This Pitcairn autogiro was among the earliest aircraft, built in 1932. The restorers found the autogiro in the Mojave desert as a total wreck and took it home as a project. This is claimed to be the only flying PA-18 in the world, although the EAA museum has one on display that does not fly.
We were able to speak with one of the people who worked on the restoration. The sign advertising rides in Montgomery, NY says that the autogiro is "the safest plane that flies." Maybe. The man we spoke with said that it can be a big handful in a cross wind. Most air fields at the time this aircraft flew were just that, fields, that allowed the pilot to always land directly into the wind.
One of the first times this craft flew it wrecked and, although no-one was injured, the craft was badly damaged. It took the builders another year to finish.
The late Johnny Miller of Poughkeepsie, NY flew one of these planes with mail in and out of the Philadelphia post office. It could have been Johnny giving flights at Mongomery.
