Gyrocopter training
 

Hi - this doesn't apply to me personally but whilst looking at this site:-

The Gyrocopter Experience - Training

If you look at the elements under training to be a flying instructor, I was surprised by a couple of things.

The first is according to a point made elsewhere on the same site you can't rent a Gyrocopter so does that mean all the hour building is done in a machine the instructor owns?

Then secondly why is the ground school only available in the UK from this company? Surely there is a published course requirement and you could pass any required exam as per any other licence?

Your best bet is to speak to the guys at TGE, who will be able to explain. My understanding is that the hour building is done on a machine you own since you can't rent. This is different to solo flight in your instructor's machine prior to your licence issue as you are still "under instruction" and therefore it isn't directly the machine that's rented. I'm not 100% sure of this though.

The ground school side of things is provided by TGE because they were the people who sat down, worked out the syllabus and wrote the book, quite literally. Prior to this time gyrocopteer flying wasn't necessarily well taught by the right people. My experience of working with these guys was very good. I'm fixed wing through and through, but they significantly improved my perspective on gyrocopters.

It's because their insurance etc doesn't cover renting out.
Even the solo time requirement, still talking about the UK schools, is for me bit unusual in terms of conditions. The 'deductible' of 5k (IIRC) has to be paid down cash in case student dings/crashes the gyro on the solo flights. I mean, it is what it is and the guys don't hide this info. Even with some sort of 'renter's insurance' UK style, the cash downpayment to finish off the licence requirements, isn't exactly incentive. There are guys who may not have cash ready (or desire) to buy their own gear.

Not sure about you guys, but I don't have spare 5k GBP to put down as security on top of other costs. Other than that, I may have done some gyro flying in the UK. I don't get to do it in the US where I fly heli or fixed wing.

Another thing, with gyros, is that very few models have UK CAA's approval for training. So there are two seaters that can't be used for training in flight school. What the owners get themselves to fly privately in experimental/PtF regime, is their business.

Instructor Training
 

Hi Pitts

Feel free to give any of us from GTE a call or drop us an email if you have any questions.

To answer your points above:

In the UK gyros operate on a Permit To Fly, which precludes aerial work such as renting. We do have an exemption which allows instruction - so we can teach you on school aircraft and we can allow you to fly solo on school machines. Once you have qualified we cant rent you an aircraft - so you will have to do hour building on your own machine. There are moves afoot to allow us to rent out gyroplanes - we are hoping that we will be able to do so early in 2013.

The training for an AFI(G) rating requires 40 hours of ground school. The Gyrocopter Experience is the only organisation providing this course at the moment. There is nothing stopping another suitably qualified provider from doing the work and delivering a course should they choose to do so.

I run The Gyrocopter Experience Salisbury, at Old Sarum airfield. Feel free to give me a call or drop in some time.

Steve

I think you have had a comprehensive answer from the 'horse's mouth' and I shall close the thread

Good luck

HWB