They are, simply, fantastic flying machines.  Gyros have been around for a long time and were mainly kit-built machines with varying degrees of build standard and reliability.  In 2006 Rotorsport brought the first factory-built tandem gyroplane to the UK market, fully approved to rigorous CAA standards, and the market has been growing ever since.

They may look like little helicopters but the rotors are not power driven.  Lift for any aircraft depends on two factors - wing area and wing speed through the air.  Fixed wings have a large surface area but fly relatively slowly.  

That’s the cleverness of the gyro.  The rotor speed adapts very quickly to the demands on the aircraft, generating just the right amount of lift - there’s no need to think about what the rotors are doing.  This keeps the controls simple - stick, rudders and engine controls - just like a fixed wing.

Take-off distance can be shorter because the rotors are pre-rotated before the initial ground run.  Landing distances are very much shorter - an experienced pilot can land in as little as 6 feet.  This means that gyros can nearly always land into wind, across a runway if necessary.

A gyro can turn on its own axis and the low wing area means much less drag in the turn so they’re exciting to fly without any form of aerobatics.

The low wing area makes them much less susceptible to turbulence and gyros can fly in winds and weather that would keep most fixed-wings on the ground.  Truly a machine for the British weather.

And back in the hangar, 4 gyros take up the same space as 1 fixed wing.

Gyroplane rotors have a small surface area but spin quickly generating high speed and lift.  The gyro is driven forwards by the propeller, forcing air through the rotors causing them to spin - rather like a child’s toy windmill.