The gyrocopter is marketed as a very easy aircraft to fly. But I know of a lot of accidents in the takeoff phase, not down to engine failure but pilot error. Typically the pilot does not have the stick fully back during the early part of the takeoff and the gyro flips over as soon as the rotor speed is high enough to generate lift. It is all over in a flash. It is drilled into people during the training, but you would not believe how often it happens. These are accidents I know of rather than read about. A friend of mine did it (high time helicopter pilot). The guy who bought ours was ferried over by a mate who promptly did it on his way home in the gyro he was flying (not ours). There have been at leat three of these events at our small airfield and I know from the crash comics that this is not untypical. I am not trashing gyros I have had a lot of fun in them over many years. But go into it with your eyes open.
I don't fly in the UK, but I can say that ours used about 15-18 litres of mogas an hour, so times whatever you are paying for fuel, plus landing fees, the variable flying costs are pretty cheap.
Last edited by lederhosen; 8th Jun 2021 at 10:02.