Aeronautics: Return of the Autogiro

For many optimistic and thoroughly modern citizens, the American Dream of the 1930s included not only a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage, but also an Autogiro in every backyard. Chickens and cars have proliferated, but the Autogiro—a prop-driven aircraft with a freewheeling rotor in place of a wing—has virtually disappeared, a victim of its own inefficiencies and the remarkable success of the helicopter. The dream may yet come true. California's McCulloch Aircraft Corp. has successfully test-flown a contemporary Autogiro that is safer than a conventional plane, less...