Dear Colleagues,

This is not the first time I have marked a date, but this one is particularly significant for lovers of technology, aviation and above all for those of us who work in the world of helicopters. Today, 17 January 2023, marks the centenary of the birth of the rotary wing.

The first flight of a rotary wing aircraft took place on the grounds of the current Getafe Air Base, near Madrid, on January 17th, 1923. It was the fourth autogiro prototype built by Juan de la Cierva, the C-4 and was piloted by Captain Alejandro Gómez Spencer. This was not the only flight that took place there, but the first one that was successful from the trials that started in 1920 with the C-1.

The creation of the gyroplane is an exceptional case: Juan de la Cierva, starting from an abstract and pragmatic conception of a theoretical nature, was able to create and develop a new type of aircraft with full success.

The Autogiro is the greatest Spanish contribution to aviation. Since the achievement of motorized flight by the Wright brothers, it is the only case of design, creation and development of a totally new, original and different flight system: the Rotary Wings.

The gyroplane was created under the generative force of in-flight safety. But in developing the gyroplane, Juan de la Cierva did much more: he solved in practice something that still proves to be exceptionally complex today, the rotor system. Despite the efforts of hundreds of companies around the world (more than 400 in the USA alone in 1919), no helicopter flew effectively until the autogiro rotor began to be used. Even nowadays all helicopters carry a minimum of two Juan de la Cierva patents on their rotors, and if it were not for them, they would not be able to fly.

I invite you to find out more about this event, the protagonist and his machines at the following web site: https://centenarioautogiro.com/en/the-autogiro-history/

AESA lleva desde junio de 2016 pretendiendo modernizar la normativa que rige la aviación General no considerada por la Agencia de Seguridad Aerea Europea (EASA) es decir,

- Aviones de Construcción por aficionados

- Aviones Ultraligeros (ULM)

- Aviones históricos

Con objeto de obtener asesoramiento, llamó a diversos colectivos relacionados con esos ambitos de la aviación formando el Grupo de Trabajo de Aviación General (GTAG). La AAE ha formado parte de este Grupo de Trabajo desde el principio, aportando el punto de vista de nuestro colectivo en la reacción del articulado.

Se han producido varios intentos de elaborar esa normativa, con sus correspondientes borradores, la última de las cuales arrancó con una reunión en junio de 2021.

Como Asociación de Aviación Experimental, estamos defendiendo una verdadera aviación de ocio, de fácil acceso en todos los sentidos, dentro de los parametros de seguridad normales que se pueden exigir a cualquier otra actividad recreativa.

Desde este espacio pretendemos informar sobre la actualidad de esta iniciativa, desde nuestro punto de vista, por supuesto.

La AAE colabora con la CIAIAC en la difusión de los informes que nos son remitidos con ese fin.

Son siempre informes acerca de incidentes o accidentes relacionados con aeronaves matriculadas como de construcción por aficionados.

De estos informes se deducen a veces enseñanzas interesantes.

http://www.aae.com.es/index.php/16-informes-ciaiac

Últimos Informes generales CIAIAC

Informe anual 2023

Informe anual ULM 2022

Enrique Cueto

AAE_1035 y Presidente