What is a gyrocopter?

A gyrocopter attracts questions wherever it lands. This short article introduces the aircraft by describing the different roles of its rotor and its propeller, and by comparing its appearance with more familiar aircraft.

It also acknowledges Juan de la Cierva’s contribution to the development of the autogiro and reflects on the range of uses the author associated with modern gyroplanes at the time of writing.

The original includes technical simplifications and links to earlier products and resources. It remains available as an archive introduction, while questions about operation and limitations are best explored with an instructor. The aircraft presented in our current tours and school is the ELA 07.