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Requirement to hold a Gyroplane Pilot Licence

Under the Irish Aviation Authority (Personnel Licensing) Orders, a pilot of a gyroplane is required to hold a Private Pilot Licence (Gyroplane) (PPL(G)). A person learning to fly a gyroplane must hold a Student Pilot Licence (abbreviated "SPL") before flying the gyroplane alone ("solo" flying) and he/she may only fly solo when authorised by an appropriately licensed Flight Instructor (see below).

Details of Licensing requirements can be found in Aeronautical Notice P.22

Requirements for Training

A person wishing to obtain a PPL for a gyroplane must undergo a course of ground (Theoretical Knowledge) and flight training which is set out in an approved syllabi. This training will have to carried out at a Registered Training Facility (Gyroplane) approved by the IAA for this purpose.. Flight training covers normal and emergency procedures in general handling and cross-country navigation exercises. A minimum of 40 hours total flight time must be obtained, which must include 10 hours of 'solo' time and the required qualifying solo cross country flight. Ground training covers airframe and engine technical knowledge, aircraft performance and ‘weight & balance', meteorology (weather), navigation theory and flight planning, air law (Rules of the Air), radio communications (including Air Traffic Control procedures) and Human Performance & Limitations (the medical, physical and psychological aspects of flying).

Persons who can give Gyroplane Training

Training must be undertaken with a qualified gyroplane Flight Instructor (abbreviated "FI[G]") operating within a RTF. Such an instructor will hold a PPL on which is endorsed a Flight Instructor Rating for the gyroplane classes in which he/she is qualified to instruct. The RTF where instruction is being undertaken must be registered with the IAA for that purpose and shall have a Certificate of Registration which must be displayed in a prominent place within the premises.

Gyroplane Pilot Medical Requirements

Before going solo on a Student Pilot Licence (SPL), or being issued with a Private Pilot Licence (PPL), a person must pass a medical examination for a Class 2 Medical Certificate. This examination must be undertaken with a doctor who is nominated as an Aeromedical Examiner (AME) by the IAA.