Ultralight Aircraft Fly-in 1977 – Bensen Gyrocopter, Whing Ding (Static), Flybike

Watch in HD (1280x720) for best results.

A gathering of ultralight aircraft enthusiasts held at Gordon (Victoria) by the Minimum Aircraft Association (Vic) in 1977. Among aircraft included were a Skycraft Scout (not shown flying), a Bensen Gyrocopter, a Whing Ding and a Flybike.

Bensen gyrocopter flown by Bob Higgins doing a some exploration of the flight envelope.

Static display of partialy finished Hovey Whing Ding by Lin Bruty.

Modified plans built Flybike fitted with Sachs-Wankel rotary engine (around 10hp), project started by Gary Court. The owners had some difficulty taking off with the original single wheel undercarriage so fitted a tricycle undercarraige with a rather short wheel base. Spoilers were replaced with controlled outboard winglets.

As far as I know the Flybike was too underpowered with that particular engine to ever leave the ground. The filmed run along the runway was one of the best runs they had for that day.

Video content is Copyright Graham.J.Percy 2014, 2021

Although image quality is limited by the source material (Super 8mm Film) this video has been recorded in HD (1280x720) and gives best results when played back at that resolution.

The accompanying sound track was downloaded from the YouTube audio library and is in the public domain:- "Blue Break" by Silent Partner.