Autogyros vs Gyrocopters

[THI]

Whats the diffs??

On another forum someone said "same principle, very different birds".

[FLYNOTE]

What is Autogyro, Gyrocopter, Gyroplane or Gyro (pronounced “jaai-ro”)?
“Autogyro” or “Autogiro” is commonly used terms for gyroplanes in many countries. “Gyroplane” is the U.S. official term for gyros. In United States, this gives the connotation that it has met higher standards of safety and stability. The official term used by FAA is “rotorcraft”, which is a category of aircraft which includes helicopters and gyrocopters. A gyro is a very small gyroplane with unpowered rotor blades. They are fast and are flown for fun with one or two passengers.

[Gyronaut]

As I have it, traditionally, tractor or puller machines with fixed heads and winglets & elevators were known as Gyroplanes -in that the controls & basic config were the same as planes. Pusher configs with gimbal pitch & roll controls became known as Gyrocopters. Igor Benson patented the word Gyrocopter so for 30 years this referred to Bensons only. I understand this has now expired.

Technically Gyroplane is the correct term yet Gyro or Gyrocopter is also acceptable.

I have a student that insists on using "Gyrocraft" on the radio - and thats fine too. Other traffic knows what type he is and thats the objective I'd say.

[Gompou]

Onderstaande kom uit 'n artikel uit KITPLANES van Oktober 2013.

Gyrocopters vs. Gyroplanes

So let's talk about the terms gyroplane and Gyrocopter. Many people use them synonymously, but really should not. Gyrocopter is out and gyroplane is in. Let's explore why.

The term Gyrocopter is a brand name for the old Bensen Gyrocopter. The Bensen Gyrocopter is no longer in production, but numbers of those simple Gyrocopters are still flying. It is the term many of us first read about in the back of Popular Mechanics magazines when we were kids dreaming of flying. Unfortunately, as well-marketed as the Gyrocopter was, its safety —or lack thereof— has created problems for the sport that are still being felt many years after those ads stopped running.

The word Gyrocopter ends up conjuring a common perception and prejudice among many traditional aviation people of bare bones—unstable and unsafe lawn-chair-like contraptions that earned their dubious reputation in the past. In fact, some current versions or iterations of the Bensen Gyrocopter today probably still do deserve this reputation. Some would say (which is a fancy way of me saying, but not wanting to draw fire for actually saying) that the continued preponderance of such Gyrocopters continues to contribute to a poor safety record among gyros in the USA.

The sport has tried to distance itself from the term Gyrocopter since it tends to promote a culture of cheap and simple (along with unreliable and dangerous) machines, macho and rogue anti-authoritarian skirting of rules, amateur design, and self-training. While some old-timers have successfully navigated this dangerous path in their Gyrocopters, these are not attributes that we should be promoting among new or transitioning pilots.

Modern, safe gyroplane (notice gyroplane is spelled with a small g since it isn't a brand name) designs that are coming from Europe and being built here in the United States are nothing like the old, bare bones Gyrocopters. Modern gyroplane designs in Europe, with large and long tail feathers and other aerodynamic advantages, have demonstrated excellent and envious safety records around the world. But the continued perceptions of the old Gyrocopter reputation and culture, promoted by the continued common use of the denigrating term Gyrocopter, have contributed to the unacceptable safety reputation and record of the gyro sport in the USA.

Use of the term Gyrocopter is especially damaging within the FAA, especially in the field offices, as the uninformed often dismiss or discourage the dangerous Gyrocopters, and prejudice their cooperation with the sport, builders and fliers. This results in difficulties in obtaining Letters of Deviation Authority (LODAs) to provide flight training. This in turn becomes a major impact to flight safety when gyro students turn to self-training or truncated training because of the difficulties in obtaining professional flight training. This also discourages FAA participation in safety efforts such as allowing gyroplanes that meet standards. It all ends up continuing a dangerous and vicious cycle, since these barriers all promote underground illegal pilots and machines.

The gyro community has attempted for many years to encourage safe and stable gyroplane designs, professional flight training, and actual certificated pilot ratings. An ASTM gyroplane standard has been developed to promote and encourage acceptance of safe designs. Similar gyroplane standards exist around the world. The gyro community had successfully lobbied the FAA to at least be included in the Sport Pilot rules to promote gyroplane pilot training and certificates. Unfortunately, the continued prejudice against Gyrocopters at many levels in the FAA (including the FAA's Rotorcraft Directorate of all places!) has prevented gyroplanes from Special Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA) certification—severely limiting options for acquiring safe gyroplanes that meet safety standards, or obtaining professional flight training in anything other than in Experimental aircraft, with widely varying operation and often unsafe handling properties.

The gyroplane community has encouraged the more proper and widespread use of the term gyroplane as part of a campaign to shed the perception of all gyros being "an accident waiting to happen." The sport certainly does not need to be unsafe and has worked to show otherwise.

Modern gyroplane designs are extremely safe and stable and offer safety advantages such as turbulence insensitivity, no stall, precise, short and slow landings, wide speed envelope, slow flight, simplicity, reliability, etc. Unfortunately it has been a steep, uphill effort to achieve the safety and performance standards that Europe and much of the rest of the world have evolved with their widespread acceptance of safe, modern gyroplanes. The continued offhand use of the term Gyrocopter continues a culture that promotes less than the achievable safety standard for gyroplanes in the USA.

Fly safe.
Gompou

[THI]

Thanks Gompou!

So are autogyros and gyroplanes the same 'birds'?

[okflyer]

Onderstaande kom uit 'n artikel uit KITPLANES van Oktober 2013.

Gyrocopters vs. Gyroplanes


.....
Modern gyroplane designs are extremely safe and stable and offer safety advantages such as turbulence insensitivity, no stall, precise, short and slow landings, wide speed envelope, slow flight, simplicity, reliability, etc. Unfortunately it has been a steep, uphill effort to achieve the safety and performance standards that Europe and much of the rest of the world have evolved with their widespread acceptance of safe, modern gyroplanes. The continued offhand use of the term Gyrocopter continues a culture that promotes less than the achievable safety standard for gyroplanes in the USA.

Fly safe.
Gompou

Do not get me wrong, but I do not care how an american magazine wants to call it. In my part of the world (Europe) where most of the birds are built and flown, they are called Gyrocopters or Tragschrauber or Autogyro (Autogiro was the brand name of del ingeniero español Juan de la Cierva). The FAA does not like Gyrocopters and if the folks there want to paint the zebra black in order to get it accepted as a horse, it is their cup of tea.

[Baitbird]

Do not get me wrong, but I do not care how an american magazine wants to call it. In my part of the world (Europe) where most of the birds are built and flown, they are called Gyrocopters or Tragschrauber or Autogyro (Autogiro was the brand name of del ingeniero español Juan de la Cierva). The FAA does not like Gyrocopters and if the folks there want to paint the zebra black in order to get it accepted as a horse, it is their cup of tea.

So true - a rose by any other name is still a rose.
The name does not reflect the pure enjoyment these "birds" provide.

Whether technically correct - I use whatever term is needed for whoever I speak to, to understand what type of rotorcraft I'm using.

[Learjet]

When making a radio tx I prefer to use the term "gyrocopter" (rather than "gyroplane" or "autogyro"). My rationale for this is based on safety in that I feel "copter" better conveys that I am flying a rotory-wing aircraft, and as such other pilots have a better mental picture of what to be on the lookout for - particularly as gyros are not the most visible aircraft.

[okflyer]

A litle bit of research:
Gyro:
from Latin gӯrus circle, from Greek guros =circle,turning
copter: From Greek pteron = wing
Therefore: Turning wings => Does make a lot of bloody sense to me

Autorgyro
From Spanish auto- 'self' + giro 'rotation'
Makes sense, too

Gyroplane:
Guros = "circle /turning" + Plane = Greek -planos 'wandering' = circling wandering
No sense at all (Aeroplane means wandering in the air)

I know in the anglo-saxon world, other languages might be considerd as being less important, but sometimes it is good to know where certain terms /names come from and what the meaning is.
And, I want the guys on the radio know what kind of flying specie is aproaching them.

[FLYNOTE]

So when these machines were unknown in SA and I landed in Upington as one of the first 7 Magnis around, a fuel bowzer attendant stared at the gyros in disbelief and called his mate over..." Pieter!!! Kom kyk bietjie hierdie parafien woer- woer jou ma se kjint affêre!!!"

[Gyronaut]

parafien woer- woer jou ma se kjint affêre

Say again your aircraft type? "ek is 'n parafien woer- woer jou ma se kjint affêre"...
... en die ingelse sê sommer 'Gyro'.