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September 14, 2011 By News Staff
The Tomball, Texas, Police Department has become famous in recent weeks for flying a “gyroplane” instead of a helicopter for traffic enforcement and surveillance. According to Auto-Gyro, the craft'smanufacturer, the city of Tomball procured the MTOsport gyroplane late last year.
The Jalopnik blog took a ride on the gyroplane and detailed the experience in a story posted this week. One of the gyroplane’s chief benefits is cost savings. A police helicopter can run upward of $4 million to buy, Jalopnik reported, and costs an additional $1,000 an hour to operate. By comparison, the gyroplane’s purchase price is roughly $75,000 and its rear propeller is powered by pump gas.
The downside? The vehicle doesn't have doors or a roof and can't carry as much gear as a police helicopter.
Video: A local Texas television station featured the gyroplane earlier this year.
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Smart police department! Hope they're successful with this machine and that other units follow their lead.
There is an alternative to the high price helicopter or the low price gyrocopter. There are small helicopters that cost in between the two. http://www.helis.com/types/comultra.php It is the use of ultralight helicopters for government and commercial uses.
Gyro-copters have been around for years and years. they are generally considered an experimental aircraft, however, two seater can get their clearance from FAA (I think) for certification. The movie from the 80's Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome featured a gyrocopter. There are several companies stateside that produce build kits, some of which will put it together into 2 or 3 main components for shipping. I've shopped for one in the past and I'm not sure why they had to go German, nor why they were compelled to spend $75,000 as opposed to about $30,000. There are even manufacturers who have full enclosures that could probably be had for what they spent, great for rainy or cold days.
This Gyro exists! I work at a shop off FM 2920 in Tomball and saw this vehicle being trailered into Tomball with an escort of 2 Tomball Police tahoes. Theyre getting smarter!