American Ranger AR-1 gyroplane takes a short cut over the hill and through the canyon...

Hello everybody,
And thank you for joining me on this hazy afternoon as I approach my home airport, taking a shortcut through the surrounding mountains.
My home airport is Whiteman airport, located at the north end of the Los Angeles metro area, and the shortcut I am referring to is the one cutting through the hills at the Pacoima Reservoir.
When coming home from the High Desert, this is my favorite route - saves me from going further west to the Newhall Pass, and usually provides stunning views of San Fernando valley.
The main challenge here is to approach at 4,500 to 5,000 feet MSL in order to be safe over the hills, but then descend rapidly through the canyon to below 3,000 feet MSL at the valley floor in order to avoid the Charlie airspace of Burbank airport.
The hill to the left of the reservoir is an official launching site for hang gliders, so all powered aircraft in the area must be very vigilant. Today there is no one at the site.
Listening to the Tower, I was told I am number 2 for landing on Runway 1-2, behind a Cessna… and in front of another fixed wing aircraft few miles to the north.
The trick here is to slow down in order to give the Cessna ample time to land and pull away from the runway, while still keeping the pace in front the fast mover coming behind me.
The gyroplane provides a wide range of airspeeds, so I never worry about my ability to maintain my distance, but sometimes when the aircraft in front of me is taking a bit longer than expected, I don’t hesitate to execute lazy s-turns.
When the runway is clear, I resume my normal approach… maintaining 55 knots all the way down.
I would like to mention here that when executing full stop landings at a familiar airport, I do not aim at the numbers, but rather try to land as close as possible to my exit from the runway. This allows me to avoid long taxi on the ground with my rotor spinning.
After a very enjoyable flight and a safe landing, I call it “mission accomplished” …
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Our website is: www.lagyro.com

[@dc6110]

Great video! Thanks for the ride along

[@lagyro]

Thank you for the kind words... please take a look at our other videos, and stop by at th eairport if you are ever in the Los Angeles area... I will help you get your own "gyro grin"... ;)

[@ДжекСемркин]

Привет из Москвы !👽👽👽👍

[@patflyme]

As a prop and rotor tech in the Army My job was to take any vibrations lateral or vertical out of the systems. We can get that stick shake out!

[@lagyro]

I can’t disagree with you… there are always things you can do to reduce the vibrations, but not eliminate them completely…

[@dgfcreations]

I liked your gyro video...thanks for sharing...

[@lagyro]

Thank you for leaving a comment... It really motivates me to add more videos...

[@menjaraz]

Please talk about aerology. I presume it might be complex and changing for the case. How do you particularly manage downdraft or updraft should they happen... I'm especially afraid of venturi effect. How risky is Gyro moutain flying?

[@lagyro]

Mountain flying is potentially dangerous for any aircraft, so one must be careful and plan according to his/her abilities plus the weather. Gyros handle turbulence better than fixed wing aircraft, but a stong downdraft could potentially ruin your day.

[@PatrickAlexanderThePilot]

Hi Peter, have you tried to land on any of the hills? Country flying style?

[@lagyro]

You forget that this is not a helicopter... :) I was actually returning from El Mirage Dry Lake, where I made numerous landings... off field, you can say... The gyroplane can land on a very short piece of land, but it does need a good 1,000 feet of runway to take off.

[@mornevre]

Way to much vibration from the rotor.

[@lagyro]

I am not disagreeing with you on principle... BUT you have to keep in mind your vantage point, and that is a camera mounted on my chest that vibrates more than anything else on the aircraft...

[@mornevre]

Am just looking at your stick shake
Not good.. Great video