Kevin, your input is interesting, but please let me take a moment and
correct a few remarks you made....


Kevin O'Brien wrote:

Gyro designers and marketing operations used to be mostly on the
up-and-up. Then came Dennis Fetters and the first Air Command (I have to
stress that the current Air Command is a whole different operation, that
makes a safe gyro and as far as I know sells it honestly). Dennis's gyro
had the best specs in the industry, thanks to Dennis's skills.

Skills at typing press relases and performance charts....

Unfortunately, when his numbers got loose in the wild, people believed
them.


The Air Command Gyros that I manufactured all lived up to their
performance specifications, all 1,200 of them. The fact is that we
traveled world wide and demonstrated the aircraft, and out performed
everyone, every place and every time, hands down. That is why we sold
98% of all gyros being built in the worlds market when I owned the company.


"Gee, why would I buy a gyro that cruises at 65 when this Air
Command goes 110?"


By reading your own statement above explains your misconception. You are
comparing a competitors "cruse" speed with the "top" speed of the
fastest, most powerful and streamlined Commander we ever built, and we
never sold that one to the public. And yes, we demonstrated it many
times at the air shows that it could sustain 110 mph+, using a 4
cylinder Italian made 120 hp Arrow engine. Our fastest production
machine would sustain a top speed of 95 mph in level flight, faster in a
slight decent. Cruse was 65 mph+, same as you tried to compare above.


That set off an arms race of spiraling, bogus
performance claims. For other gyro makers, none of whom ever got rich at
this thing, it was "lie or die."


Actually, since we stormed the market and took 98% of all world gyro
sells within two years, our competitors had to lie about their
performance or bite the big one. The fact was that they could not
compete with the price or performance of Air Command aircraft, except to
lie or copy it, as you can see what happened. Even Bensen Aircraft
closed it's doors less than two years after we started selling, they
just couldn't compete.


I think many of them don't even KNOW
what the true performance numbers of their sheenry is.


I agree with you. Most do lie about their performance, and most do not
know what the true performance numbers are. In fact, most don't
understand why they fly. As one so called manufacturer told me once,
"it's the dully-whoppers on top what make it fly".

Hope this information helps.

Sincerely,

Dennis Fetters