Gérard Leconte, an instructor like no other

Gérard Leconte is not an instructor like any other. A gyroplane pilot and instructor, he explains how he has adapted his microlight flying to his disability.

Hello Gérard. Can you tell us about your career in aviation?

I started with free flight. Then in 1995 I moved to weight-shift. I had an accident in a weight-shift microlight in which I lost the use of my legs. I tried to fly weight-shift again despite my paraplegia, but I found it hard to control the machine, especially in turbulence. So I became a gyroplane pilot in 2000. I first built a single-seat gyroplane inspired by the Averso model, modified so it could be flown without using my legs and so I could take my wheelchair with me, and then I built a second one...

You are an instructor not quite like all the others… Can you explain why?

I became a gyroplane instructor in 2003 after a course with Didier Horn. So yes, I am in a wheelchair, I am a pilot and an instructor, and I pass on this know-how despite my disability. I also set up a flying school at Sorigny called “Handivol ULM”.

How do you manage to get into your gyroplane?

Today I fly a Magni M16. The side fairing has been cut away at each seat and fitted with a protective edge, which allows the transfer from the wheelchair at the right height. I have fitted a strap to the mast that lets me make this transfer using the strength of my arms. On board, a hand lever lets me control the rudder with my left hand.

Gérard Leconte getting ready to climb into his gyroplane © G.Leconte

How does your disability change the way you approach the lessons you give your students?

My disability does not change the way I approach training. I can take on board either able-bodied or disabled students, but only paraplegic ones. The layout of the controls is not accessible to people with disabilities affecting the upper limbs.

If you have a message today for people with a disability who would like to become pilots, or even microlight instructors…

Adaptations to the machine make it possible for people with disabilities to learn to fly. Motivated disabled people who would like to can be encouraged to take up this activity, which is accessible to them with an adapted machine. I have been flying and training pilots in this way since 2003.

Read the article in La Nouvelle République about Gérard Leconte (2015)

Interview by Alain Réveillon, Handivol division