Training is our specialty. Our experienced staff is here to make you a competent pilot. Our emphasis is always on safety.
We train to commercial standards to ensure you have the skills you need to fly safely and to pass your check ride with ease.
We can provide you with both flight instruction and ground instruction. While we prefer you have passed your written exam (if required) prior to starting your training, we will assist you as necessary in accomplishing this important step.
All of our aircraft are second generation gyrocopters that are maintained to the highest standards.
For those interested, we can also provide fixed wing training in an LSA or your own aircraft as well as helicopter training.
Flight instruction will be conducted as weather permits. While the weather in Florida is typically very conducive to flying we do have our rainy season, hurricane season, and summer thunderstorms. During periods of inclement weather we will use this time to prepare you for your written exam if required and the oral portion of your check ride.
While this is Florida, during the Winter it can get cold here. Please have adequate clothing, especially if training in an open cockpit gyroplane. Please note that at temperatures below 17C/63F we will not train in the open cockpit gyroplanes.
See the sections below for more specific information related to training.
Not sure if a gyrocopter is for you? Take one of our Introduction flights where you can see for yourself how unique and fun flying a gyrocopter can be.
If you decide to pursue your gyrocopter rating the introduction flight time will be credited towards your training.
If you decide to not get your gyrocopter rating you will have experienced a rare form of flight that you will be sure to talk about for years to come. Simply flying along the Treasure Coast shoreline will provide you with beautiful memories of your introduction flight.
So you are new to aviation. Getting your pilot’s license can be a daunting experience but we are here to help you along every step of the way.
To get your pilot certificate you will need to demonstrate both aeronautical knowledge and flying proficiency. Your aeronautical knowledge will be evaluated through a written test administered at an FAA approved testing facility and an oral examination during your checkride with a designated FAA examiner. The written exam results are valid for a period of two years after passing the exam. The checkride will then also be your practical test to evaluate your flying ability.
While you can get a private or even commercial gyroplane certificate, we recommend you start off with the Sport Pilot certificate. It is quicker and easier to obtain and once you have this certificate you can build the hours and experience you need to get the private or commercial certificate at a later date.
So for the Sport Pilot certificate there are some basic requirements you must meet.
Have a driver’s license or FAA medical certificate
Be at least 17 years old
Be able to read, speak and write the English language
See Sport Pilot Requirements for details on the minimum number of flight hours required.
Everything you will be expected to know and demonstrate on your checkride is contained in the Sport Pilot Practical Test Standards for Airplane, Gyroplane, Glider, and Flight Instructor found on the FAA website.
Good news, it is not as difficult as you think!
There are no minimum requirements specified by the FAA for transition pilots to get a Sport Pilot Gyroplane rating.
Getting your gyroplane rating is similar to getting a tailwheel endorsement. The only real difference is you will need to receive instruction and be recommended by a CFI to take a proficiency check ride. You then take a proficiency check ride by a different CFI from the one that gave you instruction.
Besides getting the endorsement in your logbook, upon successful completion of the check ride you will also receive a new pilot certificate with the Sport Pilot Gyroplane rating along with your other ratings.
In general, it takes between 10-15 hours to transition to a gyrocopter. The primary focus, naturally, will be on takeoffs and landings. While gyrocopters are easy to fly, there are some important differences between flying a gyrocopter and a fixed wing airplane or helicopter. It is very important you don’t try to fly a gyrocopter like an airplane or helicopter under some circumstances.
Everything you will be expected to know and demonstrate on your checkride is contained in the Sport Pilot Practical Test Standards for Airplane, Gyroplane, Glider, and Flight Instructor found on the FAA website.
Yeah! I'm getting my gyroplane rating.
Unlike an airplane, the gyroplane does not stall. If airspeed gets too low it simply descends in whatever pitch attitude you have the aircraft in. The rotor blades continue to generate lift just not enough to support level flight. Thus, you really never exceed any critical angle of attack like you can do in an airplane.
You flare much closer to the ground than you are accustomed to. If you fly gliders, you will feel right at home during the flare.
Your do not flare as much as you typically do in an airplane. You flare enough so that the nosewheel is only a few inches above the runway surface when the main wheels touch. Again, if you fly gliders, you will be familiar with the flare attitude.
There is no adverse yaw so rudder is not needed in a turn, sort of. Because of prop wash striking the left side of the horizontal stabilizer (assuming typical counter rotating propeller as seen from the rear), you may need a little right rudder when turning to the right.
When banking you need to maintain the stick in the direction you wish to turn unlike an airplane where you neutralize the ailerons once the bank angle is established.
In general, the throttle is usually controlled with your right hand in an airplane and your left hand in a gyroplane, especially if it is a tandem gyroplane.
In a nose high attitude in a gyroplane you actually reduce power first then lower the nose.
In an engine out situation, in a gyroplane you will have a very steep nose down attitude.
On landing in a gyroplane you have relatively no forward motion once you flare. Rarely, if ever, do you need to use your brakes on a landing in a gyroplane.
Because the fuselage of a gyroplane hangs like a pendulum from the rotor there is a slight delay in the fuselage responding to control inputs to the rotor.
Unlike an airplane’s control surfaces, the rotor remains effective at very slow airspeeds as long as the rotor is still in autorotation.
Because of the teetering rotor, gyroplanes do tend to vibrate more than an airplane. This can be a bit disconcerting to a transition pilot.
Gyroplanes are just a lot more fun to fly!
If the gyroplane is powered with a Rotax engine: