By the late 1980s, we were getting very frustrated with the weather limitations of ultralights such as our Quicksilver. We loved the flying, but we simply weren't getting enough of it, not to mention that the aircraft required as much hangar space as a small spam can if you wanted to keep it assembled!

I started researching alternate aircraft, with an emphasis on trikes, when I ran across that filed copy of the Bumblebee article! That led to joining the PRA and a search for more ultralight gyro options. While there were, at least in theory, other ultralight machines out there by the late 80s, we kept returning to the Bumblebee as an aircraft that seemed to be the best combination of true Part 103-legality, reasonable performance, and good flying qualities.

Martin had originally planned to market Bumblebee kits, but only a small run had been produced and, by the time we were in the market (1988), kits were no longer available. The plans were (and are - see below) available and we purchased a set. Unfortunately, the plans were predicated on the availability of some of the specialized components originally included in the kit, including the composite tail group and instrument console, the seat, special parts for the unique rotor head, and Martin's composite blades. It seemed pretty obvious that we could not simply produce a home-built copy of the Bumblebee, but that didn't lessen our enthusiasm for the basic design. In the end, we decided to build and aircraft that was very much like the Bumblebee, but constructed using as much in the way of standard ultralight parts and over-the-counter gyroplane components as possible. The result was the Gyrobee, which first took to the air in June of 1990 and debuted in the pages of Rotorcraft magazine in the October-November 1990 issue (p.45-49). While the Gyrobee is far from a copy of the the Bumblebee, there is no doubt that without the inspiration provided by Martin's design, there never would have been a Gyrobee and my own life would have been considerably less interesting!

Martin remains as active as ever in the area of aircraft design, operating his own company Aircraft Designs, Inc. (5 Harris Court, Building S, Monterey, CA 93940). Martin has done pioneering work in the use of composites in sport aircraft structures and in the application of personal computers in the area of stress and flutter analysis. His most recent aircraft design project was the impressive composite Stallion fixed-wing. His company, which can be accessed via the link shown above, does design and consulting work in a wide range of aircraft-related areas. Most recently, Martin has revisited the area of gyroplane rotor design with a new set of blades specifically designed for two-seat gyros. Many two-seat machines are flying on "stretched" versions of single-seat rotors - far from optimum in terms of performance or safety. Plans are still available for both the Sportster and the Bumblebee - check the web-site for details. Martin's company also publishes several books on a variety of interesting subjects. Any aspiring gyroplane builder or pilot should include a copy of Martin's Modern Gyroplane Design in their aeronautical library.