A Great Aircraft Building Experience

[John Craparo]

During the last fourteen months I began taking transition training in gyroplanes. Not the Bensen type which were popularized through ads in magazines like Popular Mechanics. These aircraft and their successors have always thrown up caution flags for me. Instead, I did it in a Magni M16 training aircraft. My instructor was Dayton Dabbs, the owner of Lone Star Magni Gyro in Taylor, TX. He is a CFI and DPE in gyroplanes. The day I met him he was in the middle of training Kermit Weeks from Fantasy of Flight. Since meeting Dayton, I completed my sport privilege, flew a 2000 mile round trip in the M16 from Texas to Oshkosh, and last week I returned from Milan, Italy.

In Milan, I participated in the Magni Experience. There I built my own M16 as an EAB at the Magni Factory. It was a great experience which took two weeks from the ground up. The machine should be delivred to the US by mid January where I will work with a DAR to complete airworthiness requirements.

The Magni is a certified gyroplane in the UK and parts of the EU. The design is now over 20 years old and has am excellent safety record with 900 aircraft in service globally.

If anyone has ever considered flying a gyroplane, I would recommend contacting a Magni dealer as the aircraft and the manufacturer are impressive.

Photos: me clear coating the carbon fiber interior of fuselage and making a landing in an M16 during flight training.

John
youcanflynow.com
EAA Life Member
airplane, seaplane, glider, powered parachute, gyroplane, hot air balloon, ground instructor and Light Sport Repairman - Maintenance