This year the members of the Central Michigan Gyroplane Club (PRA/ASC 63) decided to hold the annual Michigan Gyroplane Fly-in in conjunction with the ASC KIMO Nationals at Brooks Field in Marshall, Michigan. Shown above at the Chapter 63 tent at KIMO are, from left to right), Terry O'Brien (Chapter 63 Secretary), Don Chubb of Gyrobee fame, Linda Cox, and Merv Read (Chapter 63 President) and his wife. Dave and Linda Cox were kind enough to supply the tent and lots of extra chairs. I'm not sure the fly-in strategy worked all that well (there were some communications problems between the various clubs), but this was certainly the best year yet for gyroplane representation at KIMO!

 Their RAF gyro is a true work of art and one of the finest RAF machines I have seen. It is equipped with one of Ken J's horizontal stabilzers and Dave (yellow t-shirt) reports that the stab really improves the handling and stability of the gyro. Linda (hands on hips) looks on as Dave fields lots of questions about the machine.

A look at the instrument panel gives some idea of the attention to detail that David and Linda have lavished on their aircraft.

Most of the time the ship was parked right next to the Chapter 63 tent, which really brought in the crowds. Here Dave and Linda haul their baby back to the tent area after one of Dave's flights.
 

Dave Geboy brought in his Air Command in all the way from the Milwaukee area, which should qualify him for some special award!! He flew a number of times over the weekend.
 

Bob Miller, a gyro-rated BFI, was flying all weekend and provided introductory lessons to lots of potential pilots.

Although Bob conducted most flights from the paved, General Aviation runway, he regularly flew the ultralight pattern as well.
 

The GyroTech tent drew lots of traffic as it had a prime location just inside the entrance gate. Here is Jim Norcia's 503-equipped Honey Bee, sporting their new nose-wheel brake and the recoil prerotator. The the ultralight registration numbers on the tail. GyroTech provides free ultralight vehicle registration with every kit purchase.
 

I didn't get a good photo of the prerotator, but here is a digital blow-up from the previous image. The system uses a modified recoil-starter mechanism from a Rotax 582 and a pair of small v-belts to link the drive shaft to the head. The system appeared to function flawlessly throughout the weekend and was a real plus given the traffic density on the ultralight runways.
 

Jim Fields does a low pass in Jim Norcia's 503-powered machine. Jim was flying all weekend and did a great job demonstrating the performance capabilities of the Honey Bee Gyro.
 

Although most of the company flying was done with the 503 machine, Jim flew the 447 regularly, just to demonstrate how well the machine performs on just 40 hp.

 Dan Cota (striped shirt) and Terry O'Brien (gray hat) check out the almost-complete Honey Bee that Don and I trailered down for the weekend. The trike-style overhead stick generated a lot of interest, especially from trike and weight-shift pilots. One very common comment was how simple it was and how it really cleaned up the airframe, freeing space that could effectively be used for extra cargo.

Although the gyros were my primary interest, there was a good sampling of everything else in ultralight aviation!

Powered parachutes like this Destiny model were the most common ultralights on site, mirroring their overall popularity in today's ultralight scene.
 

Trikes seem to be the most popular upgrade path for those frustrated with the weather limitations of powered parachutes.

Lots of different fixed-wing ultralights, like this Phantom, were flying all weekend.

In addition to flying, KIMO also provides the opportunity to get caught up on what's happening with ASC and the ultralight movement. Here is Jim Stephenson, CEO of ASC, running the annual meeting. Jim also provided updates on the status of the Sport Pilot proposal and the new opportunities that would be available if Sport Pilot were implemented by the FAA.