
Man completes first round-the-world autogyro flight - howard941
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/northern-ireland-man-norman-surplus-completes-first-roundtheworld-autogyro-flight-38267038.html
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w0mbat
This is the model of aircraft he used:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RotorSport_UK_MT-03](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RotorSport_UK_MT-03)

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protomyth
Is there a site that talks a bit more about the technical aspects (aircraft,
modifications, how he made it across the oceans, maybe a route map) than the
article?

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pcl
From Wikipedia:

 _An autogyro (from Greek αὐτός and γύρος, "self-turning"), also known as a
gyroplane or gyrocopter, is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor
in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided
independently, typically by an engine-driven propeller. While similar to a
helicopter rotor in appearance, the autogyro's rotor must have air flowing
across the rotor disc to generate rotation, and the air flows upwards through
the rotor disc rather than down._

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro)

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ultrarunner
The thing that made autogyros (and helicopter autorotations) click in my mind
was when someone pointed out that the outside of the rotors is spinning faster
than the inside. As such, there's a balance where some point inward of the
rotor tips will be driven by air flowing through causing the outside to spin
fast enough to generate positive lift. There's obviously more to it, but if
anyone is wondering why air going up through a rotor somehow causes that rotor
to push air back down, this might be a helpful way to think of it.

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taneq
Huh, that makes sense. I always wondered about that.

It's a little like the related (though different) question of "can you sail
downwind faster than the wind is going" (and the answer is yes:
[https://inhabitat.com/wind-powered-vehicle-travels-faster-
th...](https://inhabitat.com/wind-powered-vehicle-travels-faster-than-the-
wind/) )

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Tepix
_" To arrive back at the same place, approaching from an entirely different
direction from the one you set off on, can only be achieved by venturing right
around the other side of the globe to get there," he said._

or you could fly in a large circle /s

Kidding aside, sounds like an epic achievement!

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growt
I thought the same thing: if I go around my house I achieve the same thing.
Not the same epic adventure though.

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saalweachter
Really depends what happens along the way, doesn't it?

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quickthrower2
Gyro facts: [https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-pros-and-cons-of-a-
gyroc...](https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-pros-and-cons-of-a-gyrocopter)

I heard from a private license pilot that these are very unsafe, but he told
me that in 1990 but it sounds like things have changed.

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FDSGSG
> sounds like things have changed

Nope, compared to fixed-wing aircraft these things are still horribly unsafe.

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ncmncm
Their inventor died in a Douglas DC-2.

The instability causing most of the crashes is now understood and prevented by
construction. They are now considered no more dangerous than other light
aircraft. That means that to be safe they must be operated by a well-trained
pilot in safe weather conditions.

Some frequent causes of fixed-wing aircraft fatalities, such as engine
failure, are much less worrisome in an autogyro, because they can land
unpowered at very low speed.

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bscphil
Unfortunately the article is somewhat unclear about how it's using the words
"round-the-world" and "flight".

I assume he didn't follow a great circle, so what is the minimum path length
needed for a flight to be round-the-world?

> In Thailand, he even crashed into a lake.

So it wasn't a "flight"? More like a successive series of flights.

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ncmncm
All round-the-world flights have had stops for fuel and rest, except one.

Not counting orbits, of course.

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owenversteeg
Two, actually! Both built by the incredible Burt Rutan. From Wikipedia on the
Rutan Voyager:

"Sanctioned by the FAI and the AOPA, the flight was the first successful
aerial nonstop, non-refueled circumnavigation of the Earth that included two
passes over the Equator (as opposed to shorter ostensible "circumnavigations"
circling the North or South Pole). This feat has since been accomplished only
one other time, by Steve Fossett in the Global Flyer."

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bscphil
> that included two passes over the Equator (as opposed to shorter ostensible
> "circumnavigations" circling the North or South Pole)

This is a really funny way of describing what I assume was a great circle
path. It's certainly possible to do a "shorter ostensible circumnavigation"
that passes over the equator twice: take an axis through the earth that passes
through the equator twice, and take a circular path around that axis of any
size. It's only a bias that says such a path counts less than circling the
North / South pole.

You can even circle one of the polls _and_ cross the equator twice without it
being a real circumnavigation. Fly a path around the Arctic circle, dip down
just past the equator, and come straight back...

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dTal
It is possible to cross the equator twice without following a great circle,
but it's not possible to follow a great circle without crossing the equator
twice; perhaps this is the source of the confusion. In other words, you can
reasonably say that crossing the equator is a necessary, but not sufficient,
criterion for circumnavigation (it is of course not possible to cross the
equator only once and return to your starting point).

A good additional stipulation might be that the equatorial crossings must be
separated by 180 degrees of longitude, plus or minus however tolerant you're
willing to be.

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JetSpiegel
> An autogyro is a small, helicopter-like aircraft made famous by the James
> Bond film You Only Live Twice.

I though it was made even more famous by Mad Max 2.

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tim333
The late Ken Wallis was a great enthusiast for these things and built and flew
'Little Nellie' in the Bond movie
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VTXVbHz1m4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VTXVbHz1m4)

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neonate
[http://archive.is/OMpNP](http://archive.is/OMpNP)

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andrewjrhill
> Opens article.

> Assaulted by popups.

> Closes article

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mrfusion
So autogyros cant bank when turning? If so Is that a problem?

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ncmncm
They can, and must. No bank, no turn. How they bank varies. Some tilt the
rotor directly. Others use aerodynamic control surfaces.

