ARGO at AERO Friedrichshafen

Flying with the big names

Every April, the world's general aviation packs its bags and heads to one place: AERO Friedrichshafen, on the German shore of Lake Constance - the industry's leading show, where everyone from light-sport builders to the giants of the business shows what they have. And in those halls, among the biggest names in aviation, stands Manufaktura Lotnicza - with the ARGO AH helicopter and the ARGON gyroplanes.

Behind the scenes

The public sees the polished stand. This is what the days before look like: rigging the sling to the rotor head off a ladder, the ARGO AH arriving by trailer, lifted carefully off by forklift and guided by hand into position. Look at the background of the last frame - that is the Airbus stand behind our machine. That is the league this show plays in.

The green GTL floats in

The gyroplanes make the same entrance. Here the ARGON GTL in metallic green - one of the factory's supercar shades - swings off the trailer on a sling, is guided down by hand, and rolls towards the stand on its own wheels. Around 1,000 hours of handcraft in that paintwork, and it travels like royalty.

On the stand

Once the halls open, the ARGO AH takes its place under the lights - hand-built titanium and composite, leather and alcantara inside, a Garmin glass cockpit - drawing exactly the crowd you would expect a luxury light helicopter to draw. And there is a headline to go with it: the AH-23 is the first helicopter of its kind powered by the turbocharged ROTAX 916 iS. Alongside it, the ARGON gyroplanes in their supercar colours.

And when the lights come on, the stand earns its keep: overhead truss, LED underglow on the AH, the green GTL waiting behind on the blue carpet.

Why it matters

Exhibiting at AERO year after year is part of what separates a serious manufacturer from a garage project: the aircraft face the industry's toughest audience - engineers, certification specialists, seasoned pilots - in person. It is the same confidence you see in the six-country certification of the ARGON family and the openly published factory documentation of the AH.

Want to see one in person without waiting for April? As the official UK dealer we arrange viewings and experience flights - contact us.

Frequently asked questions