Air Command 582 Gyrocopter

Air Command 582 62 APK (c/n KC-164) autogyro was built in 1998 by an enthusiast in France, later passing to a Belgium owner, although it was still kept in France, being noted at Arras, near the Belgium border. Little is known of the autogyros flying history and eventually its flying permit expired when it was moved to Belgium. In April 2019 it was sold to a UK enthusiast and stored at Downham Market, Norfolk. Plans to make it airworthy came to nothing, so the autogyro was put up for sale. It was bought by the Museum and moved to Bournemouth in June 2022. It could probably made airworthy by the right person.

An autogyro (also known as a gyrocopter) has an engine which provided power for take-off. The rotor blades begin to turn as speed increases and then provide lift for the autogyro. A helicopter’s rotors are connected to it’s engine and provide lift from the start to enable it to fly.

Air Command of Texas designed a single seat autogyro in the early 1980s for construction by amateur builders. Its layout resembled that of earlier American Bensen B-8 autogyros of the 1950s. Built-to-Fly kits were produced by Air Command from the spring of 1984, where it was estimated that assembly could be completed in forty hours. Air Command moved to Wisconsin, producing their 502 Elite model powered by a Rotax or Subaru engine with either tandem or side-by-side seats. Then came the single seat 582 model with a Rotax two-stroke engine. The autogyro’s model number depended on which engine was used. Air Command have supplied over 2,500 kits world-wide and updated 502s and 582’s are still offered.

Air Command promoted their autogyros in the UK in the late 1980s, with construction of around fifty undertaken, mainly of the Elite model. However the autogyro didn’t prove as popular here as in America, with many remaining incomplete. The similar range of Bensen autogyros proved more popular. A keen enthusiast of the Bensen was Ken Wallis who built a number with various improvements. These included the Wallis WA116 “Little Nellie” which achieved fame when flown by James Bond in the film “You Only Live Twice”.