopter-need): Most two-seaters fly on 100 to 141 hp, nearly always a Rotax. What the power actually does, what the turbo buys, and the underpowering mistake to avoid.
- [Are Gyrocopters Hard to Fly? Easy Air, Demanding Ground](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/are-gyrocopters-hard-to-fly): In cruise it is one of the easiest aircraft there is. The takeoff roll and rotor discipline are the real skills, and airplane pilots find them hardest.
- [Gyrocopter Maintenance: What It Really Costs Per Year](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/gyrocopter-maintenance-costs): An annual inspection around $1,000 to $1,500, a Rotax on a 2,000-hour clock, and life-limited blades. The real schedule and the numbers to ask before buying.
- [Storing and Transporting a Gyrocopter: Garage, Trailer, Hangar](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/storing-and-transporting-a-gyrocopter): Blades off, a gyroplane fits a garage bay and rides an ordinary trailer. How owners store and move these machines, and the blade-handling rule that matters.
- [Can You Fly a Gyrocopter at Night?](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/can-you-fly-a-gyrocopter-at-night): Historically sport pilots flew by day only. The FAA's MOSAIC rule now opens night flying to more pilots, with a medical requirement and an equipped aircraft.
- [Can a Gyrocopter Fly in Rain and High Wind?](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/can-a-gyrocopter-fly-in-rain-and-wind): A gyrocopter handles wind better than almost any light aircraft, and rain worse. Here is why, where the real limits are, and what it means for a buyer.
- [How Much Weight Can a Gyrocopter Carry?](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/how-much-weight-can-a-gyrocopter-carry): A two-seat gyrocopter typically carries about 480 to 680 pounds of people, fuel and baggage. Here is what useful load means and the pilot-weight limit to check.
- [How Much Does Gyrocopter Training Cost?](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/how-much-does-gyrocopter-training-cost): A sport pilot gyroplane rating usually runs about $5,000 to $8,000 all in. The biggest lever is not the hourly rate, it is how consistently you fly.
- [What Happens If a Gyrocopter's Engine Fails?](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/what-happens-if-a-gyrocopter-engine-fails): The rotor keeps autorotating, so the aircraft keeps flying and glides down to a landing with little or no roll. Here is why an engine-out is a controlled arrival.
- [Who Invented the Gyrocopter? A Short History](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/who-invented-the-gyrocopter): Juan de la Cierva flew the first one in 1923; Igor Bensen made it a kit anyone could build. Here is how the gyrocopter came to be, and nearly vanished.
- [Where Can You Legally Fly a Gyrocopter? (US)](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/where-can-you-legally-fly-a-gyrocopter): Gyrocopters are legal, but they are aircraft: you fly from airports or private land, obey federal airspace and minimum-altitude rules, and cannot buzz the neighborhood.
- [The Best Gyrocopter to Buy: A Buyer's Guide](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/best-gyrocopter-to-buy): There is no single best gyrocopter, only the best one for your mission, budget and support. Here is how to shortlist without buying someone else's ideal aircraft.
- [What Fuel Does a Gyrocopter Use?](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/what-fuel-does-a-gyrocopter-use): Most run on ordinary unleaded gasoline, the same fuel as your car. Here is why, when aviation fuel is needed, and the ethanol and octane catches to watch.
- [How Much Runway Does a Gyrocopter Need?](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/how-much-runway-does-a-gyrocopter-need): Often only a few hundred feet to take off, and almost none to land into wind. Here is why the pre-rotator makes it possible and what changes the numbers.
- [What Is a Gyrocopter? A Straight Answer Before You Shop](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/what-is-a-gyrocopter): A gyrocopter is a rotorcraft with an unpowered, free-spinning rotor and an engine-driven propeller. Here is how it flies, what it costs, and what it will not do.
- [How a Gyrocopter Works: The Unpowered Rotor Explained](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/how-a-gyrocopter-works): The rotor is not driven by the engine. Air flowing up through it keeps it spinning. Here is what that means for takeoff, engine failure, and why it cannot stall.
- [How Much Does a Gyrocopter Cost? New, Used and to Own](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/how-much-does-a-gyrocopter-cost): A new two-seat gyrocopter runs about $70,000 to $150,000. Here is what drives the price, what used machines cost, and the ownership bills nobody quotes.
- [Are Gyrocopters Safe? An Honest Look at the Record](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/are-gyrocopters-safe): The reputation comes from an older kind of machine. Modern gyrocopters have a good record when flown by trained pilots. Here is the honest version.
- [Do You Need a License to Fly a Gyrocopter? (US)](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/do-you-need-a-license-to-fly-a-gyrocopter): Yes. In the US you need at least a Sport Pilot certificate with a rotorcraft-gyroplane rating. Here is what that involves, and what MOSAIC just changed.
- [Gyrocopter vs Helicopter: What Actually Separates Them](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/gyrocopter-vs-helicopter): Both have rotors, but only one is powered. That single difference decides cost, what each can do, and which is safer after an engine failure.
- [How Fast and How Far Can a Gyrocopter Fly?](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/how-fast-and-far-can-a-gyrocopter-fly): Most cruise around 60 to 100 mph and cover 200 to 350 miles on a tank. Here are the real performance numbers, and the limits that set them.
- [Learning to Fly a Gyrocopter: What to Expect](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/learning-to-fly-a-gyrocopter): What the training actually feels like, why airplane and helicopter pilots have to unlearn habits, and how to pick an instructor who will not get you hurt.
- [Can a Gyrocopter Hover? And the Jump-Takeoff Exception](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/can-a-gyrocopter-hover): No, a gyrocopter cannot hover, because its rotor needs airflow to keep turning. But a rare few can leap off the ground. Here is the difference.
- [Building or Buying a Kit Gyrocopter: The Honest Trade-offs](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/kit-gyrocopter-build-or-buy): A kit is the cheapest way into a gyrocopter in cash, and the most expensive in time and skill. Here is what building involves, and the US rules that shape it.
- [4 Reasons Gyrocopters Crash and How to Avoid Them](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/4-reasons-gyrocopters-crash): Most of them were avoidable, and most of the decisions that caused them were made on the ground. Here is the mechanism behind each, and why the first hours on type are the ones that matter.
- [How to Get a Helicopter License (and the Cheaper Rotorcraft Nobody Mentions)](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/how-to-get-a-helicopter-license): What the certificate involves, why almost nobody finishes at the minimum, and the second kind of rotorcraft that costs a fraction as much to fly.
- [Gyroplane vs Gyrocopter: What's the Difference?](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/gyroplane-vs-gyrocopter): They are the same aircraft under different names. Here is where each name came from, and the one related word that is not a synonym.

## Association

- [Gyroplane association membership](https://gyrocopters.com/association): Paid annual membership in four tiers. Membership does not confer verification: the "certificate checked" and "approval confirmed" badges in the instructor and school directories are earned by a person checking a credential with the issuing authority, identically for members and non-members, and cannot be bought. Membership does not buy editorial position either. The directories, ground school, quiz and glossary are free to use regardless.

## Flight schools

- [Gyroplane flight school directory](https://gyrocopters.com/training): Schools offering gyroplane instruction, searchable by state and city. Listing is free. Where a school publishes an approval reference it is reproduced as published; "approval confirmed" means a person contacted the issuing authority on the date shown. There is no single registry to check these against, so most entries carry the reference unconfirmed.

## Instructors

- [Gyroplane flight instructor directory](https://gyrocopters.com/cfi): Independent instructors who teach in gyroplanes, searchable by state and city. Listing is free. A "certificate checked" badge means only that a person at this site looked the instructor's certificate number up in the FAA Airmen Inquiry on a stated date. It is not a statement that they are current, insured or competent, and it does not apply outside the United States.

## Ground school

- [Free gyroplane ground school](https://gyrocopters.com/ground-school): An unofficial study aid. Gyrocopters.com holds no training approval and issues no endorsements; actual instruction comes from a rated instructor. Modules marked as outlines have a scope and a source list and no body text, because their subject is jurisdiction-specific regulation that has not yet been written from source.

## Quiz

- [Gyroplane knowledge quiz](https://gyrocopters.com/quiz): A free quiz drawn at random from a bank of 76 questions covering terminology and mechanism. Every question links to the page on this site that justifies its answer. It is not checkride preparation and contains no rotor speed, V-speed, weight or licensing figures, because this site does not publish those.

## Glossary

- [Autorotation](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/autorotation): The rotor spinning under the force of air flowing up through the disc, rather than being driven by the engine. It is the principle a gyroplane flies on continuously, and the state a helicopter enters after an engine failure. Full explanation on the page.
- [Gyroplane](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/gyroplane): A rotorcraft whose rotor is turned by airflow rather than by the engine, with a separate propeller providing thrust. Regulators generally use "gyroplane"; autogyro and gyrocopter mean the same aircraft. Rotorcraft is the wider category and includes helicopters, so it is not a synonym.
- [Autogyro](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/autogyro): Another name for a gyroplane. The same aircraft, not a different one. "Autogiro" with an i was Juan de la Cierva's trade name for his machines; the spelling with a y became the ordinary word and is still common in older books and outside the United States.
- [Gyrocopter](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/gyrocopter): Another name for a gyroplane, and the one most people search for. It came into use as a trade name and spread to mean the type generally. Regulators write "gyroplane"; almost everyone else says gyrocopter, and they mean the same machine.
- [Rotorcraft](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/rotorcraft): The category of aircraft that get their lift from rotating blades rather than fixed wings. It covers helicopters and gyroplanes both, so it is a wider word than either: every gyroplane is a rotorcraft, and so is every helicopter, but a rotorcraft is not necessarily a gyroplane.
- [Rotor disc](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/rotor-disc): The circle swept by the turning rotor blades. Much of how a gyroplane handles comes down to how the disc is tilted and how much air is flowing through it.
- [Prerotation](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/prerotation): Spinning the rotor up mechanically before takeoff, so the blades are already turning when the ground roll begins. It shortens the roll; it is not what keeps the rotor turning in flight.
- [Rotor RPM](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/rotor-rpm): How fast the rotor is turning. Managing it is central to flying a gyroplane, and the acceptable range is specific to the type. The figures that matter are in the aircraft flight manual for your aircraft, not in a general reference.
- [Blowback](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/blowback): The rotor disc tilting back as airspeed increases, a natural consequence of the airflow through it.
- [Power push over](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/power-push-over): A loss-of-control event associated with unloading the rotor while thrust is applied, more likely on certain airframe geometries. It appears repeatedly in accident reports, which is why type-specific instruction matters. Treat any general description, including this one, as background rather than as training. Full explanation on the page.
- [Rotor head](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/rotor-head): The assembly at the top of the mast that carries the rotor blades and allows the disc to tilt. One of the components a pre-purchase inspection should look at closely.
- [Mast](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/mast): The vertical structure carrying the rotor head above the airframe.
- [Pusher configuration](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/pusher-configuration): Engine and propeller mounted behind the cabin, pushing rather than pulling. The common arrangement on modern gyroplanes.
- [Enclosed and open cockpit](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/enclosed-and-open-cockpit): Whether the cabin has a full enclosure or the occupants sit in the open air behind a windscreen. Affects comfort, useful season and, usually, price.
- [Tandem and side-by-side](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/tandem-and-side-by-side): Whether the two seats are one behind the other or next to each other. Affects instruction, loading and cabin width.
- [Empty mass](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/empty-mass): The mass of the aircraft without fuel, occupants or baggage. Subtracting it from the maximum take-off mass gives what you can actually carry.
- [Maximum take-off mass](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/maximum-take-off-mass): The heaviest the aircraft may be at the start of the takeoff roll. A limit set for the type and, in some countries, capped further by the category the aircraft is registered in.
- [Airframe hours](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/airframe-hours): Total hours flown by the airframe since it was built. Read it alongside engine hours: the two are often very different, and both should match the logbooks.
- [Time since overhaul](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/time-since-overhaul): Hours flown since a component, usually the engine, was last overhauled. The interval before the next overhaul is set by the manufacturer and is a real future cost to price in.
- [Airworthiness directive](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/airworthiness-directive): A mandatory instruction from a civil aviation authority requiring an inspection or modification on a type. Ask which ones apply and whether they have been carried out. Compliance is not optional and it can ground an aircraft.
- [Service bulletin](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/service-bulletin): A manufacturer notice recommending or requiring work. Whether it is mandatory depends on the authority and the category the aircraft sits in.
- [Logbook](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/logbook): The maintenance record for the airframe and engine. A gap in it is a negotiating point at best and a reason to walk away at worst. Verify advertised hours against it before agreeing a price.
- [Kit build](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/kit-build): An aircraft assembled from a manufacturer kit rather than delivered complete. Build quality varies with the builder, which is why who assembled it is worth asking about.
- [Price on request](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/price-on-request): A listing with no published price. On this site a price-on-request listing carries no price field at all rather than a hidden or placeholder figure.
- [Lien](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/lien): A registered financial claim against the aircraft. In several jurisdictions it follows the airframe rather than the seller, so it can become the buyer's problem. Search for one before money moves.
- [Type rating and conversion](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/type-rating-and-conversion): Training specific to an aircraft type, taken in addition to the licence itself. What is required, and whether existing fixed-wing or helicopter hours count toward it, is set by your national authority.
- [Currency](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/currency): Having flown recently enough to meet the requirements that let you carry passengers or act as pilot in command. The thresholds are national and they change; check yours.
- [Approval reference](https://gyrocopters.com/glossary/approval-reference): The identifier a flight school publishes to show it is approved to instruct. This site reproduces what a school publishes and does not verify that it is current. Confirm it with the authority that issued it.

## Contributors

- [Sean Michael](https://gyrocopters.com/flight-log/author/sean-hakes): Founder, Gyrocopters.com, 35 published articles.

## Selling

- [List an aircraft](https://gyrocopters.com/marketplace/sell): submission form. Every
  submission is reviewed by a person before it appears, so a listing on this
  site has been seen by staff but has not been inspected or verified.
- [Dealers](https://gyrocopters.com/marketplace/dealers): professional sellers with live
  inventory. Appearing there is not a paid placement or an endorsement.

## Policy

- [Editorial policy](https://gyrocopters.com/editorial-policy): sourcing rules and author verification.
- [Accessibility statement](https://gyrocopters.com/accessibility): conformance status and known gaps.
- [Privacy policy](https://gyrocopters.com/privacy): what is collected and the lawful basis.