I've not flown a gyroplane in moderate++ turbulence or gusts of any significance.
Nor have I thought of asking if gyro's are flown the same as FW on turbulent gusting landings as I never thought of flying under those conditions but weather comes up and I'd like to know gyroplane procedures before it happens.

Flying light weight FW's I always increase my airspeed by 50% of the winds gust speed and only use 10% flaps and land as close to the numbers as possible for the most runway and plan for a longer landing with a higher airspeed for flare and round out with a flatter floating approach once over the runway.

This procedure allows me to have much more control of the aircraft even if the gust is from behind and steals my airspeed and changes my angle of attack I can fly through it and will never stall... Well so far..

In FW I aggressively man handle the stick/yoke & rudder to try and keep the wing down before it change my angle of attack or attitude.

I abort the landing if I hit either rudder stop or if I cannot hold the center line and go around.

I know if I moved the controls of a gyroplane as aggressively as a FW I would be all over the sky. We have so much more control and it's gentle move in comparison to a FW... You move the blades just a little and the blades fly you there.


Assuming the worst case possible 180 degree gusts where they could be coming from behind you in some portion of the pattern..
The question is do you add airspeed on your gyro approaches if so is it the same 50% of the gust speed? Or no increase or other %?
Is there any other procedure you do on turbulent gusting approaches?

I have always landed very steeply anyway... so unless the wind is really gusty, it isn't that noticeable...

the most important thing imo, is that when you finally do touch down at walking speed or less... that you actually point into the wind as you touch down...

I believe that many gyrocopter tip over/run off the runway type crashes, is when people have been taught to fly a gyro like a Cessna... landing at FW speeds, then trying to land at speed and follow the center line .... this is recipe for disaster in a gyro....

My suggestion (what works for me) is to fly a gyro, like a gyro.... not like a Cessna.

As I say often, a gyro is an awesome FLYING machine.... but a lousy GROUND machine.... Ground running such as taxying above walking speed (especially with stationary rotors) needs to be kept to a minimum.... landing speed needs to be kept to a minimum. Crosswind takeoff and landings in gyros shouldn't need to happen.... If the wind is strong enough across the strip to be any risk, in all of the machines I have flown, facing across the runway into the wind I could have the rotors up to speed and be off before the other side of the runway.... if there is spam cans around, once off, turn and fly down the runway so it looks a bit 'normal' for any spam canners on approach.

When landing, as I have said before, at an airport with spam cans around... I would line up with the runway, fly down to 5-10' off the ground, then slow down, slow down, slow down until a normal-ish taxi speed (but still flying) then 'air taxy' to the runway/taxy way turn..... if turning into the taxy way is into wind, I just plop it on as I finish turning and taxy along the taxy way.... If there is no other traffic around, keep air taxying til a safe distance from the parking area entrance.

If turning onto a taxy way facing down wind, I would just plop onto the runway before the turn.....

The reason for all of that, is that spam can pilots like to see normal stuff.... doing a swoop, stop and plop landing.... then a slow.... slow taxy is not normal to them.... and you know how 'forgiving' of anyone not doing anything 'normally' they are (not at all) So, I would make my landings look like their landings.... just to not have to listen to them whining

I remember at A couple of strips, there were spam cans of all varieties (parachute nationals were on) .... my machine was capable of 90kts, so on approach there might be a 172 or bigger, sometimes even a twin.... so I would approach at 75-80 kts...... level out 10' over the strip, then slowly back off the gas and lift the nose.... and be slow enough to touch down by the end of the strip

But, at least it 'looked normal' to them so they didn't bother me, because I didn't bother them.

So John, I would say, in my case, I would approach steeper, rather than faster.... which was probably both.... I didn't pay too much attention to air speed... it felt right.... but the critical thing is to not land at any speed with a crosswind....

Making not crashing great again ....

Thank you Muz!!!

That all makes sense and helps define it for me.

People probably think I am just trying to be a 'know-it-all' and get the idea I hate the cloned tubs and modern plastic gyros.... whereas, all I want is for my friends not to roll their machines in a ball. Anyone who flies a gyro is my friend....

But really, I don't mind the gyros themselves, it is how people are being taught to fly them..... and the fact that where the original designer knew what he was doing, many of the subsequent cloners of clones have no idea why they are copying the originals, and each others machines.... finding out what they have created isn't working quite how they expected and have to write manuals to cover their asses for when people crash them.

One of the most irritating thing, to me, is that the rules regarding 'ALL gyrocopters' have been changed so much that they are burying the original gyros that the clones are copies of. A gyro used to be a thing someone could build in their barn and then fly it.... at a minimal cost.... gyros were a fun, cheap way of flying something..... available to anyone with some tools and half a brain.... now they have become these magnificent, overweight plastic things with welded frames, masts at funny angles and worst of all, the pilots who can afford to buy one are only taught WHAT to do, NOT WHY they do it... which works 95% of the time..... but the other 5% of the time, they crash them....
I also learned to fly when there were no instructors.... no 2 seaters near me.... and in Australia, it was illegal to even take a second person on a gyro. That is why I had to teach myself and when I taught (or assisted from the ground) the few people I taught (Like Sam from Titanium) it was from the ground without even radios.

So, the information and comments I make are just what worked for me, and I like to back up what I say with my reasonings and experience.

I am always hoping that one or 2 tub owners might try learning to land with the motor idling, pointing the nose at the ground to keep the airspeed and land with very little roll at the bottom on touchdown.... they might realise how awesome that gyro type landing is and they might use it often, so, if the mighty Rotax ever does go quiet, they just do a 'normal landing' rather than have to try to think hard to remember how to do a motor out landing......

But, I am not saying I am right and everyone else is wrong.... I am just offering an alternative that has always worked for me in my open type old school gyros.... I like to make people think... to realise that maybe what people are being told to teach them to protect the manufacturers from the law suits that widows will otherwise present them with....

In saying that tho.... someone with a tub shouldn't simply take my word for it and go and try what worked for me... I would encourage them to go and see a good instructor or discuss it with instructors 'who are open to non manual orientated flying' and try it if they decide to with an instructor on board, or in small steps..... What works for me, might not work for tubs... I don't know and am not likely to find out.....

Discussing it here would be a great idea if anyone has any comments, questions or experiences