A freshly minted gyroplane private pilot!

Vance Breese

Vance Breese

Cleared for Takeoff
Joined
Oct 10, 2014
Messages
1,061
Location
Santa Maria, CA
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Display name:
Vance Breese
He came to me with no gyroplane flying experience and after 3.6 hours of dual and 6.4 hours of ground instruction over two days I felt he was ready to take the practical test for Private Pilot, Rotorcraft, Gyroplane.
He is an ATP with over 18,000 hours and has a helicopter rating.
He is a very quick study and a joy to instruct.
Some of his military transport and airline experience was not directly applicable and it had been ten years since he flew a helicopter.
As you can imagine I have been on pins and needles all day.
I got a text from him this afternoon. “Passed the ride. No problems. Thank you.”
I am very proud of him and feel it is a CFI milestone for me.
WooHoo!
 
WTG, Vance!
I am not at all surprised at the results, however. Hope you keep batting a 1000!
 
Thank you, I am more excited than I expected.

It seemed like Mission Impossible to train him to proficiency in a ten hours.

He worked hard and I stayed up most of the night wondering what I had missed.

He will get some more training when he finishes building his gyroplane.

He wanted to be able to fly off phase one and the way most of the operating limitations are written he needed a category and class rating to do that.
 
My 2016 copy of the FAR/AIM appears to be missing an ATP Gyroplane rating.

I am new to this so I don't know how it used to be.
 
Vance Breese said:
My 2016 copy of the FAR/AIM appears to be missing an ATP Gyroplane rating.

I am new to this so I don't know how it used to be.
Click to expand...

Is this still valid (in principle)?

* There's nine ATP gyro...all of them have helicopter ATP as well, I figure that's the only way one can get that rating: Start with Heli ATP and then get a Gyro ATP additional rating.
Click to expand...
 
In my opinion the FAR/AIM is obsolete as soon as it is published.
The Federal Aviation Rules are constantly changing and even the AIM changes often.
If it is something important; I go on line to see what the latest version is and check for legal interpretations. I find a legal clarification helpful because I often misunderstand what I read in the FARs.
I have some aviation mentors who often can explain the history and reasons for a particular regulation. I find understanding the history and reasons helpful when trying to remember and follow the rules.
 
Use to be able to do the Gyroplane ATP. Not anymore. Would love to get the commercial rating! I've been trying to find places to go for a few days and just get the rating with no success.
 
Vance Breese said:
He came to me with no gyroplane flying experience and after 3.6 hours of dual and 6.4 hours of ground instruction over two days I felt he was ready to take the practical test for Private Pilot, Rotorcraft, Gyroplane.
Click to expand...

Were you flying a yellow gyroplane at Taylor Texas a few days ago? There was a gyro plane in the pattern there for a couple of hours. It was very confusing to be in the pattern with him. Not his fault, I just wasn't used to the tiny, low altitude pattern he was flying.
 
Hank S said:
But where are you, Vance?

I'm not a fan of the revised forum omitting all references to location . . . :mad:
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If you click on his avatar you can see he's from California.
 
JimNtexas said:
Were you flying a yellow gyroplane at Taylor Texas a few days ago? There was a gyro plane in the pattern there for a couple of hours. It was very confusing to be in the pattern with him. Not his fault, I just wasn't used to the tiny, low altitude pattern he was flying.
Click to expand...
It wasn’t me. I am on my way to Bensen Days (a gyroplane oriented event in Wauchula, Florida) http://www.bensendays.us.com/
I am going to Sun N Fun after that. There are some seminars there for CFIs and the change away from practical test standards. I hope to learn something.
Gyroplanes are a challenge to see (no wings) and they are often doing maneuvers that appear confusing to a fixed wing pilot (tight turns and steep descents). Because of that we are supposed to “avoid the flow of fixed wing traffic”.
At a towered airport after spending some time face to face with ATC I usually fly a lower (500 feet agl) and closer (so I can reach the runway when the engine goes quiet) pattern. Many airports have rotorcraft pattern altitude (typically 500 feet AGL) but it is often not published so I check with management before I do anything peculiar. A few have a unique pattern for rotorcraft.
I can and often do fly a normal pattern at 90kts to fit in better. I am still hard to see so I am careful how I report at a pilot controlled airport.
I am based at the Santa Maria Public Airport; KSMX but I have been known to wander around.
 
Don't want to steal the thread,two questions,how many hours would I have to fly to have it count for a flight review. Is it possible to get just the gyro plane add on ,if I hold an ATP rating?
 
frfly172 said:
Don't want to steal the thread,two questions,how many hours would I have to fly to have it count for a flight review. Is it possible to get just the gyro plane add on ,if I hold an ATP rating?
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If I understand your question in my opinion you need to be rated in a gyroplane if you want dual instruction to count as a flight review. If I have misunderstood please ask again. If you are adding a rating it counts as a flight review.

Anyone can get a rotorcraft, gyroplane rating. It is an add-on rating if you have a rotorcraft helicopter rating now.
An ATP without a helicopter rating gets to skip a lot of the requirements.
To answer properly I would need to know more about the ratings and goals.
It is spelled out pretty clearly in the FARS but it is easy to misconstrue details because you may want a difference answer.
 
Vance, what's required for a lowly fixed wing pilot to pick up a gyro rating? No whirlybird experience, no need for whirlybird rating, but gyros look like lots of fun (and slightly more practical). Mostly fun, though.
 
Hank S said:
Vance, what's required for a lowly fixed wing pilot to pick up a gyro rating? No whirlybird experience, no need for whirlybird rating, but gyros look like lots of fun (and slightly more practical). Mostly fun, though.
Click to expand...
The not so short answer is 14 CFR 61.63 reads:
§ 61.63 Additional aircraft ratings (other than for ratings at the airline transport pilot certification level).
(a) General. For an additional aircraft rating on a pilot certificate, other than for an airline transport pilot certificate, a person must meet the requirements of this section appropriate to the additional aircraft rating sought.
(b) Additional aircraft category rating. A person who applies to add a category rating to a pilot certificate:
(1) Must complete the training and have the applicable aeronautical experience.
(2) Must have a logbook or training record endorsement from an authorized instructor attesting that the person was found competent in the appropriate aeronautical knowledge areas and proficient in the appropriate areas of operation.
(3) Must pass the practical test.
(4) Need not take an additional knowledge test, provided the applicant holds an airplane, rotorcraft, powered-lift, weight-shift-control aircraft, powered parachute, or airship rating at that pilot certificate level.

From Sec. 61.113 of the FARs:
(d) The applicant for a gyroplane class rating must have a total of at least--
(1) 20 hours of flight instruction from an authorized flight instructor, 15 hours of which must be in a gyroplane,
including at least the following--
(i) 3 hours of cross-country flying in gyroplanes;
(ii) 3 hours of night flying in gyroplanes, including ten takeoffs and ten landings; and
(iii) 3 hours in gyroplanes in preparation for the private pilot flight test within 60 calendar days before
that test.
(2) 20 hours of solo flight time, 10 hours of which must be in a gyroplane, including--
(i) 3 hours of cross-country flying in gyroplanes, including one flight with a landing at three or more
points, each of which must be more than 25 nautical miles from each of the other two points; and
(ii) Three takeoffs and three landings in gyroplanes at an airport with an operating control tower.

Your fixed wing time counts towards the gyroplane rating you only need 25 hours, 15 dual and 10 solo to complete the add-on rating.

I don’t know of anywhere in the country where you can rent a gyroplane.

My letter of deviation authority does not allow me to solo you in or rent you my experimental gyroplane so you will need to find a gyroplane to solo in and I will transition you into that aircraft.

If you just want to find out how much fun it is I recommend four hours total with two hours of ground and couple of flights. I find people do better the more I prepare them on the ground. I can usually have pilots flying ground reference maneuvers to practical test standards and if you are good takeoffs and landings with the two hours of dual.

I am based at Santa Maria, California (KSMX) and prefer to train in that area.
My phone is (805)680-9523. Email is vance@counterman.net.

I am in Florida at Bensen Days (a gyroplane event) and then will be at Sun N Fun.
I hope to be back in Santa Maria April 12.
 
Wow, thanks for the quick reply. I've always thought gyros are pretty cool, ever since I discovered them while flying RC. Now you've got me thinking, but CA is rather far from AL for training, especially in something with such limited range . . . Hmmmm . . . How to keep the wife from killing me???
 
Hank S said:
Wow, thanks for the quick reply. I've always thought gyros are pretty cool, ever since I discovered them while flying RC. Now you've got me thinking, but CA is rather far from AL for training, especially in something with such limited range . . . Hmmmm . . . How to keep the wife from killing me???
Click to expand...

Gyroplane instructors can be hard to find.
Greg Spicola in Zephyr Hills, Florida is the closest one I would recommend.

gyro.greg@yahoo.com
 
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