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Thread: Name the gyro that delivered the mail!

  1. #1
    crusty old aviator's Avatar
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    Name the gyro that delivered the mail!

    The postman from Florida just wanted to steer Congress' and the public's attention to how corrupt the whole electoral process has become in the USA, due to the amounts of money being spent on elections. Instead, the press, bored with campaign finance reform issues, focused on DC security breaches and a few reporters actually looked into the gyro itself (the mundane press just wrote her off as a "helicopter.") It will be interesting to see if this blip in the press boosts public interest in gyros. I heard one story on NPR that the FAA was going to charge the Postman for flying an unregistered aircraft: pretty heady stuff considering ultralights aren't even considered aircraft by the FAA, thus not required to be registered.

    So...based on the photos you've seen, can you name the make and model of the Postman's wee gyro?

    Can EAA bring him and his gyro to AirDisney 2015? I'd rather hear what he has to say than listen to Dierks Bentley sing about his bending the FAR that prohibits getting drunk on a plane.

  2. #2

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    GyRonimo



    The media seemed to embrace the term "gyrocopter" and now many of the taking heads are experts on "gyrocopters"
    Gyroplane, that must be some kind of flat greek sandwich

  3. #3
    Jeff Point's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by crusty old aviator View Post
    Can EAA bring him and his gyro to AirDisney 2015?
    For a public flogging? I'd be all for that.
    Jeff Point
    RV-6 and RLU-1 built & flying
    Tech Counselor, Flight Advisor & President, EAA Chapter 18
    Milwaukee, WI
    "It All Started Here!"

  4. #4
    Dana's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by crusty old aviator View Post
    ...I heard one story on NPR that the FAA was going to charge the Postman for flying an unregistered aircraft: pretty heady stuff considering ultralights aren't even considered aircraft by the FAA, thus not required to be registered...
    If it doesn't meet the Part 103 limits (speed, weight, fuel capacity) then by definition it's not an ultralight and must be registered.

    Someone said it was a 'Gyronimo' which is a GyroBee self build by a guy in SC.

  5. #5

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    It definitely doesn't meet the ultralight rules, interestingly the machine was weighed it after it was seized and they came up with a 350# number which was published in several outlets. Flying an unregistered aircraft appears to be the most serious charge, punishable by up to 3 yrs in jail, I doubt they will pursue it.

    This was really a great event, nice diversion from the same old drivel out of Washington. Perhaps he and his gyro will be on a stamp one day or at least recognized on Feb. 4, National mail carrier day.

  6. #6
    Dana's Avatar
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    You can be sure they'll hit him with the usual laundry list of civil penalties at $1000 each: unregistered aircraft, unlicensed pilot perhaps, no annual condition inspection recorded, various airspace violations, and the usual proverbial cherry on top, "careless or reckless operation." Then there's trespassing and whatever other rules he broke on the ground. The next few months will no doubt be unpleasant for the pilot...

  7. #7
    dewi8095's Avatar
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    I saw George Stephanopoulos doing a brief interview of the pilot. He (the pilot) seemed very poised and congenial, a man with a cause who was pursuing it. For the pilot, the protest was the important thing, not the flight. For the new media, it was just the opposite.

    The Capitol Police report and charge were also online and it only listed two charges, as Dana noted, operating an unregistered aircraft and no pilot's certificate.

    Seems that most protestors are arrested, booked, and released and we never hear about any penalties. It will be interesting to see how the authorities handle this case and how public the outcome is made.

    Don

  8. #8
    Chris In Marshfield's Avatar
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    I will call it "Steve".
    Christopher Owens (EAA #808438, VAA #723276)
    Germantown, WI
    Bearhawk Plans #991, Bearhawk Patrol Plans #P313

  9. #9
    Dana's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dewi8095 View Post
    Seems that most protestors are arrested, booked, and released and we never hear about any penalties. It will be interesting to see how the authorities handle this case and how public the outcome is made.
    I suspect that in this case, as in many before, the authorities will want it to go away as quietly as possible.

  10. #10

    Flog Him?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Point View Post
    For a public flogging? I'd be all for that.
    I think that he should be given a medal.
    He brought a subject out into the open that has caused you and I and all other pilots lots and lots of money over the years.

    It, to me, was nothing more than a peaceful demonstration to get the attention of the pols in Washington AND theattention of "we the sheeple" in the US of A to air the shenanigans that the 1%'ers are perpetrating on us. Hopefully this will start the "we the sheeple" to do what is required of them as citizens, and that is to do the homework to find out what a person running for office stands for, and not just listen to the ads that the 1%'ers put that that benefit only the 1%'ers.

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