Gyroplane Day at Lens

On Saturday 10 March, at Lens Bénifontaine aerodrome (LFQL), at the call of the Hauts de France regional microlight committee, a real little gyroplane show was held.

Many microlight pilots, including the President of the Belgian Microlight Federation, shared the day. Several arrived by air, and on the tarmac we counted a good ten gyroplanes from four different manufacturers: Autogyro (Germany), Delta Trikes Aviation (France), ELA (Spain) and Magni Gyro (Italy), as well as a Dynali helicopter (Belgium). European microlighting was therefore well represented through these aircraft manufacturers.

Laura de La Cierva (great-granddaughter of the inventor of the gyroplane) and Jean-Marc Ketels (President of the Hauts de France regional microlight committee)

We also had the pleasure of welcoming the great-granddaughter of the inventor of the gyroplane, Juan de la Cierva.
Laura de la Cierva is waging a real campaign to keep the memory of her forebear alive.
Juan de la Cierva y Cordoniu made one of the greatest contributions to world aeronautics by inventing the gyroplane in 1923 and making its first flight on 31 January 1923 at Cuatro Vientos aerodrome, covering 4 km in 3 minutes and 30 seconds, at an altitude of 30 metres.
He even went on to cross the Channel in 1928 with his C.8L-II gyroplane, flying from Croydon aerodrome to Le Bourget aerodrome in two hours and fifty-five minutes, of which 20 minutes were over the sea.

Juan de la Cierva's C-6 gyroplane (1925)