Conference at the Turin Polytechnic about Gyrocopter

The General Manager of Aeromnia, Francesco Garganese, gave a conference at the Turin Polytechnic to doctoral students in Aeronautical Engineering.

The topic was the Gyrocopter, covering its history, technology, flight characteristics, and development prospects.The event was organized by Dr. Fulvia Quagliotti, Professor of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS) and organized by Ashleigh Hogg and Liliana Stronciu. The students appeared to much appreciate the event, taking notes, asking many questions and applauding at the end of the session.

From the moment of its arrival at the Aeritalia Airport of Turin in September 2010, Aeromnia’s gyrocopter has been attracting more and more interest and curiosity, to the point that Aeromnia are seriously thinking of opening a flying school in Turin specifically to provide gyrocopter instruction.
The aircraft has unique flight characteristics, has excellent STOL (short takeoff and landing) ability, and despite the apparent similarity to a helicopter due to the presence of a rotor, is safer, cheaper and simpler to fly, its controls being similar to that of a “normal” winged aircraft.

Historically, the gyrocopter precedes the helicopter, and was in fact the first rotary wing aircraft to fly successfully (1923). Mainly for military reasons, despite its mechanical complexity, the helicopter’s ability to take off and land vertically led to the gyrocopter being largely abandoned by major aircraft manufacturers.
In recent years, however, with the advent of new composite materials, the gyrocopter is experiencing a strong revival, with ever-increasing numbers being used both for leisure flight and professional applications.

Given the success of the lesson, and considering how it was structured, it could easily be replicated in other scholastic institutions.

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