In 1923, Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva came up with a rather revolutionary idea: an aircraft that could use an unpowered rotor at the top to generate lift, while relying on an engine-driven propeller for thrust. He called it an “autogiro,” later anglicized to “autogyro” (and also often referred to as “gyroplane”).
To the present-day observer an autogyro may look similar to a helicopter (a type of aircraft that didn’t exist during De la Cierva’s lifetime). However, these are two entirely different categories of aircraft.
While a helicopter moves its rotor blades to generate both lift and movement, the rotor is not powered in an autogyro, rather it spins naturally. The autogyro generates lift as air flows through the blades, while a powered engine (often located at the rear of the aircraft) propels the aircraft forward.
Unlike a helicopter, an autogyro is unable to take off or land vertically, nor can it hover (except in the case of a few hybrid models which are able to power the blades during these stages of flight). A gyroplane is also not a fixed-winged aircraft, since the thrust generated by the overhead rotor makes the wings unnecessary.
Autogyros, however, do have some impressive short takeoff and landing capabilities, with some models requiring no more than a dozen meters of runway.
Thanks to this operational flexibility, De la Cierva’s concept soon caught the eye of a number of investors and industrialists who helped him perfect his design and launch several versions of this aircraft throughout the 1920s and 30s.
The gyroplane was one of the promising technologies tested during those inter-war years of nearly unrestrained aerospace experimentation. However, despite seeing some rather limited service in the Second World War, the gyroplane was soon to be eclipsed by the emergence of the helicopter as the rotorcraft of choice for most missions, both civilian and military.
A last major effort to revive the autogyro concept in the post-war years, the Fairey Rotodyne program, was abandoned in the early 1960s. British aircraft maker Fairey Aviation had been working on the development of a large gyroplane with capacity for nearly 50 passengers. However, these plans were shelved shortly after the company was acquired and folded into helicopter-maker Westland.
The gyroplane resurgence
Autogyros have continued to appeal to a relatively small, but staunchly loyal segment of the aerospace community, with a number of companies carrying the torch into the present day.
What’s more, as the aerospace industry enters another era of unmitigated innovation, autogyros seem to be gaining favor with the public again. Its proponents hail their low operating costs, particularly when compared to helicopters, and their technical simplicity and ease of use.
Autogyros are not only said to be relatively easy to learn how to fly, but autorotation, one of its defining characteristics, also makes them relatively safe in case of an emergency landing. While autorotation in a helicopter is a rather complex maneuver, which the pilot needs to execute within a very short time window in order to prevent the rotorcraft from crashing, an autogyro gets into autorotation by default.
Gyroplane manufacturers such as Germany’s AutoGyro, Italy’s Magni Gyro and Spain’s ELA Aviación, all report a surge in interest in this type of aircraft.
Magni Gyro, for example, has sold 500 gyroplanes in the last eight years alone. For comparison, it took more than four decades for the family-owned firm, based near Milan, to sell its first 1,000 units.
Speaking to AeroTime, Chiara Curioni, Sales and Marketing Manager at Magni Gyro, explained how private aviation enthusiasts have come to appreciate the ease with which they can learn to fly a gyroplane and its ability to land in all sorts of terrain, including rocky areas and dry riverbeds. She also said that the aircraft’s low operational cost is another powerful draw.
This is echoed by Cristina Alonso, Marketing Manager at ELA Aviación, who told AeroTime that the firm is gearing up to increase production from one to two or even three aircraft per week in response to market demand.
“Many people had heard of De La Cierva and the aircraft he developed a century ago,” Alonso stated. “But most were not aware that you can get an autogyro today and that it takes no more than 15 hours to learn how to fly it.”
In addition to having launched a more upmarket model with an enclosed cockpit, called Eclipse Gama 10, the parent company of ELA Aviación is also investing in services supporting the growth of gyroplane flying in Spain. These include airfield infrastructure, training, and technical services.
When it comes to performance, some models of gyroplane can reach top speeds of around 200 km/h and are able to typically cruise at around 170-180 km/h. Under certain conditions some of ELA Aviación’s top of the range gyroplanes can fly for up to 600 km without refueling. The retail cost? Between €90,000 and €230,000 depending on the model. The operational cost is below €200 per hour once everything is factored in, Alonso explained.
“For the cost of a helicopter I can get you 20 of our gyroplanes,” she added.
While more than 90% of sales are to private owners, ELA Aviación is pitching its gyroplanes for other uses, such as aerial services and emergency services. The gyroplane’s low cost, compared to helicopters and even to some types of light fixed-wing aircraft, is one of the most powerful sales arguments.
Defense and security operators have also been warming up to the gyroplane concept. AutoGyro, for example, is a supplier to the Turkish Jandarma, the country’s gendarmerie force, which use its gyroplanes in tasks such as border control. The German firm has also entered a partnership with Life Shield, a Saudi group active in defense and aerospace, to produce and distribute its gyroplanes in the Middle East.
Another gyroplane company with its eyes set on Saudi Arabia is ARC Aerosystems, which signed a deal with a local partner to potentially build a $400 million plant.
This British company uses a 1960s Canadian concept, the patents of which it acquired, as the basis for a new generation of gyroplane aircraft able to provide low emissions, cost-efficient regional travel.
Ecojet, a new UK operator that aims to be a sustainability-first airline, signed a letter of intent for 20 ARC Aerosystems LINX P9.
Autogyros in the advanced air mobility era
Regional air travel is also the main business case of Jaunt Air Mobility, a US-Canadian company which is blending gyroplane technology into what is essentially an eVTOL concept. Jaunt Air Mobility has plans to launch a regional air mobility network in Quebec.
But perhaps one of the most outlandish recent applications of the gyroplane is its fusion with the flying car concept. Dutch startup PAL-V is in the process of certifying a vehicle that can move both on land and in the air. While it has all the characteristics of a regular car, it also has a foldable rotor which can be deployed when you wish to – literally – take off.
The much awaited ‘flying car’ from science fiction movies may well turn out to be a gyroplane in disguise!
Ecojet to order up to 50 gyroplanes from ARC Aerosystems for UK operations
The post Spinning success: the unexpected resurgence of the autogyro industry appeared first on AeroTime.
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