Used Gyrocopters for Sale in the UK
What they cost, where they are, and the number that matters more than the price
Argo Aero UK sells new aircraft - who else sells new ones in Britain is in where to buy a gyrocopter in the UK. This article is about buying somebody else's, and it is here because the honest answer to should I buy used is often yes.
If your budget is £45,000 to £65,000, the used market is not a compromise, it is the market - the cheapest new ARGON is £125,000 and no amount of enthusiasm from us changes that arithmetic.
Where they actually sell
AFORS is where the UK light aircraft market lives, and it carried 153 gyroplane listings at the time of writing, from £950 for parts and shares up to £65,000 for a finished two-seater. The rest change hands at fly-ins and through dealers, often before they are advertised at all - which is an argument for telling people what you are looking for.
eBay is worth mentioning only because so many people search it. There is very little airworthy on it: projects, parts, and a great many Honda Gyro scooters, which share a name and nothing else.
What the money buys
A representative sample of what was advertised as this was written. Prices move and these are asking prices, not sold prices:
- 2017 AutoGyro MTOsport, 365 hours - £47,000
- 2011 AutoGyro MTO Sport 914 Turbo, 455 hours - £47,500
- 2021 MTO Classic, 465 hours - £47,500
- 2012 Magni M16C, 580 hours - £45,000
- 2010 Magni M24 Orion, 980 hours, engine recently overhauled - £59,000
- AutoGyro Cavalon - £64,000
- Montgomery Merlin, single seat - £12,000
Two things stand out. The UK used market is overwhelmingly AutoGyro and Magni, because that is what has been sold here for twenty years. And the spread between a 365-hour aircraft and a 980-hour one is about £12,000 - which, as the next section shows, is not nearly enough.
The number that matters more than the price
Hours. Not because a high-hour gyroplane is worn out - they are not - but because major components come due on the clock, and whoever is holding the aircraft when they do pays for them.
We can be unusually specific here, because we publish the manufacturer's own wearing-parts schedule for our aircraft. These are ARGON intervals and other types differ - do not apply them to a Magni or an AutoGyro - but they show you the shape of the thing and exactly what to ask the seller:
| Component | Falls due at |
|---|---|
| Rotor teeter bolt | 300 hours |
| Hub bar bronze bushings | 300 hours |
| Rotor hub-bar bolts | 300 hours |
| Universal joint bolts | 500 hours |
| Rotor head main bearing | 500 hours |
| Propeller and propeller bolts | 700 hours |
| Fuel pumps | 1,000 hours |
| Rotor, mast, control system, landing gear | 2,000 hours |
| Engine, to overhaul | 2,000 hours |
Now read the listings again. That 980-hour Magni at £59,000 has had its engine done - which is why it is dearer than the 580-hour M16C at £45,000, and why it may be the better buy of the two. A 1,800-hour airframe approaching a 2,000-hour engine overhaul is a different proposition again, whatever the paint looks like.
The permit date
UK gyroplanes fly on a Permit to Fly, renewed annually after inspection, rather than on a Certificate of Airworthiness. Listings usually say when it expires - "permitted to October 2026" and similar.
A short permit is not a fault and not a reason to walk away. It is a fact with a price: the inspection is yours, and so is whatever it turns up. A fresh twelve-month permit on a machine you are buying in September is worth real money against one that expires in November.
What we would check, in order
- Permit expiry date, before anything else. It sets your timetable.
- Total hours against that type's schedule. Ask the seller which wearing parts have been replaced and when - a straight answer with dates is itself informative.
- Logbooks, complete and continuous. Gaps are not automatically sinister but they are always a discount.
- Rotor and rotor head. The components on the shortest intervals live here, and they are not the cheap ones.
- Who has maintained it. A gyroplane looked after by somebody who works on gyroplanes is worth more than one looked after by somebody who works on aeroplanes.
- Fly it, or have somebody fly it. This is the one people skip and the one that finds things.
When used is right, and when it is not
Buy used if you want to be flying this season, your budget is under about £70,000, and you can live with somebody else's choice of colour, panel and engine. Most people building hours after a licence should buy used, and plenty never move on from it.
Buy new if you want a specific configuration - an enclosed cabin, a particular engine, a glass panel - a warranty, and an aircraft whose maintenance clock starts at zero on your watch rather than partway through somebody else's.
We would rather tell you that than have you stretch to a new aircraft you did not need. If you do want to talk about a used machine you have found - including one that is not ours - send us the listing. We will tell you what we would ask about it.
Frequently asked questions
Where are used gyrocopters sold in the UK?
Mostly on AFORS, the UK's long-standing classified site for light aircraft, which carried 153 gyroplane listings at the time of writing at prices from £950 to £65,000. Some come through dealers and some change hands at fly-ins before they are ever advertised. eBay carries very little that is airworthy - it is mostly parts, projects and, confusingly, Honda Gyro scooters.
How much does a used gyrocopter cost in the UK?
A flyable two-seater sits roughly between £45,000 and £65,000. Recent examples: a 2017 AutoGyro MTOsport with 365 hours at £47,000, a 2011 MTO Sport 914 Turbo with 455 hours at £47,500, a 2012 Magni M16C with 580 hours at £45,000, a 2010 Magni M24 Orion with 980 hours and a recently overhauled engine at £59,000, and a Cavalon at £64,000. Single-seaters go much lower - a Montgomery Merlin at £12,000. Prices are as advertised at the time of writing and move.
What should I check before buying a used gyroplane?
Three things before the aircraft itself: how long the Permit to Fly has left, the total hours against the wearing-part intervals for that type, and whether the logbooks are complete. An aircraft at 1,800 hours with six months of permit left is a very different purchase from the same airframe at 400 hours with a fresh permit, and the price often does not reflect it.
Is it better to buy a used or a new gyrocopter?
If your budget is £45,000 to £65,000, used is the only answer and we will say so plainly - the cheapest new ARGON is £125,000. Used makes sense if you want to fly soon, accept somebody else's specification, and are comfortable with maintenance falling due on somebody else's schedule. New makes sense if you want a specific configuration, a warranty, and an aircraft whose hours start at zero.
What is a Permit to Fly and why does its date matter?
UK gyroplanes fly on a Permit to Fly rather than a Certificate of Airworthiness, and it is renewed annually after inspection. A permit with a month left is not a defect, but it does mean an inspection and any work it finds are yours, not the seller's. Listings usually state the expiry - a machine advertised as permitted to October is telling you exactly how much runway you have.